Dr Jude Towers

Profile

Biography

I am a Senior Lecturer in Policing. Since completing my PhD (Economic Inequality and Intimate Partner Violence against Women) in 2013, I have worked as a Senior Research Associate (Lancaster University), a Lecturer in Sociology (Lancaster University) and a Senior Lecturer in Policing (LJMU), before taking up a Senior Lectureship at Edge Hill in 2022. 

My research focuses on the construction and use of data, including concepts, definitions and measurement, with a series of projects and publications focusing on violence, human trafficking and mental health. These works aim to explicate the importance of understanding the construction and use of knowledge about the social world, including implicit and explicit conceptualisations, definitions, and regimes of measurement, to aid our understanding of social phenomenon and the related production and impact of academic research on policy and practice. 

I am currently working on a project with an English police force researching the development and evolution of an out of court disposal scheme designed to divert those whose criminal offending is linked to their mental health diagnosis, away from the criminal justice system and into support services via a multiagency mental health diversion and advisory panel. 

This speaks to my passion for all things knowledge exchange – taking knowledge produced in the academy and enabling it to be utilised in strategic and operational ways, in policy and in practice. Aligned with that, listening to the needs of those embedded in policy and practice arenas who need the support of academic research to help evolve their own work. Knowledge exchange these days takes a variety of forms from CPD to Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, from contract research and evaluation work to consultation and facilities hire. My passion for and expertise in knowledge exchange has been developed over many years both in and outside of academia; with projects funded by the European Parliament, the EU Anti-Trafficing Coordinators Officer, charities, and as the Training and Learning strand lead for the N8 Policing Research Partnership (2015-2020) and CI on the UKRI-funded Violence, Abuse and Mental Health Network (2019-2023). 

I also currently supervisors two PGRs who are investigating policing problems (domestic abuse; and big data crime detection). I have two completions (Dr Jessica Phoenix (measuring domestic violence using police data and Dr Elouise Davies measuring domestic violence using the CSEW). 

I am an External Examiner for the BSc Professional Policing degree at UCL.

Jude currently supervisors two PGRs who are investigating policing problems (domestic abuse and big data crime detection). She has two completions (Dr Jessica Phoenix (measuring domestic violence using police data and Dr Elouise Davies measuring domestic violence using the CSEW). 

Jude is an External Examiner for the BSc Professional Policing degree at UCL. 

 

Research Interests

• Pedagogy of and for policing research
• Construction and use of knowledge (data)
• Construction of knowledge creators 
• Measurement of social phenomena
• Concepts and challenges of justice (especially from policing perspectives)
• VAWGs.

Teaching

Current Teaching

• LAW4016 Dissertation 
• LAW4021 Advanced Research Methods
• PLN3002 Police Research Report (BSc Professional Policing)
• PLN2006 Doing Police Research  (BSc Professional Policing)
• PLN1003 Criminal Justice (BSc Professional Policing)
• PLN1013 Skills for Professional Policing

Previous Teaching Experience

• Teaching and Learning Lead – Liverpool Centre for Advanced Policing Studies (LJMU)
• School of Justice Studies Teaching and Learning Coordinator (LJMU)
• APSS Faculty Education Committee (LJMU)
• Programme Lead MSc, BSc and BSHF in Policing and Cybercrime (LJMU)
• Module Lead Dissertation (PGT)
• Module Lead Advanced Research Skills (PGT)
• Module Lead Dissertation (UG)
• Module Lead Advanced Social Research Skills (UG)
• Module Lead EBP Project (UG) 
• Module Tutor Introduction to Criminology for Policing (UG)
• Module lead Violence and Society (UG)
• Module Lead Gender and Violence (PGT)
• Module Lead Making Research Count (PGT)
• External Advisor BSc Professional Policing University of Hull (2020)
• External Validator MSc Criminal Intelligence Analysis UCLAN (2018)