The Theatre in Prisons and Probation Research and Development Centre was set up in 1992 by James Thompson and Paul Heritage. Originally a part of the University of Manchester's Drama Department, the Centre aimed to provide a wide range of services - project development, training, advice and information as well as working to raise the profile of theatre work with offenders by undertaking research and publishing books and articles about arts initiatives in the criminal justice system.

Whilst we remain close to this original vision, we are now primarily practice led and prefer to work in partnership with research specialists, such as the Centre for Applied Theatre Research.

The TiPP Centre’s first major project was Blagg!, a drama based offending behaviour workshop for groups that examines consequences, decision making and the victim perspective. This was followed by a second project that explored anger management - the Pump! workshop. Both of these initiatives were funded by Greater Manchester Probation Service. Since 1994 other workshop programmes were developed around a variety of themes - drug use, bullying and employment being the most successful.

For nearly four years the organisation operated as a part of the Drama Department until in 1996 the TiPP Centre became an independent registered charity, whilst retaining its strong link with the University’s Drama Department. Over the last ten years we have developed a considerable reputation for developing and delivering high quality participatory arts projects with a wide range of groups. In recent years we have extended the reach of our project work and have developed community based diversionary projects and schemes for the long-term unemployed. In 2000 this shift in our work meant that we changed our name to TiPP.

In recent years we have increasingly been developing projects that utilise a wide range of art form approaches. As a result we now describe ourselves as a creative hub, providing a regional and national focus for a range of creative arts projects in Criminal Justice settings. We work closely with a range of Associate and Partner arts organisations, artists and agencies to develop and develop programmes, projects and training opportunities. Although theatre will always be our primary art form, operating as a hub allows us to draw upon a range of art form approaches in the development of our work. All our partner and associate companies and artists have excellent track records and are experienced practitioners in their respective fields.