University of Exeter: Policing Capability Statement

Policing Capability Statement

Welcome to the University of Exeter As a Russell Group University, our research has gained a world-class reputation and focuses on some of the most fundamental issues facing the UK and our society today.

Some of our key specialisms lie in the fields of digital and data science, high performance computing, environmental intelligence, quantitative social scences, human performance, leadership and management, strategy and security, and behavioural insight.

Our highly regarded academics advise national and international governments as well as United Nations, World Bank, European Commission, DSTL, the Ministry of Justice, the Home Office, Crown Prosecution Service, Police, the International Monetary Fund, and HM Treasury.

Areas of Expertise Our academics can work with you on:

Law

Criminology

Computer Science

Use of Lethal Force Domestic Violence Human Rights

Evidence-based Policing Digital Forensics Counter Terrorism

AI & Machine Learning Data Analytics Pattern Recogniiton.

Business School

Medical School

Psychology

Operational Systems Leadership and Teamwork Inclusivity and Discrimination

Behaviour Change Substance Abuse Complex Interventions

Cognitive Psychology Social Identity & Stigma Intergroup Contact

Social Science

Health & Welbeing

Politics & Q-Step

Social Identity and Gender Modern Day Slavery Crime and Racism

Adult & Child Mental Health Suicide, Homicide & Self-harm Performance Under Stress

Terrorism and Cybercrime Radicalisation Extremist Communication

Who We Work With

Devon and Cornwall Police

Ministry of Justice Fraser Nash

The Home Office

South West Forensics

Metropolitan Police

The National Crime Agency

South West Forensics Ministry of Defence

College of Policing

At the University of Exeter, we work with local, national and international businesses, and form close partnerships with government and industry.

Prisons and Probation

QinetiQ (strategic)

These enable us to work together on policing and security challenges across scientific disciplines and support our partners’ growth and evolution.

Dstl (strategic)

Our Key Institutes and Research Projects The Policing Lab works alongside Devon and Cornwall Police to understand and improve policing policy, practice and professionalism, through the co-production of research, involving over 60 academics.

The Exeter Policing, Evidence and Research Translation (ExPERT) project secured a £250,000 Police Knowledge Fund in 2015 to conduct research into and promote evidence-based practice.

PenARC launched the Health Service Modelling Associates (HSMA) Programme, where health care and policing staff learn data analytics skills and develop a key project for their organisation.

Connecting Communities is a unique learning and delivery programme aiming to transform our most disadvantaged neighbourhoods, reduce health and social inequalities, and create conditions for healthful behaviours to emerge.

The Centre of Advanced International Studies is one the UK’s leading IR programmes, with strengths in international security, relations theories, foreign policy, conflict analysis, globalisation and resistance.

The Strategy and Security Institute is an interdisciplinary research centre focused on developing and working with individuals and organisations that deal with conflict, unrest and crisis under intense pressure.

The Q Step Centre specialises in data analytic techniques to address policy and social challenges, with strengths in quantitative methods, complex survey data, text and network analysis.

The Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies is a UKleading research and education institution, providing expertise across culture, language, policy, history and anthropology.

The Living Systems Institute translates knowledge of ‘living systems’ into predictive, diagnostic and therapeutic applications for the most severe diseases.

Following her PhD research into taser use, Dr Abi Dymond joined a police-led strategic review into reporting force used in policing and subsequently received a Future Research Leader’s Award.

Institute In Focus: Institute of Data Science & Artifical Intelligence Partnered with the Turing Institute, IDSAI provides a hub for data intensive science and AI activity within the University and wider region.

The institute’s vision for Data Science is to innovate new means of interrogating and understanding data to then innovate and apply cutting-edge data analytical methodologies to diverse questions.

Research is interdisciplinary, spanning computer science, mathematics, engineering, mining and business.

Areas of particular strength are in health; environment; data governance and values; data-centric engineering; finance and business; and politics and policy.

Criminology Our Expertise Evidence-based policing.

Counter-terrorism, racism and islamophobia.

Use of lethal weapons and force in policing.

Digital forensics.

Psycho-social dimensions of legal addiction.

Professional trajectories in policing and Special Constables.

Dr Katharine Boyd Violence-related Policy

Prof Brian Rappert Evidence-based Policy

Katharine’s interests are in political and religiously motivated violence, counterterrorism policy, evidencebased policy, alcohol related violence and tracing harm trajectories in domestic violence.

