Amy Roberts

Dr. Amy Roberts is a Lecturer in Forensic Psychology at the University of Chester, affiliated with the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Society. She holds a Ph.D. and MSc in Forensic Psychology from the University of Central Lancashire, and a BSc in Social Psychology from Loughborough University. Previously, she served as a Research Associate at the University of Manchester before joining Chester in 2021.

Education:

• BSc Social Psychology, Loughborough University
• MSc Forensic Psychology, University of Central Lancashire
• Ph.D. Forensic Psychology, University of Central Lancashire

Research Focus: Dr. Roberts specializes in supporting individuals transitioning from prison into communities, particularly addressing health, social, and mental healthcare needs. Her work explores adverse childhood experiences and their links to child sexual exploitation risk factors. She has conducted nationally significant surveys on local authority provision of social care for ex-prisoners and contributed to policy evaluations under the 2014 Care Act.

Teaching: She oversees the Level 6 module 'Applications in Forensic Psychology: Specialist Approaches' and teaches courses like 'Detection, Detention, Treatment and Trial' and 'Research Methods and Skills'. She supervises undergraduate and postgraduate dissertation students.

Research Outputs: Her publications (2021–2024) focus on systemic gaps in social care provision for ex-prisoners, commissioning models for home care, and dementia care coordination. Key themes include interagency collaboration challenges, policy implementation barriers, and vulnerable population service needs.

Future Work: Ongoing projects emphasize strengthening data collection mechanisms for prisoner social care needs and exploring technology-driven solutions for release planning.