Who are we
At Dunpath we care about people, we care that people are treated with compassion and respect. With a combined over 40 year experience working in justice social work, we can help your organisation risk assess and manage those difficult situations that your organisation may have to deal with from time to time. We are here to support third sector organisation, housing services, Police and any other organisation where you routinely come into contact with individuals who display harmful and risky behaviours.
We can support your organisation and your staff to better manage with some of the challenges associated with harmful behaviours.
All the information you share with us will be securely stored and managed inline with GDPR.
We are registered social workers with SSSC and have experience in working with violence, domestic abuse, sexually harmful behaviours, fire-raising, learning disabilities, neurodivergence and enduring mental health difficulties.
The Team
Allison Grubb: I’ve spent more than twenty years working across justice services, supporting people at some of the most complex and vulnerable points in their lives. My journey has taken me through homeless services, residential rehabilitation, and frontline roles within local authority justice social work. Along the way I’ve always strived to walk alongside people navigating transitions and promoting their autonomy and own agency. I have supported service users and staff across and both managerial and operational leadership roles.
What grounds me in this work is a deep belief in dignity, second chances, and the power of consistent, compassionate support. I’ve seen firsthand the impact of systems, both when they fail and when they truly help people, and I bring that insight into everything I do. Whether working directly with individuals or leading teams, I centre relationships, integrity, and a commitment to social justice.
My experience spans across frontline support to strategic leadership, giving me a strong understanding of both the human stories and the structures that shape them. I care deeply about creating spaces where people feel seen, heard, and supported to move forward in their own way.
David Thomson: I am a qualified social worker with extensive experience across justice services, having practised since 2012 and specialised in the assessment and management of complex and high‑risk behaviours in the community since 2014. My career has centred on supporting individuals whose circumstances, vulnerabilities, and histories require a nuanced balance of risk management, relational practice, and trauma‑informed intervention.
Within a large local authority, I have held senior practitioner roles across women’s justice, community justice, and throughcare, providing leadership in complex casework, multi‑agency collaboration, and the development of confident, accountable practice. Alongside this, I am an experienced Mental Health Officer, working with individuals in acute mental health crisis and navigating the interface between mental disorder, vulnerability, and risk. This has strengthened my ability to assess and manage situations where mental health needs, distress, and social circumstances combine to create significant risks both to individuals and to the wider community.
My expertise has also been recognised nationally through my role as a Professional Social Work Advisor to the Scottish Government for justice social work, where I contributed to policy development, national guidance, and strategic improvement work. I have additionally held significant professional leadership roles within the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), serving as Chair of the BASW Scotland Committee and as a board member, as well as contributing to international social work through committee membership.
My practice is grounded in the belief that people can and do change. When individuals are supported with compassion, respect, and a non‑judgemental approach, the conditions for meaningful and sustained change are strengthened. I recognise that risk is an inherent part of society, and my work has consistently focused on enabling people to understand and manage their own risks wherever possible, while ensuring that their vulnerabilities, disadvantages, mental health needs, and lived experiences are fully considered.
Across all roles, I remain committed to promoting safe, effective, and rights‑based justice social work, and to strengthening the systems and workforce that support individuals and communities. strengthening the systems and workforce that support individuals and communities.
Anne Louise Mahar: My career and experience is grounded in a strong foundation within community work. I started my career in the in the gender-based violence sector working as a support worker and in youth work. From service delivery of a women’s aid charity to local authority youth work and eventually as a gender-based violence preventions worker my 14 years’ experience shaped my view, that consistent, and well delivered support can be life changing for those effected by domestic abuse and other forms of gender-based violence.
I completed my social work masters in 2016 and began my career in children and families. Child Protection work and facilitating interventions for children who were in conflict with the law gave me insight into the complexity of children in need as part of complex family arrangements. I was particularly interested in supporting young people who after experiencing adverse childhoods did find themselves in conflict with law. I now work in Community Justice leadership within the local authority. I am still excited to be delivering community-based interventions for people who are serving community-based sentences.
I have experience of governance roles throughout the third sector and community interest companies for over 20 years in grant assessment, writing funding applications and board membership. There is hope and connections for families attempting to support relatives as well as stabilising people in their communities by creating organisations that can facilitate high quality community focused interventions. People can thrive and change when they have high quality services delivered locally by experienced and supported staff.