Brian’s long term concern lies with the social and ethical dilemmas associated with scientific and technical expertise., with much of his recent work examining how research and evidence inform (or not) professional practice.

Dr Ashley Frayling Evidence-based Policing

Dr Narzanin Massoumi Counter Terrorism

As a serving volunteer police officer herself, Ashley’s areas of research are volunteerism within policing and the public sector; leadership and women within policing. She also has an interest in special constabulary.

Narzanin’s research focuses on racism, social movements and counter terrorism. Narzanin is currently researching the impact of counter terrorism policy and practice on UK higher education.

Dr Dreolin Fleischer Evidence-based Policing

Dr Abi Dymond Police Use of Force

Dreolin is interested in evidence-based policing, evaluation, utilization, and knowledge exchange. She currently works with Devon and Cornwall Police on evidence-based policing strategies and research.

Abi’s current research interests and impact work focus on issues around police, policing and places of detention, and in particular the use of force and less lethal weapons in such environments.

Dr Hannah Farimond Stigma and Public Health

Dana Wilson-Kovacs Professional Practice

Hannah is interested in psychosocial dimensions of legal addictions, tobacco harm reduction, e-cigarettes, cessation services, stigma and public health, new health technologies, and research ethics.

Dana’s research focuses on the application of digital forensics in policing and practices of professionalism in relation to technological innovation and organisational change.

Psychology Our Expertise Social markers, stigma and social identity development.

Sexual harrassmant and domestic violence.

Behavioural psychology and risk-taking behaviours.

Stress in the policeforce, cognitive bias and traumatic brain injury.

Exeter’s Psychology department ranked in Top 100 universities worldwide.

Prof Manuela Barretois Social Identity and Stigma

Dr Miriam Koschate-Reis Social Behaviour

Manuela Barretois is currently Head of Psychology and Deputy Director of the Wellcome Centre for Environments and Cultures of Health.

Miriam Koschate-Reis research interests centre on intra-and intergroup processes in social and organisational contexts, including itergroup contact and social influence.

Prof Huw Williams Traumatic Brain Injury

Prof Joanne Smith Social Identity

Huw Williams is an Associate Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology and Co-Director of the Centre for Clinical Neuropsychology Research (CCNR) at Exeter University.

Joanne Smith’s research focuses on the ways in which social identity and group membership influences the way that we think, feel, and act, in relation to ourselves and in relation to other people.

Dr Tim Fawcett Social Adaptation

Dr Cris Burgess Cognitive Bias & Intervention

Tim studies social adaptation and how past experiences affect social behaviour. He is currently working with local charity, The Honest Truth, on risk factors in driving, especially for young people.

Cris researches cognitive bias and the effects of educational interventions for traffic offenders. He has worked extensively with local police, transport, and road & safety organisations.

Prof Paul Farrand Behavioural Intervention

Dr Avril Mewse Risk-Taking Behaviours

Paul Farrand’s research areas focuses on low-intensity CBT intervention development and evaluation, improving access for different populations (Armed Forces Veterans, physical health, the BME community).

Avril’s research interests span qualitative and quantitative approaches to the social context of risk-taking behaviours, perceptions of justice, recedivist offending and sex trafficking.

Politics and Q Step Our Expertise Public Policy, politics of public services and publicsector organisation and reform.

Political violence and extremist communications.

Terrorism, cybercrime and online radicalisation.

Multi-million Q-Step programme to promote a stepchange in quantitative science training.

Politics ranked 5th in UK for world-leading and internationally excellent research (REF 2014).

Prof Oliver James Public Sector Reform

Dr Stephane Baele Language and Political Violence

Oliver specialises on topics in public policy including: citizen-state relations, public sector reform, evidence and evaluation in the policy process, public regulation, and digital technology and public services.

Stephane’s research focuses on the role of language in political violence and (in)security, with issues as varied as terrorism, extremism, online extremist communications, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and migration policies.

Dr Lewys Brace Radicalisation

Dr Travis Coan Political Communication

Lewys’ research focuses on extremist radicalisation and the development of computational research methods. He recently received a CREST award to conduct research on far-right online forums, with Dr. Stephane Baele and Dr. Travis Coan.

