معرفی
Dr. Laura Bainbridge is an Associate Professor in Criminal Justice at the University of Leeds' School of Law within the Faculty of Social Sciences. She joined the School of Law in January 2020 after holding an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship at the London School of Economics and Political Science. As Co-Director of the Centre for Criminal Justice Studies (2025-2028), she plays a significant leadership role in advancing criminal justice research at the university.
Dr. Bainbridge earned her PhD in Social Policy from the University of York in 2017, along with an MA in Social Policy and a BA (Hons) in Politics. She is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice.
Her research is empirically grounded, interdisciplinary, and impact-focused, specializing in violence reduction, criminal exploitation, vulnerability, police governance, and the policy process. Internationally recognized for her work on 'cuckooing' victimisation and enforced alcohol abstinence ('sobriety tagging'), she founded and chairs multi-level, multi-agency networks on these topics. Her research outputs often take innovative practitioner-oriented forms including professional toolkits, risk assessment tools, virtual reality games, animations, podcasts, and short films.
Dr. Bainbridge currently leads three externally funded projects: Project AL-V: Rethinking The 'Alpha Victim', Preventing and Disrupting Cuckooing Victimisation, and The Wearability of SCRAM Continuous Alcohol Monitoring (CAM). She is also a Co-Investigator and the ECR Champion for the Vulnerability and Policing Futures Research Centre. Her recent work has influenced policy development, including contributing to legislation making child exploitation and cuckooing criminal offenses.
- Research Impact & Engagement Award (Emerging Policy Impact category)
As an experienced educator since 2013, Dr. Bainbridge delivers research-led teaching on undergraduate and postgraduate programs including the BA Criminal Justice and Criminology, MSc Criminal Justice and Criminology, and LLM Criminal Justice and Criminal Law. She co-supervises three doctoral researchers and serves as an external examiner for Queen Mary University of London. Her methodological expertise is shared through her role as a Qualitative Methods Ambassador for the University of Leeds Social Research Methods Centre.
Dr. Bainbridge actively contributes to strategic research development as a member of the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Partnership's Research Advisory Group and the ESRC Peer Review College. She regularly briefs government ministers and senior civil servants, produces policy briefings, and lobbies Parliament for new legislation to safeguard victims of crime.
