Dr Jeane Gerard
I am a lecturer in Criminology, and I joined the School of Social Sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Westminster University in 2019.
Originally from Belgium, I graduated from the University of Liege (Belgium) with a BSc in Psychology and an MSc in Clinical Psychology. I then went to the University of Liverpool to complete a MSc in Investigative Psychology, working on various topics such as school shooting, geographical profiling, counter-terrorism policies and homicide in the Czech Republic. I then completed her PhD thesis at the University of Nottingham on juvenile homicide, for which I received the Richard Block Award for outstanding thesis from the Homicide Research Working Group. Additionally, I held a research assistantship and teaching assistantship at the University of Nottingham (2010-2014), and a research fellowship at the Centre for Advances in Behavioural Science in Coventry University (2014-2019), where I also gave a range of guest lectures and supervised MSc students in Forensic Psychology.
I have been involved in a number of research projects and worked as a research assistant in large international studies, which have led to high quality outputs (publications and presentations and further opportunities). This includes leading a strand of the multi-disciplinary, multi-agency, EU-funded ‘Examination of Firearms and Forensics in Europe and aCross Territories’ (EFFECT).
I have used both quantitative and qualitative research methods and I have experience of preparing research-funding bids and responding to tenders. My work has been published in a number of high-quality international journals (see publications).
My research interests mainly focus on criminal behaviour, violent crime and homicide, terrorism, gun crime, police investigations and offender profiling. My work is situated in Forensic/Criminal Psychology, Criminology and Investigative Psychology.
I’m currently working on several projects such as a collaboration with the police looking at gang-related homicide and county lines but also looking at the challenges experienced by homicide offenders upon their release from prison.
I would welcome enquires from prospective students who would be interested in doing a PhD on a topic of mutual interest.