Dr. Emma Winlow

Head of School of Criminal Justice

Dr. Emma Winlow obtained her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Criminology and Crime & Justice from the University of Chester and completed her PhD at the University of Gloucestershire. A public criminologist, Emma has extensive leadership and management experience in higher education and is passionate about accessibility, inclusion, and employability in teaching and learning. She established the School of Criminal Justice with these practices in mind. Emma is also a member of the British Society of Criminology and the British Society of Criminology's Teaching and Learning Network.

Samira Hussain

Head of School of Law

Samira is the Head of School of Law at Arden University. Samira has worked in higher education for almost a decade, having previously worked in the private sector and the civil service. Her practical experience has led to a focus on embedding professional skills within the curriculum and on enhancing equality with legal education. 

Samira currently sits on the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee for the Society of Legal Scholars and holds an executive position for the Committee of Heads of University Law Schools.

Dr. Kimberley Marsh

Deputy Head of School - Criminal Justice  

Dr Kimberley Marsh graduated with her PhD from the University of Manchester in 2016, after completing her MRes in Criminology and Socio - Legal Studies (University of Manchester), MSc in Criminology and Criminal Psychology (University of Portsmouth) and BSc Sociology (University of Surrey) . She has gained a wealth of experience in teaching and academic leadership from her initial role as an Associate Lecturer at The University of Manchester to her role as Deputy Head of School at Arden University. In addition, she has carried out government-funded research, looking into improving the life chances of looked after children and care leavers in the UK. Kimberley's research interests focus on attachment, parenting styles, and behavioural responses. 

Harriet Jones 

Deputy Head of School - Law

Harriet is a law academic and former associate head with a focus on access to justice, mediation, and practical legal training. She is an RICS accredited mediator who is hoping to start a PhD on international mediation and access to justice.

Harriet graduated from the University of Hull with a LLB Law (Hons) degree and later went on to achieve a Bar Professional Training Course. Harriet was called to the Bar by the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn in 2012 and continues to be very actively involved with the legal profession. Prior to entering academia, Harriet worked in the voluntary sector as a campaigns officer and as a legal adviser. Now, Harriet is responsible for the management and academic delivery of the LLB Law programmes at Arden University. She is currently working to improve key metrics within the Law programmes to ensure our programme portfolio reflects changes to professional legal education.

Saabirah Osman

Programme Team Lead

Saabirah Osman is a Programme Lead within the School of Criminal Justice. She obtained her BA and MA degrees at Birmingham City University and is currently completing her PhD at Liverpool John Moores University. Her PhD seeks to explore and examine the services provided to UK migrants who are survivors of Sexual Violence. Through this research she hopes to widen accessibility and availability of appropriate support to this population. Saabirah’s research background predominately focuses on sex offenders, specifically on the successful reintegration and management once released into the community. In addition to this Saabirah has published various book chapters that have explored and discussed various issues including: sexual abuse, Intersectional Studies in prisons research and, addiction and online gambling. Prior to pursing her career within academia, Saabirah worked with the Birmingham Youth Offending Services.

Elena Gualco

Senior Lecturer and Programme Team Lead

Dr Elena Gualco is Senior Lecturer in Law and Programme Team Leader in Law at Arden University. 

She previously worked as Senior Lecturer in Law (2021-2022) and Lecturer in Law (2016-2021) at the University of Bedfordshire, where she was also coordinator of the The Refugee Legal Assistance Project (RLAP), and as post-doc teaching and research fellow at the University of Genoa (2015-2016).

Elena’s research interests cover several aspects of European and international law, such as the protection of fundamental rights within the EU and the ECHR, the constitutional foundations of the European Union and EU private international law. More recently, Elena's research has been focusing on migration and asylum law in the UK and within the EU, particularly on the protection and enforcement of asylum seekers and refugees' human rights.

Further to her scientific publications, Elena has been participating into several research projects and regularly attends national and international conferences and events, both as a panellist and as an invited speaker.