Prof Robin Durie Public Policy Robin’s main area of research is public policy, specifically relating toprocesses of change in communities and healthcare organisations.

Robin co-designed the Connecting Communities [C2] programme and currently woris with the Problem Solving Team at Devon & Cornwall Police.

Travis’s core research examines environmental and political communication. Travis’ methodological interests include Bayesian statistics, natural language processing, and computer vision.

The Law School Our Expertise Use of lethal force in policing.

Domestic violence, controlling and coercive behaviour, and intimate image abuse.

Social media and eye-witness footage, evaluating witness testimony and guilty pleas.

International human rights law.

Prof Stephen Skinner Lethal Force in Policing Stephen works on the use of lethal force in domestic policing and law enforcement operations, the right to life, and the nature of democratic society under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Dr Charlotte Bishop Domestic Violence

Dr Rachel Gimson Social Media and Eye-Witness

Charlotte’s interests are broad and inter-disciplinary, focusing on domestic violence, controlling and coercive behaviour, and socio-legal research. Her research takes a gendered approach to the issue of domestic violence.

Rachel’s research considers the impact of social media on the criminal justice system, with a focus on how eyewitness footage can alter perceptions of guilt and the role of the defendant.

Dr Aurel Sari International Law

Dr Rebecca Helm Witness Testimony

Aurel Sari is an expert in public international law, with strengths in conflict. security and military operations law. Dr Sari is one of the principal experts on the legal aspects of hybrid warfare.

Rebecca is the Director of the Evidence Based Justice Lab and has research expertise in guilty plea decisions, evaluation of witness testimony, forensic science, public health policy and online justice.

Assoc Prof Ana Beduschi Human Rights Law

Dr Bethany Growns Forensic Decision-Making

Ana Beduschi’s research focuses on international human rights law, technology (including big data and artificial intelligence), digital law, data protection and privacy, and migration and refugee law.

A cognitive psychologist and member of the Evidence-Based Forensics Initiative, Bethany’s research focuses on how forensic science practitioners make decisions and the cognitive mechanisms that underpin their expertise

Dr Rachel Fenton Violence Against Women

Dr Natalie Sedacca Human Rights Law

Rachel’s research interests lie in the areas of gender and the law, violence against women and assisted reproduction. She led in creating England’s first evidence-based bystander programme, The Intervention Initiative.

A member of the Human Rights and Democracy Forum, Natalie’s research interests are in labour law, business law, and human rights law in relation to the rights of women, migrants and (domestic) workers’ rights.

Computer Science Our Expertise AI, sensors, machine learning and computer vision.

Big data and data analytics, next generation networking and network security.

Digital Twins.

Mathematical and statistical modelling for uncertainty quantification.

Novel control algorithms for autonomous vehicles (surface, air, under water).

Prof Sabina Leonelli Ethicsof Big Data A Turing Fellow, Sabina’s research focuses on the methods and assumptions involved in the use of big data for discovery.

Prof Ronaldo Menezes Data and Network Science

Prof Richard Everson Machine Learning

Ronaldo Menezes is Head of the Computer Science department. He is a member of CompleNet and NetSci Society and directs the BioComplex Laboratory.

Richard Everson’s research interests are in machine learning, statistical pattern recognition, multi-objective optimisation and the links between them.

Dr Anastasios Roussos Computer Vision

Prof Edward Keedwell Machine Learning

Anastasios specialises in Computer Vision, Machine Learning and Image Processing. He is interested in applications such as facial expression and gesture recognition.

Edward Keedwell’s research interests lie in nature-inspired computing techniques and their applications to a variety of difficult problems taken from bioinformatics and engineering.

Dr Matt Collison Data Science and CCTV

Dr Jacqueline Christmas Machine Learning

Matt’s academic interests are primarily in Computer Science Education and Data Systems. He is chair of the Industry Advisory Board for the Computer Science department.

Jacqueline Christmas’s research interests are in machine learning for intelligent image and video understanding. Bayesian modelling and Sea wave prediction.

Dr Chunbo Luo Machine Learning

Dr Marcos Oliveira Crime and Social Inequality

Chunbo Luo’s develops model-based and machine learning algorithms to solve practical problems such as wireless networking, unmanned aerial vehicles, and remote sensing.

