Project details
Within policing there is a drive to understand who the ‘riskiest’ or ‘most harmful’ suspects are, to prioritise limited policing resources and to ensure police are maximising their opportunities to safeguard victims and the wider public. While there is a strong appetite in policing currently to use concepts like, threat, risk, and harm to drive forward operational actions, these concepts are often poorly understood and articulated, used inconsistently, and used to describe different psychological concepts in different circumstances without recognition of these differences. Further, their application in tools, assessments, and judgements often do not often have a strong evidence base which underpin them. The purpose of the PhD, therefore, is to explore the psychology of concepts threat, risk, and harm, and to understand how they are used within policing.
There is scope for the appointed student to select specific aspects of the topic that are of most interest to them. They may cover research questions like:
- What are the underpinning psychological mechanisms of concepts like threat, risk, and harm, and how are they operationalised within a policing context? Are these operationalisations fit for purpose and reflective of the underpinning psychological concepts?
- How are these concepts currently measured, and can the evidence base which is largely reliant on convicted populations be attributed to non-convicted perpetrators? What are the differences are between these populations?
- What are the current ways in which these concepts are used within policing, e.g. the development of policing risk assessment structured tools? Are these concepts being used on a case-by-case basis or through the use of ‘big data’ to make large scale decisions about suspects (e.g. ranking suspect ‘harm’ through an algorithmic tool)? Have these tools been appropriately applied and evaluated, and considered within existing ethical and legal frameworks relevant to policing?
Crucially, the PhD should consider how the realities of policing enable, or prohibit, officers from conducting assessments of suspect threat, risk, and harm equitably, ensuring that these principles are used fairly and do not reinforce bias e.g. may be seen in the general collection of police data, or create misinformation leading to inappropriate policing decision making.
The student who undertakes this PhD must be eligible for UK policing security clearance.
View the full project description (pdf 187kb)
The closing date for applications is 31 May 2024.
Supervisors
Professor Miranda Horvath (University of Suffolk)
Dr Mark Manning (University of Suffolk)
Funding
A fully-funded Studentship includes a maintenance grant of £18,622 per year to contribute towards living expenses during the course of your research, as well as a fee waiver for 36 months. Associated costs, such as for fieldwork and conference attendance, will also be met under the Studentship.
Academic support
The Research Development Programme, developed by the Doctoral College in line with the Researcher Development Framework (Vitae).An added benefit is the opportunity to meet researchers from other academic schools at BU through the activities of the Doctoral College and benefit from their experiences, skills, and perspectives.
Full entry requirements
The BU PhD and MRes Studentships are open to UK, EU and International students.
Candidates for a PhD Studentship should demonstrate outstanding qualities and be motivated to complete a PhD in 4 years and must demonstrate:
- Outstanding academic potential as measured normally by either a 1st class honours degree (or equivalent Grade Point Average (GPA) or a Master’s degree with distinction or equivalent
- An IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 minimum (with a minimum 6.0 in each component, or equivalent) for candidates for whom English is not their first language and this must be evidenced at point of application.
In addition to satisfying minimum entry criteria, BU will look closely at the qualities, skills and background of each candidate and what they can bring to their chosen research project in order to ensure successful completion.
Applicants will be asked to submit an online application form and a proposal (approximately 1500 words) outlining their understanding of the project for which they are applying, the approach they would envisage taking and what qualities they will bring to the research community.
Please note:
- current BU Doctoral students are not eligible to apply for a Studentship
- current MRes/MPhil students can apply, subject to satisfactory completion of their Research Degree prior to being able to take up the award
- PhD Studentships cannot be used to support BU staff to complete doctoral programmes.
International entry requirements
If English is not your first language, you will need to provide evidence that you can understand English to a satisfactory level. English language requirements for this course are normally:
IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 (with a minimum 6.0 in each component) or equivalent.
View further information about our English language requirements.
A number of pre-sessional English and preparatory programmes are offered through our partner institution, Bournemouth University International College, and will get you ready for study at BU at the appropriate level.
You can also find further details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our postgraduate entry requirements page.
How to apply
Click the green ‘Apply now’ button at the top of the page and complete the online application form. You can find further guidance about applying for a postgraduate research degree in our Postgraduate Research section.
The closing date for applications 31 May 2024.
Careers
A research degree can open new career opportunities in commercial research and development, consultancy, or could lead you to starting your own business. You may alternatively consider a career in academia. You may wish to undertake research to contribute to your knowledge of a specialist subject, or develop your employability by enhancing your skills in project management and analysis.
