Research
Research excellence, innovation and impact is at the heart of what we do.
The School of Criminology is renowned for undertaking pioneering and transformative research. As well as conducting large-scale studies, we are also regularly commissioned by organisations within the public, private and third sector to conduct smaller, tailored pieces of research.
Strategic aims
- To undertake transformational research which acts as a catalyst for the development of effective and sustainable policy responses to victims and perpetrators, and the improvement of the criminal justice system
- To focus on interdisciplinarity and internationalisation (where appropriate) to address social challenges by producing high-quality, innovative research outputs
- To embrace ambitious and novel methodological approaches and techniques which will drive innovation within the social sciences
- To produce world-leading scholars who will revolutionise the way in which academic communities research and teach within the social sciences
Research themes
- Victims of crime – sex workers, minority ethnic and faith communities, people with mental ill-health, etc.
- Perpetrators of crime - perpetrators in secure settings, young offenders, acid attacks, hit and run drivers
- Responses to crime – policing, prisons, probation, forensics, support services
Methodological innovation, interdisciplinarity, and collaboration have helped to develop new theoretical frameworks, advance the discipline of criminology and the social sciences more broadly.
Participatory Action Research, crime mapping, data mining, photovoice, large administrative data, linkage, evaluation research.
Impact
Impact has always been integral to our research endeavours, using research findings to shape policy and practice to make changes to everyday social injustices at a local, national and international level. In line with the University Strategy, our work increasingly focuses on global impacts in areas related to criminal justice. To do this we continue to forge research collaborations with other disciplines, particularly working with STEM, the arts, psychology and law to take global research agendas forward.