Dr. Shannon DeBlasio

Senior Lecturer

Dr Shannon DeBlasio is one of the Senior Lecturers within the School of Criminal Justice at Arden University. She holds a BSc in Psychology (first class) an MSc in Investigative Psychology (with distinction), and a PhD which falls within the practice of Forensic Psychology. Her key research interests are within the experience of crime, namely ‘The Criminal Narrative Experience’, which explores the role that emotions and narratives play during the commission of an offence. In addition, Shannon has spent time researching the impact of individual differences such as personality, psychopathy, and criminal thinking on crime engagement. 
 
Shannon is a keen advocate for evidence-based interventions and works closely with private sector prisons to promote effective practice. Shannon’s research interests are largely influenced by the time she spent working within the custodial setting. Combined, Shannon has over nine years’ experience working with men who have committed violent and sexual crimes. She has undertaken roles such as programmes facilitator, treatment manager, and substance misuse practitioner, which have ultimately shaped her attitude towards offending and rehabilitation. 
 
Aside from her teaching and practitioner experience, Shannon is a Chartered Member of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Shannon is the Co-ordinator for Student Employability and Professional Development (SEPD) within the school and liaises closely with external agencies to develop opportunities during study as well as post-graduation. 

Angela Burns 

Senior Lecturer

Angela joined Arden University in the early part of 2014. She is a Senior Lecturer, Senior Fellow and focuses on distance learning provision. 

Before joining Arden University, Angela was Programme Director of the LLM Professional Legal Practice and Deputy Programme Director on the Legal Practice Course at City University, London. Here she specialised in teaching Business Law, Research, Family Law and Legal Skills and developed the LLM in Professional Legal Practice. Prior to this she taught on the LLB (English Law) in the Caribbean and on the LPC in London (BPP). She has experience as an external examiner and has published articles in a number of areas including Family Law and Law and Literature. She also co-authored the official Law Society book, The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008: A Guide to the New Law. She is a former solicitor and is trained as a collaborative lawyer and duty solicitor accredited.

Dr. Jane Donoghue

Senior Lecturer 

Dr. Jane Donoghue is a senior lecturer in Criminology at Arden University. Her research is multi-disciplinary in nature, with a particular focus on criminal justice policy and practice, both nationally and internationally. Jane has published widely on criminal justice responses to offending and has conducted research on a range of different topics, including virtual courts and sentencing, anti-social behaviour, and youth justice. She currently specialises in the evolution of digital criminal justice praxis, and its consequences and future implications for systems of justice globally.

Rob Hargraves

Senior Lecturer

Rob joined Arden University as a Law Lecturer in November 2020. Before this, he was an Associate Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University where he taught across both the undergraduate and postgraduate law curriculum. Before entering academia, Rob held various senior management roles within business.

Rob holds a first-class honours degree (LLB (Hons)) from the University of Huddersfield and a Masters degree (LLM Res) from Sheffield Hallam University. His LLM Res was an extensive piece of research, that was assessed through a 30,000 thesis and a viva voce. His research examined the development of minimum wage legislation in the United Kingdom. This has since been published as a reference book. 

He is currently undertaking a PhD, examining the therapeutic and anti-therapeutic effects of the law on refugee integration. His legal interests are broad and include the fields of employment law, constitutional law, and therapeutic jurisprudence.

Rob is also a reviewer for the European Journal of Legal Studies and a member of the Society of Legal Scholars and the Association of Law Teachers.

Cristiana Cardoso 

Senior Lecturer

Cristiana Cardoso is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Programme Caretaker at Arden University. She holds a BA (Hons) and an MA in Criminology, a PGCert in Learning and Teaching, a PGCert in Research Practice. Cristiana is a Fellow of the Advance HE and has accrued vast experience in the higher education industry through designing and leading several criminology-related modules and programmes. She also manages various projects and liaises closely with external organisations to develop applied learning opportunities for students during their studies and after they graduate. Her PhD and current research focus on ways to enhance community-based services for people who have a sexual attraction to minors, as well as those who are at risk of and/or have perpetrated sexual abuse against children. Cristiana has also conducted research on public perceptions of people who commit crimes, the assessment of women who committed sexual offences, the role of vehicle repair workshops in car insurance fraud, and evaluated services aimed at reducing the impact of imprisonment and improving reintegration in the community.

