Can you tell us about your background in policing?
I was actually a Cambridge undergraduate. I came to Downing College and studied Geography. Then as soon as I graduated, I joined the Metropolitan Police.
I joined in 1992 and served for 30 years. My father was a police officer, and my grandfather was a police officer, so it was in my DNA. I always wanted to be a detective. I'd watched so many detective programmes as a child and had my father and great grandfather as role models.
I really wanted to be a murder investigator. That's all I ever wanted to do, and I was incredibly fortunate. I had an amazing career, mostly managing homicide teams in London. I've dealt with some incredibly challenging and interesting cases, and I progressed through the ranks over those 30 years, before I retired in 2022 as an Assistant Chief Constable for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire. So, I came back home in a way, running a major crime and forensic teams. And I've been very fortunate throughout my career to be able to study as well. I did my Masters and later my PhD in Psychology, and I've been fortunate to work on the MSt since 2016.
I've seen a lot of changes on the programme and been very fortunate to work with a lot of incredible students and other academics.
How did you first learn about this programme?
This is such a great story.
I never did the programme myself. I would have loved to have done it, but it was not possible for me at that time. But I've always known about the programme because many chief officers- Cressida Dick, John Boutcher, Mark Rowley-had done it.
So, one day I was working at Scotland Yard, and I met Professor Lawrence Sherman in a lift, and I knew who he was. So, I took advantage of that meeting to tell him a little bit about myself, my association with Cambridge, and how I would love to help in any way I could. Then Lawrence very graciously introduced me to Doctor Heather Strang, and I've never looked back since. I started by doing marking, then over time moved up to supervising, and now the university allows me to be an Affiliate Lecturer on the Policing MSt too. And all that from meeting someone in a lift.
Why did you want to teach this programme?
Cambridge, as we all know, is an incredibly special place. Having been here as an undergraduate, I knew that.
I knew the history and the privilege in having the opportunity to study here. But the policing programme is absolutely incredible. Some of the greatest names in British policing have been through this programme, and I've been fortunate to see and supervise students from all over the world. You can see the effect of their learning and research has had in the workplace: changing policy, changing how people think, and introducing evidence-based policing into UK policing.
I think we don't often reflect back at what this programme has achieved. But when I do think back, I realise it's had an incredible legacy for British policing. That’s why I'm so grateful to be involved with it.
As an affiliate lecturer, what would you say students gain most from this programme?
I think on a personal level, they gain confidence in being around academia and understanding data. Some people don't come here with any academic background, so they can be quite nervous about being at Cambridge. But they certainly become more confident in understanding data, understanding theory and being able to do their own research.
They also get personal development skills. They get to work with other students from all over the world, and those friendships last long after graduation. So, they build a personal network of people that they keep in touch with afterwards. Then obviously we've got Barak and Justice, so they get to hear people that have done really groundbreaking research, and they get to do their own. Of course, it's not easy, but there's a huge attraction and appeal and prestige in being able to complete the course.
What would you tell a prospective student to convince them to join the MSt in Applied Criminology and Police Management?
I think the first thing I would say is that it's understandable, how intimidating somewhere like Cambridge is if you haven't got an academic background.
But don’t be nervous. There’s so much support available, whether it's with maths, or writing, or some of those basic academic skills. It's natural to feel nervous, but don't let those nerves intimidate or stop you from taking such an incredible opportunity. I Cambridge, is a world-renowned university, but also this programme has been groundbreaking in so many different ways and will give you so much confidence going forward. It will give you friendships, it will give you a new way of thinking about policing, its problems and challenges, and also help you solve some of those. You will be absolutely fine, and you will never regret doing it.
What support can students receive?
So, if you’re thinking of applying, you don't need a First degree to join. You've obviously got to be proficient in English and Maths. When you do join, you'll get allocated to personal supervisor for year one and will have a lot of supervisions with them. If you’re struggling in certain things, like statistics or maths or how to reference, you’ll have personal supervisions and access to online resources as well.
Then in year two you’ll have another supervisor, who will be there while you're doing your thesis research. They can always refer you to different departments if there's some specialist support you need. Or we can also signpost you to other areas of policing as well. We have a great network of contacts that will always support you, and that carries on throughout the two years and after you've left.
We're also really keen to encourage our graduates to publish in academic journals. It's not just a case of you graduate and it's over. There's always that support afterwards.
What are your thoughts about the future of the programme?
I think this programme needs to be constantly evolving, because policing is constantly evolving, isn't it? Society, culture, the problems we face, all these are constantly evolving.
I think how we use AI ethically in policing is a huge area for research. We need to think about how we experiment with AI in policing and ethics. How do we address some of the real difficult cultural issues that the country is facing now? What innovations work? What doesn't work?
I think the programme is constantly looking and developing itself, to ensure that we encourage our students to research these really difficult and challenging topics, to come up with better ways of policing in the future.