Biography

I am a part-time lecturer in criminology at Edinburgh Napier University.

I received a BA (hons) in sociology and social policy from the University of Edinburgh in 2006, where I received the James Carruthers Memorial prize for best social policy dissertation. I continued onto the MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Edinburgh, where her dissertation examined the history of rehabilitation in Scottish prisons. I was awarded a PhD in 2012 from the Law School at the University of Edinburgh; my thesis examined the effects of devolution on Scottish criminal justice, drawing on theoretical frameworks from social and political sciences and interviews from criminal justice policymakers and practitioners.

Following her PhD, I worked as a research assistant at the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (University of Glasgow) until I began my lectureship at Edinburgh Napier University in December 2012. In 2014 I completed the PgCert in Teaching and Learning at Edinburgh Napier University.

I was on secondment to the Scottish Prison Service for two years from 2016 – 2018 where I worked on prison officer learning and development and curriculum design. I continue to work on prison officer training in various capacities in academia and practice.
I am a passionate advocate for penal reform and in that capacity also sit as a Board member and Secretary for Howard League Scotland.