Jessica Woodhams

Professor Jessica Woodhams is a chartered psychologist and HCPC-registered forensic psychologist at the University of Birmingham's School of Psychology, where she serves as Head of Research. She specializes in policing strategies, sexual offending, and crime linkage analysis, co-producing research with international practitioners. Her leadership roles include founding the C-LINK network, co-directing the Centre for Crime, Justice and Policing, and leading work streams on transnational crime. She holds a PhD from the University of Leicester, an MSc from Kent, and a BSc from Southampton.

Her research focuses on informing police decision-making through crime linkage methodologies, evaluating interventions, and addressing the wellbeing of criminal justice professionals. She has secured over £5 million in grants, including a £1.74M project on internet-facilitated child sexual offending. Her work emphasizes collaboration with agencies like the Home Office, National Crime Agency, and international police forces.

Recent publications explore secondary traumatic stress in analytical roles, face recognition neuroscience, and pandemic impacts on sex offenses. She advises on high-profile cases and develops AI-driven decision tools for law enforcement. Supervising over 100 students, her mentorship spans PhD candidates, ForenPsyD/ClinPsyD trainees, and MSc students.