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Dr Laura Bainbridge

Dr Laura Bainbridge

  • Position: Lecturer in Criminal Justice
  • Areas of expertise: Violence reduction; enforced alcohol abstinence; alcohol tagging; county lines 'cuckooing' victimisation; Police and Crime Commissioners; qualitative research; innovative research methods
  • Email: L.Bainbridge@leeds.ac.uk
  • Phone: +44(0)113 343 7453
  • Location: 2.12a Liberty Building
  • Website: Twitter | LinkedIn

Profile

I joined the School of Law as a Lecturer in Criminal Justice in January 2020, having previously been employed as an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science. I completed my PhD in Social Policy at the University of York in 2017, and I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

I am the founder and chair of the Cuckooing Research & Prevention Network, and the UK Compulsory Sobriety Network. I am also a member of the Howard League for Penal Reform’s Research Advisory Group, and the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit’s Research Advisory Group. 

As an impact-focussed researcher, I have successfully disseminated my findings to UK government ministers, civil servants, Members of Parliament and Police and Crime Commissioners. At the international level, I have been invited to share my insights with crime and justice practitioners located in the United States, Canada, Poland and Belgium, and have acted as an advisor to the Australian Government’s Behavioural Insights Team.

Responsibilities

  • Senior Management Team
  • Director of Employability (Criminal Justice)

Research interests

My scholarly interests lie at the nexus between social policy, criminology and political science. I specialise in enforced alcohol abstinence, county lines ‘cuckooing’ victimisation and policy imitation.

I am currently leading on two studies. The first is a N8 PRP funded project dedicated to understanding and preventing County Lines ‘cuckooing’ victimisation, while the second is a Research England funded project that involves disseminating information about promising ‘cuckooing’ interventions to practitioners and policy-makers across England and Wales. 

I am also a Co-Investigator and the ‘ECR Champion’ for the ESRC Vulnerability and Policing Futures Research Centre.

<h4>Research projects</h4> <p>Any research projects I'm currently working on will be listed below. Our list of all <a href="https://essl.leeds.ac.uk/dir/research-projects">research projects</a> allows you to view and search the full list of projects in the faculty.</p>

Qualifications

  • PhD Social Policy
  • MA Social Policy
  • BA (Hons) Politics

Professional memberships

  • British Society of Criminology
  • European Society of Criminology
  • Social Policy Association
  • Howard League for Penal Reform
  • Drinking Studies Network
  • Tracking People Network
  • UK Compulsory Sobriety Network

Student education

I currently teach on undergraduate and postgraduate modules and supervise undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations.

Research groups and institutes

  • Centre for Criminal Justice Studies
  • Centre for Law and Social Justice
<h4>Postgraduate research opportunities</h4> <p>The school welcomes enquiries from motivated and qualified applicants from all around the world who are interested in PhD study. Our <a href="https://phd.leeds.ac.uk">research opportunities</a> allow you to search for projects and scholarships.</p>