The cluster works closely with the Socio-legal cluster but also covers doctrinal research into crime. The members of the cluster have disparate areas of interest including sex offences, domestic violence, homicide, drugs policy, driving offences and the work of the International Criminal Court. Several of the members conduct research which is interdisciplinary in nature.
Current research
Steven Cammiss conducts theoretically informed empirical research into the criminal justice process, with a particular emphasis upon courtroom processes. He has recently completed two research projects. The first was an empirical examination of roads policing enforcement practices (with Professor Sally Kyd). The second, an interdisciplinary ethnography of the trial of the Stansted 15 (direct-action protestors who stopped the departure of a chartered deportation flight). Building up this, Steven is currently, with others, working on a project that, inter alia, examines the trials of direct-action protestors.
Dr Steven Cammiss staff profile
Daniel Bansal's primary research interests lie in criminal law, theory and doctrine. Dan is currently researching the relationship between causation and culpability in criminal law. This research builds on his PhD, which examined the conceptual and normative structure of the causation doctrines in English criminal law. He is also interested in more general issues of criminalisation, offence definition, and offence classification.
Dr Daniel Bansal staff profile
Mandy Burton is engaged in research aiming to improve legal responses to domestic abuse in the UK. Her most recent work has focused on improving the process and outcomes in child arrangement cases where there are allegations of domestic abuse. However, she has a particular interest in how lessons from the criminal justice system can inform reforms in family justice (for example implementing special measures and preventing abusive cross examination).
Prof. Mandy Burton staff profile
Marianne Doherty's research is concerned with connections between education, rehabilitation and desistance from crime. Her recent PhD research examined experiences of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program™ in three English prisons. She advocates for inclusive and well-run prison-university partnerships, supporting the view that they have a valuable role within prison education, namely the potential to support rehabilitation and desistance strategies. She is in the process of publishing from her thesis and her current paper focuses on the role of gender, race and nationality in conducting prison research.
Dr Marianne Doherty staff profile
Sally Kyd’s main specialism is in homicide and road traffic offences, with a sub-specialism in the overlap of those two fields. Her most recent project, with Dr Steven Cammiss, explored the enforcement of endangerment offences such as careless and dangerous driving and identified best practice in roads policing. The main findings include: Endangerment offences are prosecuted in the absence of harm, but there are inconsistent approaches to this; The acceptance of third-party footage from members of the public has the potential to develop into a ‘neighbourhood watch’ of the roads; Some forces have developed effective ways of enforcing offences on a limited budget, such as Operation Close Pass and Operation Zig Zag.
Prof. Saly Kyd staff profile
Charlotte Walsh’s research is focused upon drug policy, approached from a liberal, human rights informed perspective. More specifically, she is interested in the conflict between the prohibitive drug laws and the rights to freedom of religion, to cognitive liberty, to autonomy, with a particular focus on the plant medicines, such as ayahuasca. Her most recent piece of research analysed relevant court cases in this realm and developed her thinking about what a more progressive system might look like.
Dr Charlotte Walsh staff profile
PhD research topics in criminal law
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