Marcos Oliveira researches complex systems, human dynamics (including human mobility and face-to-face interaction), and self-organizing mechanisms, with a focus on crime dynamics and social inequality in cities.

Dr Alberto Moraglio Evolutionary Algorithms

Dr Fabrizio Costa Algorithm Design

Moraglio’s research interests are in general principles, theory and complexity analysis, principled design, representations and operators for bioinspired search heuristics.

Fabizio’s research interests are in generalizing the type of information that machine learning algorithms can process, and extending the type of problems that machine learning can address.

Dr Hywel Williams Artificial Intelligence

Dr Jia Hu Cyber Secturity

Hywel Williams’s research applies complex systems thinking and computational methods to problems in artificial intelligence, Earth system science, evolution and social sciences.

Jia is a Senior Lecturer ain Computer Science, with research interests in edge-cloud computing, resource optimization, applied machine learning, and network security.

Medical School Our Expertise Adult and child mental health.

Suicide, homicide and self-harm.

Violence, substance use. risk-taking behaviours and behaviour change.

Evidence-based practice, complex systems and implementation science.

Service design and evaluation of interventions and programmes.

Prof Iain Lang Knowledge Mobilization Iain works on knowledge mobilisation and implementation in healthcare organisations, residential care settings, third-sector organisations, and in policing.

Prof Katrina Wyatt Complex Systems

Dr Siobhan O’Dwyer Wellbeing, Harm & Social Media

With expertise in child health and behaviour change, Katrina’s research seeks to understand how we can create the conditions for health and wellbeing and address health inequalities in schools, communities and workplaces.

Siobhan’s research focuses on the wellbeing of family carers and older adults, with particular emphasis on suicide, homicide & self-harm, ageing, family carers, psychosocial interventions and social media.

Dr Vashti Berry Children’s Mental Health

Dr Jo Day Programme Evaluation

Vashti’s research interests are children’s mental health and the interventions and services developed to respond to or prevent health and developmental difficulties, such as anti-social behaviour and family violence exposure.

A HACP Registered Forensic Psychologist, Charted Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the BPS, Jo’s research focuses on the evaluation of interventions and programmes for people with criminal convictions.

Prof G J Melendez-Torres Systematic Review Methods

Dr Daniel Chalk Operational Research

G.J. is a Professor of Clinical and Social Epidemiology, whose research has focused on substance use and sexual risk behaviours, social development, domestic violence and systematic review methods.

Daniel led the development and delivery of the PenARC Health Service Modelling Associates (HSMA), an innovative programme where health and social care staff develop a data science project of importance for their organisation.

Dr Andrew Williams Health and Wellbeing

Dr Kath Wilkinson Evidence-based Practice

Andrew is an epidemiologist and statistician.

He currently works with Devon & Cornwall and Dorset Police forces on The PAWForce Trial, to promote physical activity, healthy eating and improved sleep for police officers and staff.

Kath is interested in evidence-based practice, adult and child mental health, children with disabilities, and implementation science. She currently works with ExPERT, to disseminate and implement research within policing.

Prof Thomas Monks Health Data Science

Dr Penny Xanthopoulou Mental Health

A Turing Fellow, Thomas has specialist expertise in applying computer simulation methods, optimisation and machine learning in health service delivery, to improve the quality and safety of health and social care.

Penny’s research interests are in patient experience and clinical communication, mental health (dementia, psychosis, suicide) and health services research.

Hayley Gains Social Development

Dr Stuart Logan Paediatric Epidemiology

A Research Assistant in the Graduate School of Education, Hayley specialises in children’s cognitive and social development, psychometrics, mental health, intervention evaluation and executive function.

Stuart is The Director of NIHR Applied Research Collaboration South West Peninsula (PenARC), an NIHRfunded partnership which aims to improve health outcomes through the conduct of patient focussed research.

The Business School

Our Expertise Leadership, teamwork and motivation.

Operational Systems.

Wellbeing, positive change and inclusivity.

Gender, identity and workplace discrimination.

The Exeter MBA ranked 4th in Europe (Corporate Knights’ Better World MBA Rankings).

Prof Andi Smart Operational Systems

Prof Alexandra Gerbasi Leadership and Wellbeing

Andi’s research focus is on exploring new knowledge in the design and improvement of operations systems, with a recent focus on customer experience and digital innovation.

