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My interest in criminology developed while volunteering in a women’s prison, where conversations with women about their experiences of harm, trauma and criminal justice. Today, my work focuses on vulnerability, trauma-informed practice, restorative approaches, social harm and criminal justice policy, with a particular focus on imprisonment and community-based responses to harm.
Alongside my academic work, I collaborate with criminal justice organisations, charities and community partners to support research-informed policy and practice development. Partners include disability charities, victim support charities, the NHS, and local council.
I teach across undergraduate and postgraduate criminology and social science programmes at the University of Gloucestershire.
My teaching combines criminological theory, contemporary policy debates and applied practice perspectives, with particular interests in:
I supervise undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations and enjoy supporting students to develop independent research projects that address contemporary social and criminal justice issues.
I welcome enquiries from prospective doctoral researchers whose interests align with my areas of expertise:
I am particularly interested in collaborative doctoral research developed in partnership with community organisations, criminal justice agencies, public services and people with lived experience. I currently supervise a doctoral project exploring gender and workplace sexual harassment in Pakistan through qualitative interviews and policy analysis, and a second doctoral project evaluating the effectiveness of Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs) in delivering trauma-informed support to victim-survivors of domestic abuse in England.
A central concern of my work is understanding how systems, policies and institutions shape experiences of vulnerability and how more equitable responses can be developed.
Restorative Justice and Restorative Practice
I am co-investigator on an international research partnership examining how restorative justice becomes embedded within criminal justice systems. Working with partners across Finland, the Netherlands, Estonia, Ireland and the United Kingdom, this project developed a framework, which helps explain how restorative justice becomes embedded within prison and probation settings.
Current work focuses on identifying and sharing evidence about what enables, sustains and constrains restorative justice provision across different jurisdictions. The project aims to support policymakers, practitioners and organisations seeking to strengthen restorative approaches within criminal justice systems and community settings.
Trauma-Informed Practice
I currently lead an internally funded research project examining trauma-informed service design and delivery in the UK and internationally. The project combines a review of international research and evidence on trauma-informed practice with partnership work alongside community organisations seeking to embed trauma-informed principles into their policies, procedures and services.
I am particularly interested in how trauma-informed approaches are understood, implemented and evaluated across criminal justice, community and public service settings.
Women, Imprisonment and Social Harm
My doctoral research provided the first in-depth examination of Spice-related harms in women’s prisons in England and Wales. Drawing on policy analysis and qualitative interviews with women who had experienced imprisonment and practitioners working across the criminal justice system, I explored how drug-related harms emerge within wider social, organisational and policy contexts. I developed an original framework for understanding how vulnerabilities to harm emerge through the interaction of individual, social, institutional and policy factors. This work highlighted the limitations of punitive approaches to substance use and demonstrated the importance of trauma-informed, gender-sensitive and context-responsive interventions.
Publications from Dr Niki White can be found in the Research Repository.
I am available for media commentary, public engagement activities and collaborative projects relating to:
