IoP-hero

Meet the team

With more than 200 combined years of operational policing, academic and professional experience, our team brings a wealth of operational skills, academic expertise, and training knowledge. As demand for our services increases, we continue to grow our team, recruiting exceptional domestic and international talent.

Specialisms within the IoP include leadership, inclusion, counter terrorism and disaster management.

Senior leaders

Our senior leaders are responsible for the strategic direction of the IoP. They manage relationships with our partners and oversee the day-to-day running of the team.

Dr Nicholas Howe

Director Of Institute Of Policing

As Director of the Institute of Policing Nick oversees the development of the Institute as a centre of excellence for police education and training, research and innovation.

Nicholas's profile

Dr Rizwan Mustafa

Regional Course Director

Dr Rizwan Mustafa is the Regional Course Director in the Institute of Policing at Staffordshire University. He is also a specialist consultant to the Countering Violent Extremism in the Commonwealth.

Rizwan's profile

James Holyoak

Senior Lecturer

After a full career in policing, Jim has used his leadership and experience to develop higher education within the Policing sector. He is actively involved in police related research and further developing learning in respect of policing leadership.

James's profile

Victoria Bell

Senior Lecturer

Victoria is a policing lecturer and criminologist. She is currently completing her Doctorate in police education following the introduction of the PEQF. She is the module leader for Crime and Society, and Evidence-Based Policing Research Project.

Victoria's profile

Clare Briscoe

Business, Planning & Resources Manager

Clare is a Lecturer on the Police Constable Apprenticeship and Degree Holder Entry Programme. Her areas of interest include Community Policing, Police Communications, Leadership and Development and Continuous Professional Development within Policing

Clare's profile

Adam Greenslade

Senior Lecturer

Adam is the DHEP and DC DHEP Course Leader for West Midlands Police. His background includes specialist roles in the Met and GMP, including detective service, specialist operations, response and roads policing leadership and investigation.

Adam's profile

Dr John Lamb

Senior Lecturer

John's research expertise focuses on areas including counter terrorism, radicalization, intelligence services and use of force by state officials. His PhD examined policing, national security and the implementation of PREVENT in the West Midlands.

John's profile

Marie Leeland

Senior Lecturer

Marie is a lecturer, who previously served with Leicestershire Police and the College of Policing where she specialised in areas such as disaster management, disaster victim identification, public order, public safety and organisational learning.

Marie's profile

Robert Smallwood

Senior Lecturer

Rob has been a lecturer in higher education since 2017 and is currently our course leader for Staffordshire Police, having served as a police officer with Derbyshire Constabulary from 1983 until 2016.

Robert's profile

Martin Steventon

Regional Course Director

Martin is a Lecturer in Policing within the Institute of Policing. He joined the University in January 2019. Prior to that Martin was a police officer serving for over 30 years with Staffordshire Police. He retired as an Inspector in 2017.

Martin's profile

Stephen Tonks

Senior Lecturer

I am a lecturer within the Institute of Policing and Course Leader for our partnership with West Mercia Police. I currently deliver to students on Police Constable Degree Apprenticeships and Degree Holder Entry Programmes.

Stephen's profile

 

Lecturing team

Our lecturers are responsible for teaching, marking and delivery duties – keeping the student officer success at the heart of our operations.

Scott Banks

Lecturer

Scott is a Lecturer in Policing, and a Module Lead within the Institute of Policing. He brings over a decade of policing experience and seeks to provide students with a real-world context for their academic learning.

Scott's profile

Victoria Bell

Senior Lecturer

Victoria is a policing lecturer and criminologist. She is currently completing her Doctorate in police education following the introduction of the PEQF. She is the module leader for Crime and Society, and Evidence-Based Policing Research Project.

Victoria's profile

Clare Brennan

Lecturer

I am a lecturer within the Institute of Policing and a former police officer with an interest in investigation and vulnerability.

Clare's profile

John De-Hayes

Lecturer

John joined the IoP in February 2022 and teaches students on the PCDA and DHEP courses. He brings a wealth of policing experience to his teaching and continues to keep abreast of industry developments. He is completing a Masters in Education.

John's profile

Adrian Freakley

Lecturer

I am a Lecturer in the Institute of Policing. I'm the module leader for Introduction to Operational Policing within the Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP) and previously taught this module on the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA).

Adrian's profile

Carl Hallbrook

Lecturer

Carl is a lecturer with the Institute of Policing. His main area of interest is in leadership principles in particular leadership within policing. He is interested in the balance between authority through rank and authority through leadership.

Carl's profile

Dr Sunghwan Kim

Lecturer

Dr Kim is a lecturer with a background in both policing and psychology. His research interests include naturalistic decision-making in policing, rapport-based interpersonal techniques in police interviews and criminal intelligence analysis.

Sunghwan's profile

John Maher

Lecturer

John is a lecturer and module leader in the IoP at Staffordshire University. The module he leads on is Introduction to Policing Practice. His main area of interest is police-related legislation.

John's profile

Nicholas Mills

Lecturer

Nick spent his police career as a detective working in homicide and major crime. Nick has led the development of investigation programmes at Staffordshire University and is actively researching higher education with a focus on police decision making.

Nicholas's profile

Sean Paley

Lecturer

I joined West Mercia Police in 1988 and completed 32 years service in 2020.

Sean's profile

Phillip Parkinson

Lecturer

I'm a Lecturer in Policing, with a background as a former police officer.

Phillip's profile

Karen Pirrie

Lecturer

Karen is a lecturer in policing and delivers on the PEQF programme. Her main areas of interest are emergency planning and responding to major incidents, counter terrorism and crime and policing on the railway.

Karen's profile

Sarah Plimley

Lecturer

Sarah is a Lecturer within the IoP, having previously been a member of the Criminology Team. Her background is in working with offenders resettling into the community after custody and field research experience academically and for private companies.

Sarah's profile

Samantha Rasiah

Lecturer

Samantha leads the PCDA Level 6 Coaching & Mentoring module and is completing her Doctorate in Legal Education. Her key research interests are Curriculum Design, Professional Education, and Employability Skills in Law, Policing & Criminal Justice.

Samantha's profile

Peter Reynolds

Lecturer

Peter is a Lecturer in Policing in the Institute of Policing, prior to which he served as a Sergeant with Staffordshire Police, His main areas of expertise are Offender Management including Gangs, Youth Justice & Youth Diversion, & Partnerships.

Peter's profile

Baljeet Sidhu

Lecturer

Baljeet is a lecturer within the Institute of Policing. He served in the police for 30 years, retiring as a Superintendant in West Midlands Police before joining Staffordshire University.

Baljeet's profile

Sacha Smith

Lecturer

Sacha is a Criminologist and Lecturer in the Institute of Policing, delivering on the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA), and the Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP).

Sacha's profile

Michael Spellman

Lecturer

Michael has been a lecturer with the Institute of Policing since March 2019 and specialises in investigation and vulnerability issues. He was previously a Detective Inspector with West Midlands Police. He was a police officer for thirty years.

Michael's profile

Abbeygail Standen

Lecturer

Abbey is a lecturer for the Institute of Policing. Specialising in the more digital areas of criminal investigation, Abbey’s main area of focus centres around digital forensics, digital policing and cyber-crime analysis and investigation.

Abbeygail's profile

Keith Thompson

P/T Lecturer (Hrly) - Iop

Philip Wagg

Lecturer

Phil is a lecturer in the Institute of Policing and Course Leader for the Step Up to Policing programme at Staffordshire University.

Philip's profile

Darren Walsh

Lecturer

I am a lecturer within the Institute of Policing, as well as a module leader for Advanced Policing Practice. I am the module leader for Ethics and Accountability on the MSc in Police Leadership.

Darren's profile

Andrew Whelan

Lecturer

I've been a lecturer within the IoP since 2021. Before this, I served with West Midlands Police for 21 years and briefly worked at Sandwell College delivering Public Services and Criminology. Prior to my police career, I was in the Army for 14 years.

Andrew's profile

Catherine Webb-Jones

Lecturer

Cate is a lecturer with the Institute of Policing, prior to which she served for 30 years with West Midlands Police. She specialised in public protection and was the subject matter expert in the region for stalking crimes and behaviours.

Catherine's profile

Annie Andronov

Lecturer

I joined the IoP in 2022 and bring a wealth of policing experience from a 30 year career in the force and a further 3 years as a police investigative trainer. I'm the module leader for the Evidence Based Research Project and End Point Assessment.

Annie's profile

Phillipa Mckelvie

Lecturer

Phillipa is a lecturer within the Institute of Policing, having joined in July 2022. Prior to this she had a successful career as a Police Officer with Gloucestershire Constabulary.

Phillipa's profile

Carl Hambleton-Ratcliffe

Lecturer

I am a Lecturer within the Institute of Policing within the School of Justice, Security and Sustainability and currently the Lead for the Response, Roads and Community Policing module.

Carl's profile

David Webb

Lecturer

I am a lecturer in Policing within the Institute of Policing at Staffordshire University, having joined in December 2022. I previously worked for Staffordshire Police as an officer for 18 years where I attained the rank of sergeant.

David's profile

Jackie Jones

Lecturer

Jackie is a lecturer and works within the Institute of Policing delivering content to students assigned to PCDA, DHEP and DC DHEP policing programmes within the West Midlands region.

Jackie's profile

 

Researchers

Our researchers work within the University’s research centres.

Victoria Bell

Senior Lecturer

Victoria is a policing lecturer and criminologist. She is currently completing her Doctorate in police education following the introduction of the PEQF. She is the module leader for Crime and Society, and Evidence-Based Policing Research Project.

Victoria's profile

Dr Nicholas Howe

Director Of Institute Of Policing

As Director of the Institute of Policing Nick oversees the development of the Institute as a centre of excellence for police education and training, research and innovation.

Nicholas's profile

Dr Sunghwan Kim

Lecturer

Dr Kim is a lecturer with a background in both policing and psychology. His research interests include naturalistic decision-making in policing, rapport-based interpersonal techniques in police interviews and criminal intelligence analysis.

Sunghwan's profile

Dr John Lamb

Senior Lecturer

John's research expertise focuses on areas including counter terrorism, radicalization, intelligence services and use of force by state officials. His PhD examined policing, national security and the implementation of PREVENT in the West Midlands.

John's profile

Dr Rizwan Mustafa

Regional Course Director

Dr Rizwan Mustafa is the Regional Course Director in the Institute of Policing at Staffordshire University. He is also a specialist consultant to the Countering Violent Extremism in the Commonwealth.

Rizwan's profile

Sarah Plimley

Lecturer

Sarah is a Lecturer within the IoP, having previously been a member of the Criminology Team. Her background is in working with offenders resettling into the community after custody and field research experience academically and for private companies.

Sarah's profile

Samantha Rasiah

Lecturer

Samantha leads the PCDA Level 6 Coaching & Mentoring module and is completing her Doctorate in Legal Education. Her key research interests are Curriculum Design, Professional Education, and Employability Skills in Law, Policing & Criminal Justice.

Samantha's profile

Robert Smallwood

Senior Lecturer

Rob has been a lecturer in higher education since 2017 and is currently our course leader for Staffordshire Police, having served as a police officer with Derbyshire Constabulary from 1983 until 2016.

Robert's profile

Abbeygail Standen

Lecturer

Abbey is a lecturer for the Institute of Policing. Specialising in the more digital areas of criminal investigation, Abbey’s main area of focus centres around digital forensics, digital policing and cyber-crime analysis and investigation.

Abbeygail's profile

 

Work Based Education Officers

Our Work Based Education Officers look after the pastoral care needs of our PCDA student officers, conduct their tripartite reviews and provide support to our partners’ apprenticeships teams.

Helen Butters

Work Based Education Officer

Helen is a Work Based Education Officer whose key role is supporting student officers on their PCDA journey. This is achieved by discussing progress at tripartite reviews, organising relevant support and setting achievable targets.

Helen's profile

Saara Byrne

Work Based Education Officer

Saara is a Work Based Education Officer. I currently support Staffordshire Police's PCDA student officers by undertaking learning reviews, as well as a range of activities to ensure evidence meets the relevant standards.

Saara's profile

Samantha Carless

Work Based Education Officer

Sam is a Work Based Education Officer for the Institute of Policing. Her main role is to support the students completing the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship through Tripartite Reviews and any additional pastoral support they may require.

Samantha's profile

Andrew Clowes

Work Based Education Officer

Andy is a Work Based Education Officer for the Institute of Policing. He carries out tripartite reviews with students undertaking the PCDA. These reviews monitor progress over their learning journey and offer support, advice and guidance.

Andrew's profile

Hayley Hallsworth

Work Based Education Officer

As a Work Based Education Officer, Hayley supports the delivery of a new partnership to deliver Police Constable education and training for West Midlands, Staffordshire, West Mercia and Warwickshire police forces.

Hayley's profile

Danielle Johnson

Work-Based Education Officer

Danielle is a Work-Based Education Officer currently supporting Student Police Officers for West Midlands Police on the PCDA programme. Her main role is to support the progression of student officers during their apprenticeship.

Danielle's profile

Caroline Mattock

Work Based Education Officer

Caroline is a Work Based Education Officer, supporting West Midlands Police student officers through their Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship. She ensures they have regular progress reviews and offers additional learning or pastoral support.

Caroline's profile

Reanon Rushton

Work-Based Education Officer

Reanon is a Work Based Education Officer within the Institute of Policing and she joined the University in February 2021.

Reanon's profile

Rebecca Slinger

Senior Work Based Education Officer

I am responsible for the line management and support of the 17 strong team that undertake the role of Work Based Education Officers across our partnered force, I also work alongside the Leadership Team to manage external partner relations.

