Homicide Research Group
The Homicide Research group is focused on homicide prevention with an emphasis on risk and threat escalation, and understanding the behavioural patterns of perpetrators and their victims.
Our research has had a significant practical impact, nationally and internationally, and we take an applied approach.
Our recent work in domestic homicide and domestic abuse related suicide has utilised the idea of temporal sequencing, an approach that develops timelines that track potential escalating threat and risk. Domestic homicide, especially involving intimate partners, is one of the most common forms of homicide globally.
Our work involves a portfolio of different activities:
(i) Research including PhD supervision
(ii) Training police and other professionals including Judges, Lawyers, Social Workers, Probation Officers and IDVAs in risk and threat escalation
(iii) Consultancy – we work with police and other specialists advising on current high risk cases and cold cases, and reviews into homicide and suicide; and with families bereaved through homicide and suicide
(iv) Development of practical tools for professional use.
A selection of current projects include:
- Home Office funded research for development of tools to track risk and threat in cases of homicide, DA suicide, and Honour Killing
- Home Office funded research to examine the characteristics and interventions in so-called near-miss cases.
- A study on the barriers to identifying a suspicious death for professionals
- Investigating investigations: A critical evaluation of the England and Wales Domestic Homicide Review Process
- Making training films for police
- PhD research looking at patterns of behaviour in cases of stalking that may indicate heightened risk of homicide
- PhD research looking at victim voices in Domestic Homicide Reviews
- PhD research looking at defences in cases of homicide
- PhD research looking at the way domestic homicide is reported with a focus on the journalists code of conduct for reporting domestic homicide
- PhD research looking at Police Interviewing of vulnerable suspects in homicide investigations.
We have strong working relationships with many agencies and others, here in the UK and internationally. We also support and run campaigns to improve practice and awareness in cases of serious harm and homicide with some good working relationships with investigative journalists.
Project lead, Professor Jane Monckton Smith
Additional project staff: Dr Daniel Ash, Dr Grace Boughton, Jen Holmes
Doctoral researchers: Stuart Webb, Sue Haile, Erica Matthews, Lucy Gould
This research forms part of the Society and Learning research priority area.
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