My present role is Centre Manager for the University of Portsmouth Policing-Academic Centre of Excellence.

I started my career in 1997 as a Home Office researcher examining the police response to sexually motivated homicide at the National Crime Faculty. I undertook research on missing persons (how do the police identify suspicious cases?), the type and incidence of child abduction in England and Wales, homicide investigation, as well as smaller projects on street robbery, fraud and crime recording. From 2007 to 2011 I was Director of Policy and Research at the UK charity Missing People. I have worked closely with the UK charity Action Against Abduction since 2011, laterly serving as a trustee, focusing on the delivery of abduction prevention materials in schools to replace 'stranger danger'.

My primary research interests are missing persons (with a particular focus on fatality and the implications for search practice and risk assessment) and child abduction, including the prevention of non-familial perpetrated abduction. I have also published several studies on policing more broadly, including police legitimacy, wellbeing and diversity and inclusion in policing.