Dr Imogen Jones

Profile

I joined the University of Leeds in September 2016. Prior to that I held lectureships at the University of Birmingham and the University of Manchester. I hold degrees from the University of Manchester (LLB and PhD) and the University of Sheffield (MA International Criminology).

My research career began with a PhD examining the politics of reform of criminal evidence law. Following that, my research has become focused on the intersection of law and the dead body; I have become an international leader in this understudied but important field. My work in this area has received funding, most recently from the British Academy/Leverhulme (see ‘Research Projects’ below). 

Responsibilities

• I am currently the School’s Deputy Director for Research and Innovation.
• Previously I was Director of Student Education in the School of Law from 2020 – 2023.

Research interests

My research takes a contextual view of law, examining its impact on social and political issues. My early research concentrated on the criminal process, with an emphasis on the use and reform of rules of criminal evidence. More recently, my research has focussed on the role of deceased bodies as objects of law – whether as sites of crime, as evidence of wrongdoing or in order to meet with the needs of the coronial process.

I have carried out two exploratory studies into medico-legal death investigation. The first involves examining the attitudes and practices of forensic pathologists towards deceased bodies in suspicious death cases. The second considers the treatment of deceased bodies in unexpected death cases. It involved carrying out semi structured interviews with both coronial pathologists and anatomical pathology technologists (APTs). 

I am currently in the process of writing up my findings from the latter of these two projects (which, in part, draws comparisons with the data from the first). My analysis of my interview data involved thematic analysis and grounded theory, so to a significant extent I am led by what emerged from the data itself/the priorities and reported experiences of my participants. Thus far, I have focussed on the following emerging themes:

• The importance of an ethic of care in the identity and practices of APTs.
• The significance of epistemic identity of pathologists as scientists (and how this relates to their role in legal investigations).
• The use of boundary work to mediate roles and relationships between medicine and law.
• The importance of the concepts of respect and dignity in determining the treatment of the dead.

I have, when time allows, written several blog posts about the project, as well as reflections on contemporary events which relate to my research. You can find these at: Research Blog

If you are a practitioner or academic who would like to collaborate on a blog, or potential research, please do not hesitate to drop me an email.

• Investigating Unexpected Death: Values and Attitudes in Coronial Autopsies
• Investigating Unexpected Death: Values and Attitudes in Coronial Autopsies

Qualifications

• LLB
• MA
• PhD

Professional memberships

• SLSA
• ALT
• SLS
• ASDS

Student education

I currently teach criminal and healthcare law modules. Committed to research-led teaching, I am excited about innovative approaches to legal education. I strongly believe in engaging students as active members of an academic community. Additionally, I supervise dissertations, providing guidance and support to help students develop their research skills.

Research groups and institutes

• Centre for Criminal Justice Studies
• Centre for Law and Social Justice
• Centre for Innovation and Research in Legal Education