Sam Barnes 

Senior Lecturer

Dr Sam Barnes is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology within the School of Criminal Justice. She holds a PhD in criminology from Teesside University and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Sam currently leads the Student Employability and Professional Development (SEPD) within the school and works closely with external agencies to provide students with additional opportunities during their studies. Sam is an ethnographic researcher, which means she immerses herself into different areas and populations to understand the complexity of everyday life and the reasons why so many people are willing to self-harm and risk harm to others. She works within the school of ultra-realist criminology and is particularly interested in understanding why some individuals and groups are willing to self-harm and risk harm to others and their environments in the pursuit of ‘ideal perfection’. To date, her research has focused upon the individual and social harms that emerge from using and supplying counterfeit and illicit drugs in late-capitalism, exploring the nexus between the macro socio-economic structures and the manifestations in the micro-context of day-to-day life. Sam’s current research interests are critical and ultra-realist criminology, drug markets, illicit markets, organised crime, traditional and virtual ethnography, consumer culture, political economy and harm. 

Mark Horsely

Senior Lecturer

Mark Horsley joined Arden University in 2023 as a Senior Lecturer. He is part of the school management team for criminal justice and teaches on the criminology programme at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Mark has conducted research on financial markets, debt-based economies, legal/illegal forms of consumer finance, use of consumer finance for illegal purposes and on a few different aspects of criminological theory. He is the author of The Dark Side of Prosperity, a book about the consequences of mass indebtedness in the aftermath of the 2008/9 financial crisis. In addition to other works on credit and debt, Mark also co-edited Crime, Harm and Consumerism.

Richard Charlton

Lecturer

Richard embarked on his academic journey at Monash University in South Africa, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology (with Honours) and International Studies. His exceptional performance in his Honours Degree and thesis earned him the Certificate of Excellence in 2011. His thesis was a mixed methods research endeavor entitled “Exploring the philosophical values of Ubuntu, as a mechanism of healing and reconciliation, in a Post-Apartheid South African Township”. Richard went on to receive a Graduate Assistantship at Illinois State University, where he completed his Master of Science degree and received the Outstanding Graduate Student Award in 2014. His master’s thesis focused on qualitative research and was titled “Death and Destruction: Insight into the Rhino Poaching Epidemic in South Africa”.

Richard has presented his research findings from his Honours, Masters, and other publications at various international criminology and victimology conferences. After serving as Deputy Director of Research for the Gauteng Department of Community Safety, a government department in South Africa, he is now a Lecturer of Criminology at Arden University. His research interests within criminology include evidence-based research & policing, green criminology, victimology, restorative justice, and crime prevention. Currently, Richard's research interests center around green victimology, wildlife crime, and the illegal wildlife trade.

Nikky Ezerioha 

Lecturer

Nikky joined Arden University in September 2017 as one of the pioneer blended learning law lecturers. She began her teaching career at Staffordshire University.

She is a Barrister (non-practising) and has recently completed a PhD at Staffordshire University. She has particular interest in family law. Her main research interests are in the areas of unregistered Muslim marriages, marriages of convenience, forced marriages, and cohabitation in the UK.

Nikky is also interested in socio-legal research, legal pluralism, multiculturalism and critical race theory.

Saeb El Kasm 

Lecturer

Dr Saeb Kasm is a Lecturer in Criminology at Arden University’s School of Criminal Justice and leads the Academic Personal Tutor (APT) scheme which provides students with active academic support and guidance. His research explores the challenges and possibilities of digital technology as a medium for fighting corruption, upholding human rights, resisting state crime and ‘unmasking the crimes of the powerful.’ 

Prior to Arden, Saeb taught a broad range of criminology courses at Birkbeck, University of London and served as a researcher at the International State Crime Initiative. He also consulted for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna, Austria on issues ranging from corruption and economic crime to counter terrorism.

