Philip Birch

Professor Philip Birch is a distinguished academic in Criminology at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Faculty of Design & Society, School of International Studies & Education. With over 15 years of academic experience across British, American, and Australian university systems, he has established himself as a leading expert in policing, community safety, and criminal justice. His extensive practical background in criminology, including roles as a Specialist Crime Team Manager, Community Safety Research Manager, and Through Care Worker in UK correctional facilities, informs his applied research approach.

Professor Birch's educational background includes a BSocSci. (Hons) in Social Policy (Crime & Justice) from the University of Manchester, multiple postgraduate qualifications from the Open University (including an MSc. in Social & Criminological Research Methods), a Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education Practice from the University of Huddersfield, and a PhD in Criminology from the University of New South Wales. He also holds a Fellowship with the Higher Education Academy.

His research centers on six key areas: Police & Policing; Community Safety & Crime Prevention; Prisons, Probation & Parole Policy & Practice; Assessment, Treatment & Management of Offenders; Gender & sexuality inclusive Domestic and Family Violence; and Sex Work, Sex Workers and Procurement. His work emphasizes the practical application of criminological research to real-world justice issues, with strong industry engagement across law enforcement and correctional services.

Recent publications reveal a clear trend toward police mental health, aging in policing, hate crime identification, trauma-informed policing approaches, and digital community safety initiatives. His research employs diverse methodologies including qualitative case studies, Delphi methods, rapid evidence assessments, and comparative analyses across multiple jurisdictions.

• Teaching award (2019) from Australian College of Educators for outstanding contribution to education
• Literati Award (2019) for published work
• Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy

Professor Birch has supervised numerous Honours, Masters by Coursework, Masters by Research and PhD students in Criminology, Criminal Justice and Policing, with several completions to date. He has secured over $1.3 million in research funding, including an ARC Linkage grant, and has acted as an external assessor for domestic and international funding bodies. His research projects address critical issues in criminology and policing, often with direct policy implications.

He established the Crime & Security Science (CaSS) Research Group at UTS in 2022, a cross-faculty initiative connecting academia with industry to advance evidence-based criminology, criminal justice, policing, and community safety research. This group serves as a hub for collaborative projects addressing contemporary security challenges through translational research.