Our student coordinators play a vital role in ensuring that SIPR activities are student-led where possible and supporting our mission to nurture the next generation of policing researchers. Our student coordinators work closely with the SIPR leadership Team to shape the future of the student network through engagement with the postgraduate community and the development of key postgraduate activities.
Esme O’Donnell – PhD Candidate, Edinburgh Napier University.
Hello! I am a PhD student at Edinburgh Napier University, having started in October 2022. My doctoral research explores pandemic policing, focusing on how frontline officers and the public percieve the police’s role in implementing the COVID-19 Public Health Regulations across 3 case-study sites in Scotland. I am particularly interested in how local context shapes people’s experiences and perceptions of policing, as well as the implications these dynamics have for police legitimacy.
Previously, I have worked on projects exploring experiences of imprisonment and issues related to gender and sexuality. Moving forward, I am eager to develop projects at the intersection of Policing Studies and Queer Theory, as well as into officer mental health.
As SIPR’s Postgraduate Co-Ordinator, I am passionate about fostering a stronger sense of community among my fellow PGRs, and creating opportunities for skill-building and networking.
Nesha Dixon is a psychology PhD student at Abertay University where her research focuses on developing an evidence-based structured professional judgement risk assessment tool for missing person investigations. Prior to her PhD, Nesha worked for Thames Valley Police as a Criminal Researcher and Intelligence Development Officer in the area of modern slavery, exploitation and human trafficking, where there was a significant overlap with missing persons. In her recent internship with the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ), Nesha also completed a scoping review to understand child criminal exploitation in Scotland, commissioned by CYCJ, Action for Children and the Scottish Government. Nesha is passionate about undertaking research that will have a valuable impact on society and can inform evidence-based policing practices.
Juraj has expertise in clinical and criminal mental health, medical research, risk assessment and therapy among others. Externally, Juraj has also developed a pioneering online interactive curriculum for the education of university students who are affected by the war in Ukraine and published an article in a military psychology conference on the subject.