Rebecca's profile

Sarah Smeilus

Work Based Education Officer

Sarah is a Work Based Education Officer within the Institute of Policing. She works with student officers on the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship across Staffordshire, West Mercia and West Midlands Police, supporting them on their journey.

Sarah's profile

Helen Ibrahim

Work Based Education Officer

I provide personalised support for students enrolled on the PCDA. Key aspects of my role include supporting students in evidencing their knowledge, skills and behaviours and reviewing progress against professional standards.

Helen's profile

Lisa Tien

Work Based Education Officer

As a Work Based Education Officer, Lisa supports West Midlands Police students on the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship programme. She conducts tripartite reviews and offers pastoral support, ensuring successful apprenticeship career journeys.

Lisa's profile

Anna West

Work Based Education Officer

Anna is a Work Based Education Officer within the Institute of Policing. Working with West Mercia Police, she supports those on the PCDA. She provides guidance to student officers, helping them achieve the milestones of their degree apprenticeship.

Anna's profile

Natalie Walker

Work Based Education Officer

Natalie is a Work-Based Education Officer. Her key role is to support PCDA students in completing their apprenticeships. She conducts tripartite reviews to discuss progress, facilitate support and set achievable targets.

Natalie's profile

Sally Challoner

Work Based Education Officer

Sally's profile

 

Learning Technologists

Our learning technologists provide an invaluable service, upskilling our team and student officers’ digital skills while advancing our technological capabilities.

Dr Craig Smith

Online Learning Technologist

Craig is a Learning Technologist in the Institute of Policing. He supports students and academic staff with use of technology to deliver a high-quality learning and teaching experience by providing support, training and technical administration

Craig's profile

Mohammed Imran

Online Learning Technologist

 

Professional support

Our professional support colleagues look after everything from workforce planning and compliance to recruitment and communications.

Dominic Bratt

Resource Planner And Workforce Analyst

Dom is a Questionnaires Administrator who sometimes assists the IoP in areas such as data analysis and colleague support. Dom’s main interests are working with technology, data manipulation and coaching disability football

Dominic's profile

Rebecca Drury

Apprenticeship & Ilr Officer

I joined the Apprenticeships Team just before the first PCDA cohorts started and work on all things compliance to ensure the funding we receive is accurate.

Rebecca's profile

Suzanne Gadsbey

Programme Assistant

Suzanne is the Programme Assistant for the Institute of Policing. She joined in October 2020 and is responsible for supporting our Senior Leadership Team through a multitude of key activities across the Institute.

Suzanne's profile

Philippa Harley

Resource Planner & Workforce Analyst

Philippa leads on the IoP's resource planning and workforce analysis. She was the recipient of the Institute's 'Outstanding Contribution' award in 2021 and was shortlisted for Staffordshire University's ‘Innovation Award’ in 2021.

Philippa's profile

Alison Scattergood

Registry Business Partner

Emma Spencer

Recruitment Development Officer

Emma is a Recruitment Development Officer working with our partner forces to raise awareness of police officer careers and to support student officers through the application stage. She also develops and delivers outreach and recruitment initiatives.

Emma's profile

Sheryl Wheeler

Recruitment Development Officer

Sheryl is a Recruitment Development Officer in the Institute of Policing working with our partner forces to promote careers in policing. Supporting student officers through the application process with a focus on diversity and widening participation.

Sheryl's profile

Kay Woolrich

Apprenticeship Officer

Working within the Apprenticeship Team to ensure the compliant procession of the PCDA programme from application to completion.

Kay's profile

Nicholas Heywood

Administrative Assistant-Planning

Nick is a Planning Administration Assistant and an active Disability, Inclusion and User Experience researcher. His interests include improving experiences of stakeholders, particularly those in underrepresented communities, such as disabled people.

Nicholas's profile

Rebecca Drury

Apprenticeship & Ilr Officer

I joined the Apprenticeships Team just before the first PCDA cohorts started and work on all things compliance to ensure the funding we receive is accurate.

Rebecca's profile

Ella Nicholson

Academic & Student Administrator

Administration of all aspects throughout the students lifecycle - from course enrolment, progression/award boards, course committees, graduations

Ella's profile
in the UK for Quality Education

Sustainable Development Goal 4, Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2023

for Career Prospects

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023

for Facilities

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023

for Social Inclusion

The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023

of Research Impact is ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Very Considerable’

Research Excellence Framework 2021

of Research is “Internationally Excellent” or “World Leading”

Research Excellence Framework 2021

Four Star Rating

QS Star Ratings 2021