Rach Strzelecki started her career as a crime and intelligence analyst for Cleveland Police working on several major investigations including human trafficking, vulnerable missing persons, drugs, and suspicious deaths. In 2006, she started guest lecturing for Teesside University in crime analytics, intelligence, and forensic investigation before securing a permanent role as a lecturer in policing. Rach has also worked at University of Wolverhampton, Interactive Pro, and more recently Buckinghamshire College Group as an advanced practitioner leading on protective services and forensic and criminal investigation programmes. Her research has predominantly related to sexual offences and paedophilia; however, her publications have been within the field of terrorism, police and forensic investigations and online teaching and learning.
Sam began her career working for Cleveland Police, before training in Crime Scene Examination and Serious and Organised Crime. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Investigative Studies, an MSc in Criminal Investigation and a PGCE in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education.
Sam has been lecturing in HE for 18 years, teaching on a range of specialist learning and development programmes in partnership with law enforcement agencies, in addition to teaching traditional undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. She is also an external examiner for policing provision at Northumbria University and Salford University, working alongside Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and Northumbria Police.
She was the programme leader of the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) with Cleveland Police and Teesside University and module leader for a number of investigative and policing modules as well as leading the Legal and Forensic Medicine professional course for Mitie. This has led to Sam becoming a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Programme Team Leader for Investigation, Security and Defence at Arden University.
As a member of the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group (iIIRG), Sam is an active researcher, her work primarily focusing upon fingerprint forgery and fraud, police interviewing practices, police direct entry and the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Complex PTSD in uniformed roles, looking at hidden signs of PTSD and the impact upon families and relationships.
Penny Standen is a lecturer with Arden University. Prior to working at Arden, she worked in a wide variety of forensic roles after graduating from the University of Dundee in 2009 in Forensic Anthropology (BSc Hons.). She has worked internationally with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, as well as working domestically within the DNA team at Eurofins forensics and has over 6 years’ experience as a Crime Scene Investigator with the police. Penny also studied part-time to complete her Masters in Forensic Investigation graduating in 2019.
Rita joined Arden University as a lecturer in the School of Investigation, Security and Defence in March 2023. Prior to this, she worked for fifteen years as a crime scene investigator within the police service, and two years as a forensic specialist. She trained CSIs and police officers in forensics and managed quality and accreditation for internal departments and external agencies.
Rita gained a degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) and holds the Durham University Diploma in Crime Scene Examination. She also studied at the Maastricht Centre for Transatlantic Studies (MCTS) at Teikyo University in the Netherlands. After gaining a PGCE from Huddersfield University she moved into lecturing on the BSc Forensic and Criminal Investigation degree at Arden.