Impact

The Department of Criminology at the University of Manchester is internationally leading in new thinking about crime, victims and harm in a changing world. We have recognised strengths in five areas: 

1. drugs (markets, consumption, policy);
2. fraud, white collar and organised crime;
3. violence and its aftermath;
4. prisons, punishment & policing;
5. inequalities connected to offending and victimisation.

We have cross-cutting expertise on quantitative methods and digital technologies and crime, regulation and governance and criminalisation, social fairness and social justice. Our international profile is evidenced with publications in international journals, leading international research collaborations, and prestigious advisory appointments to government and international bodies. We provide research-led teaching to our undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Recent examples of the difference that our research is making include:

• Dave Gadd, Caroline Miles and Nicole Renehan helped shape the Greater Manchester Gender Based Violence Strategy released in September 2021.
• Rose Broad is Fellow of the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, working with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK on their Modern Slavery programme. She works on a project funded by the ESRC IAA fund and aims to assess the impact of the work undertaken by the CPA on modern slavery.
• Rose Broad sits on the Advisory Board of the Modern Slavery Policy Evidence Centre. The advisory board offers advice and guidance to senior management.
• Dave Gadd recently appeared on radio four to discuss his research on male violence against women
• Nathan Smith’s research on extreme environments was recently covered in a Guardian podcast on what astronauts teach us about coping in lockdown.
• Nick Lord and Cecilia Flores Elizondo contributed evidence on the dynamics of food fraud to the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology that was subsequently cited in the POSTNote on ‘Food Fraud’.
• Dave Gadd was cited in a January 2021 House of Lords debate on the Domestic Abuse Bill.
• Rose Broad and Dave Gadd provided written evidence to the UK Government’s Modern Slavery Inquiry in 2018 and in 2019 provided written evidence to the Women and Equalities Committee Inquiry into Prostitution.
• Caroline Miles sits on a Home Office working group for developing response to adolescent to parent violence. Read her blog post for policy@manchester on the Domestic Abuse Bill.
• Dave Gadd’s research From boys to men: Ending the cycle of domestic abuse has been used to inform the police response to violence against women and girls (see Police response to violence against women and girls – Final inspection report - HMICFRS).