About us
Our Mission and Impact
For over thirty years, researchers at the University of Huddersfield have earned national and international recognition for producing problem-oriented, socially impactful research and training. Our work supports police forces, criminal justice agencies, and policymakers in tackling real-world challenges.
The Crime and Policing Research Centre (CPRC), proudly continue this tradition. Our research makes a tangible difference—locally, nationally, and globally. For example, our extensive work on police wellbeing is currently shaping the development of coordinated psychological, emotional, and physical support systems for police personnel across the UK.
Our Expertise
The CPRC brings together a diverse team of experts with deep knowledge across a wide range of crime and policing issues. Our current research, consultancy, teaching, and training activities span topics such as:
- Criminal investigation
- Evidence-Based Policing
- Designing out crime and preventing antisocial behaviour
- Counter-terrorism and violent extremism
- Youth offending and youth crime
- Police wellbeing
- Self-Selection Policing
- Sex offending
- Serious and Organised Crime
We take a broad, interdisciplinary approach—exploring not only criminality and policing but also victimisation, public perceptions of crime and safety, and wider issues of public security.
Our Commitment
We are committed to ensuring that all our work—whether research, consultancy, teaching, or training—is grounded in real-world relevance and maintains the highest standards of academic quality and rigour. We work closely with police forces, policymakers, and criminal justice partners to ensure our insights are timely, practical, and impactful.
Meet the Directors
Professor Jason Roach has been with the University of Huddersfield for over twenty years. A prolific scholar, he has authored five books and more than 40 academic papers and book chapters on topics including; Self-Selection Policing, Investigative decision-making, Criminal investigation, Counterterrorism, Violent crime and homicide, and Crime prevention and reduction.
Professor Roach regularly collaborates with police forces to address pressing crime and disorder issues such as burglary, domestic violence, vehicle crime, and investigative challenges. He also serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Police Journal.
Dr Ashley Cartwright is Deputy Director of Staff Research at the CPRC and Subject Lead in Crime and Policing. He oversees the research activity of CPRC staff and manages academic delivery across a wide portfolio of undergraduate programmes. A leading expert in police wellbeing, Dr Cartwright has extensive experience in applied research, working closely with policing and criminal justice partners to address real-world challenges in crime and policing.
Dr Kathryn Sharatt is the Deputy Director of Impact. Dr Sharratt’s research explores the psychological impacts of criminal justice work, with a focus on police wellbeing, trauma, and emotional responses. She leads and collaborates on projects funded by the National Police Wellbeing Service and An Garda Síochána, and has contributed to EU and NHS-funded studies on child maltreatment and the effects of parental imprisonment. Her work has received international recognition, including the Wayman Mullins Best Journal Article Award from the Society of Police and Criminal Psychology.
Dr Vickie Barrett is Deputy Director of Postgraduate Research at CPRC and currently an ADR UK Research Fellow. Her current research uses deidentified linked data from the Ministry of Justice and Department for Education to examine the relationship between school exclusions and offending. With a background in probation and a PhD from the University of Sheffield, her work focuses on youth justice, education, and social inequality, combining advanced data analysis with real-world criminal justice insight.