Saeb holds a PhD in Criminology and Law from Queen Mary, University of London and law degrees from the University of Vienna Law School (LL.M. – Public International Law) in Vienna, Austria and Case Western Law School (J.D. – Juris Doctorate) in Cleveland, Ohio. Saeb earned a degree in Government (B.A. – Bachelor of Arts) with distinction from Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California.

Saeb has also had extensive training in international human rights, conflict resolution, multilateral governance, diplomacy and negotiation at Oxford University and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.

Russell Farmer 

Lecturer

Russell started his career in medicine and scientific research but found a love of law studying at Liverpool John Moores University. This led him to work in several different courts in the areas of civil litigation (specifically housing law), Crown Court, Court of Protection and Public Family law. Upon completing his LLM at Wolverhampton University, where he researched Landlord and Tenant Law, he decided to enter the world of pedagogy. Russell has taught a wide range of subjects including Equity, Land law, Family law, Civil Liberties and Human Rights, EU Law, Tort and Contract law. His research interests include the rights of tenants and the remedies available to them and the deprivation of liberty of children in the public law arena.

Darren Woodward 

Lecturer

Dr Darren Woodward completed his PhD in Criminology in 2018. It was a qualitative research project that examined the community experiences of men who had been convicted of child sex offences. He has worked at The University Centre Grimsby where he was a Programme Leader for criminology, and Coventry University (Scarborough Campus) where he taught on the Professional Policing (pre-join) programme, before joining Arden’s School of Criminal Justice in May 2022. Darren is also an ex-prison officer, having served for just under 17 years. He worked initially at the young offenders institute, HMPYOI Glen Parva in Leicester for 3 years, and spent the remainder of his service at HMP Hull. His current teaching and research interests centre around penology, criminal justice and the use of practitioners who also teach in Higher Education. He is a member of the Prison Research Network, The Pracademic Network, and is a member of the editorial team for the Prison Service Journal.

Poloko Hiri 

Lecturer

A Fellow of the Higher Education Authority; a Barrister (Called to the England and Wales Bar - non practicing). A current PhD researcher in the Law of Evidence, specifically Forensic Expert witness evidence in criminal jury trials, in essence investigating how these experts answer what are strictly legal questions when presenting their evidence, in the process then inappropriately inviting jurors to cede their decision-making prerogative. Has a particular interest in research that is predicated on Law as an independent context of legal reasoning, and identifies with Legal positivism which greatly informs his research. Holds a Master of Laws degree (LL.M) in Professional Legal Practice - which had a Financial Regulations and Compliance major; and a Bachelor of Laws degree (LL.B) Hons.

Has taught and continues to teach the Law of Evidence; Criminal Law; Contract Law; Tort Law; English Legal Systems & Skills; Company Law; International Commercial Law; Constitutional and Administrative Law (Public Law); Law & Ethics; Civil Liberties & Human Rights Law; EU Law; and ProBono & Professional Practice. He also supervise undergraduate dissertations.

Claire Eggleton 

Lecturer

Claire Eggleton started her academic journey later in life and completed all her academic qualifications using distance learning methods with the Open University, Oxford Brookes and the University of Portsmouth. Her interest in criminology started during her 20-year career with Wiltshire Police, serving as a special constable and then specialising in crime prevention, designing out crime and community safety. Claire has recently embarked on her PHD journey with the University of Huddersfield and the focus of her research will relate to designing crime and situational crime prevention methodology. 

Claire describes herself as a ‘pracademic’ and sees her extensive practical experience as an essential element of her academic achievement and more importantly her teaching practice. She is a member of the British Society of Criminology and working towards fellowship of the Higher Education Academy. 

Catherine Lucas 

Lecturer

Catherine is a Law Lecturer at Arden University. Prior to this she has taught at other higher education institutions. Catherine also has experience of teaching apprentices at varying levels and is a qualified (non-practising) solicitor with practice experience in civil litigation. 

Her undergraduate degree was in Archaeology and Geography, from which she progressed to complete a PGCE in Secondary Education. From here she chose to pursue a career in law, completing a graduate diploma in law and the legal practice course, qualifying as a solicitor in 2017. 

Combining her legal practice experience with my teaching, Catherine moved into legal education and training, with a particular desire to pursue online and digital learning. 