Alex’s research focus is on leader emergence, wellbeing and thriving, civility and inclusivity, social networks, negative workplace interactions, and how hierarchy and role stressors influence civil behaviours.

Prof Beverley Hawkins Leadership and Teamwork

Dr Emma Jeanes Gender and Discrimination

Dr Hawkins focuses on how ‘doing teamwork’ is intricately bound up with the way team members regulate their own, and each other’s identities. She specialises in leadership, organisational culture and change, and identity.

Emma conducts research within the broad area of organisational behaviour and organisation theory, particularly gender and inclusivity at work. She also has an interest in organising in rural contexts.

Prof Ilke Inceoglu Work Motivation

Dr Alison Legood Leadership and Trust

Ilke’s research focuses on employee well-being and work behaviour. Her recent projects have examined the relationship between leadership and employee well-being and the impact of technology on well-being at work.

Alison is currently working with collaborators from the UK and worldwide. Her main research focuses on trust and leadership. She also works on broader topics such as mindfulness, creativity and psychological entitlement.

Adam Lusby Entrepreneurship

Dr Stephen Jollands Accounting

An architect by training, Adam currently advises on circular economy, curates and develops content on the Exeter MBA, and delivers projects in the areas of entrepreneurship, innovation, and creativity.

Stephen is a Professor of Accounting whose research focuses on sustainable development and issues related to social and ecological sustainability, organisational change and the mobilisation of management controls.

Dr Graham Perkins Human Resources Graham’s areas of research interest cut across both the innovation and human resource management fields, with a particular interest in how organisations create people structures that promote creativity.

Geography and History Our Expertise Social identity and gender.

Cultural and historical geography.

Energy policy, environment and sustainability.

History of violence and conflict.

8th in the UK for world-leading research for History (REF).

Prof Jo Little Social Identities

Dr Kristofer Allerfeldt Crime, racism and slavery

JJA Professor of Cultural Geography, Jo’s research focuses on rural geography, and genderand geography.

She has worked on rural women’s employment and identity, domestic violence and fear in rural communities.

JKris researches American history from the end of the Civil War until the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Within that, his interests lie in the areas of deviance, bigotry, crime, racism, nativism and prejudice.

Sociology and Philosophy

Our Expertise Crime, violence and policing.

Health, wellbeing and medicine.

Culture and ethics.

Resistant children in education.

Department of Sociology, Philosophy and Anthropology ranked in top 10 in UK (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020).

Prof Luna Dolezal Shame and Medicine

Dr Jess Groling Ethics

Luna’s current research is primarily focused on three themes: shame and self-conscious emotions; embodiment and self-other relations; and emerging medical and body-based technologies.

Jess is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Exeter Anthrozoology and Symbiotic Ethics (EASE) Working Group, who current investigates the ‘stray dog problem’ in Europe.

Dr Stuart Scrase Violence Against Police

Dr Ernesto Schwartz-Marin Data Justice

A sociologist and anthropologist, Stuart specialises in the issues of violence against police, riots (with a focus on th 2011 English riots), marginality and race.

A Science and Technology scholar working in biomedicine, forensics and citizen science, Ernesto is currently developing research on data justice and citizen-sensing.

Dr Thomas Ralph Resistant Students My research interests focus on resistant students in school, how they make use of space to make school the kind of place they want to be and how they make their voices heard.

Sports and Health Science Our Expertise Performance under Stress.

Quiet Eye, cognition and perception, and virtual reality.

Training and rehabilitation.

Human movement science and elite performance.

Dr David Harris Virtual Reality

Integrative psycholog, nutrition and metabolism.

David specialises in skill acquisition, cognitive training and performance states (ranging from breakdowns under pressure to peak flow experiences), with a focus on eye movements and visual attention in these areas.

Prof Mark Wilson Performance Psychology

Dr Sam Vine Motor and Decision-Making

Mark Wilson specialises in performance psychology and human movement science, and is a leading expert in visuomotor skill acquisition and performance under pressure.

Sam Vine specialises in the acquisition, refinement and resilient performance of motor and decision making skills, with a focus on quiet eye training, motor learning and anxiety/stress.

Contact Us

Jess Hurrell Senior Impact and Partnership Development Manager, Society and Culture Sectors.

01392 726209 | Jess.Hurrell@exeter.ac.uk