I was delighted to have taken over the Editorship of the Crime, Security and Society journal from Dr Jason Roach earlier this year.

I am currently Principal Enterprise Fellow (equivalent to Reader) in Forensic Anthropology and Deputy Director of the Secure Societies Institute at the University of Huddersfield. In both of these roles, I am passionate about furthering multi-disciplinary research into crime prevention, detection and analysis, so that criminals can be brought to justice quickly and correctly. My background is in Archaeology and Anthropology (MA, Oxford, 1998), Forensic Anthropology (MSc, Bradford, 1999) and my PhD (Sheffield, 2005) was in estimating the trauma-death interval of bone fractures using immunohistochemical and histological techniques. This had particular application to the diagnosis of child abuse, when the ‘age’ of the fracture can be compared to the care-givers’ testimony. I worked at Cranfield University as a post-doctoral researcher (2004-6) and then as a Lecturer in Forensic Anthropology (2006-13). I joined the University of Huddersfield in 2013 as a Senior Lecturer and was promoted to Principal Enterprise Fellow in 2015. I currently run the MSc in Forensic Anthropology and am Module Leader for the BSc and MSci Forensic and Analytical Science courses.

My specialism is in decomposition and taphonomy research – I do empirical research to determine the effect of certain conditions on decomposition rate for more accurate post-mortem interval estimation. I am currently investigating the possibility of creating the first Human Taphonomy Facility in the UK, a safe, outdoor laboratory where rigorous, scientifically and ethically sound empirical research can be carried out on donated human cadavers to understand decomposition in UK climates, conditions and soils. I am also very interested in mass disaster management, and run the Forensic Aspects of Disaster module on the MSc Risk, Disaster and Emergency Management. As an anthropologist, I tend to take a holistic approach to research and analysis, and I am acutely aware of the value of looking at problems from different perspectives.

I am excited about the opportunities for cross-pollination and collaboration that the Crime, Security and Society journal will provide. The journal is meant as a forum to bring together academics and practitioners (for example: police, law enforcers, crime analysts, policy makers, security personnel) to share their current findings and experiences and ideas. Challenges aired and shared can be tackled. Cutting edge research disseminated through the journal could put into practice for everyday crime investigation. The Editorial Board and I have big ideas for the future of the Crime, Security and Society journal, and want it to be an engaging, motivating space. We welcome contributions about current news items, such as responses to newspaper or online articles; profiles of professionals in related fields; reviews of books or articles in other journals; and commentaries. Please contact me if you would like to contribute anything relevant.

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