Research Profile
Dr Amanda Robinson
Career Profile
After completing my postgraduate training at Michigan State University in 2001 (a PhD in Interdisciplinary Social Science with concentrations in criminology, sociology, and industrial/organisational psychology), I moved to Cardiff and am now a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Cardiff University.
My research generally includes a strong policy focus, and funded research I have recently completed has made a significant policy impact. For example, I have been part of a collaborative team that evaluated the first seven specialist domestic violence courts in the UK. This research featured prominently in the Government’s first National Domestic Violence Plan in 2005 and its commitment to fund additional courts nationwide. Additionally, my research into providing advocacy to victims of domestic and sexual violence (e.g., IDVAs and ISVAs) has provided key evidence to government. I also conducted the first research into Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACs), which were developed in Cardiff in 2003 to respond to the needs of very high-risk victims and their children. Recognising the ability of MARACs to deliver improved safety for victims, the government’s recent Action Plan for Tackling Violence supports full coverage of these initiatives across England and Wales by 2011.
Teaching Profile
Areas of teaching:
Year 1: Introduction to Social Science Research;
Year 2: Responses to Crime;
Year 2: Offending and Victimisation;
Year 2: Social Research Methods;
Year 3: Crime Control, Regulation and Policing (Convenor);
Year 3: Criminological Practice;
Year 3: Dissertation;
MSc: Police and Policing (Convenor);
MSc: Sentencing and Penal Theory;
MSc: Theories of Crime and Criminal Behaviour;
MSc: Patterns of Crime and Their Explanation;
RGS: Intermediate Quantitative Analysis Using SPSS (Social Sciences).