David Temple

Lecturer

Dr. David Temple is a Lecturer in Criminology within the School of Criminal Justice.  joined Arden University as a lecturer in Criminology after previously working at as a research associate at Teesside University and lecturer at Leeds Trinity University. His previous research experience includes working with older male offenders in their desistance attempts within a probation setting, which informed his doctoral research. David holds a PhD in criminology from Teesside University and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. David was also lead researcher on the Challenging Youth Racism project, a collaborative project with HumanKind, funded by the Big Lottery, aimed at addressing youth racism across North East England. This practical research experience has informed his teaching on a range of criminology, sociology and policing modules. His areas of academic interest include: Ultra Realism, Critical Criminology, Criminal Justice Practice, Desistance, Hate Crime and Online Harms. 

Hayley McGrath

Lecturer

Hayley is the Module Lead and Lecturer in Law for Tort 1 on our new LLB programme which centres on the law of negligence. She manages and designed the materials in relation to Tort 1 and delivers workshops. She has also assisted with the design and delivery of the module English Legal System and Skills. Hayley is about to embark on the management, design and delivery of Tort 2 which centres on Occupiers’ Liability, trespass, defamation and nuisance. She is also a Progression Tutor, helping students with their progression on the course by providing support.

Previously she was employed as a Module Lead and Lecturer in Law at CILEx Law School, managing and delivering Level 6 Civil Litigation. Before she began her employment with CILEx she was employed as the Legal Curriculum Manager at LMPQ, Birmingham leading the CILEx Level 3 Legal Services Knowledge and Competence qualifications. Prior to her employment with LMPQ she was employed as a Lecturer in Law and Assessor at Kaplan Altior, Cardiff leading the CILEx Higher Apprenticeship in Legal Services. Before going into education, Hayley practised as a Solicitor at Kennedys Law LLP, Birmingham her background was in defence personal injury. 

Due to the economic climate within the UK at the time of qualifying, and for life experience purposes, Hayley sought employment in Canada for a year and obtained valuable experience as a Claims Assistant. She investigated, negotiated and settled moderate to high value claims involving personal injury matters, mostly ski accident, avalanche injuries and RTA cases. She started her legal career working as a paralegal for the senior partner of Plexus Law within the defendant insurance department for 18 months prior to obtaining her training contract.

David Honeywell 

Lecturer

Dr David Honeywell is a lecturer in criminology at Arden University. He is also currently a co-Investigator for large scale study funded by the NHIR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) working on the PROSPECT programme (Prevention of suicide behaviour in prison: enhancing access to therapy).

David began his academic career in 2013 at the University of York where he worked as an Associate Criminology Lecturer alongside studying his PhD about ex-prisoners and the transformation of self through higher education. His PhD was inspired by his own personal journey as an ex- prisoner who escaped a dysfunctional life through education later in life. While in prison in the 1990's he gained an Open University qualification which later led to degrees in criminology, social research methods and sociology. 

He has taught criminology and sociology at the universities of York, Leeds Beckett, Durham, Hull, Sunderland and Manchester as well as being a regular guest speaker across the university circuit. 

David has published extensively on his own lived experiences and in relation to his expertise of desistance theory. In 2012 he self-published his autobiography Never Ending Circles and has since gone on to publish a short monograph: The Ambiguities of Desistance: Ex-offenders, Higher Education and the Desistance Journey and is now working on his second monograph: Living Desistance: Breaking the Cycle.

Dr. Olu Osaloni 

Lecturer

Dr Olu Osaloni is currently a lecturer in law at Arden University Law School. He is also the module leader for Law of Tort-1, and an induction tutor for the Law School. Prior to joining the Law School, he had gathered experiences as a lecturer in law from other universities within the UK. Before turning to an academic legal career, Olu practised as a legal counsel in one of the West African countries' foremost commercial law firms for a few years after he was admitted to the Nigerian Bar. Shortly thereafter, he left active law practice to pursue his postgraduate education. 

In 2013, he graduated with a master’s degree in Maritime and Commercial Law from the University of Hertfordshire, UK. By 2019, he had completed his PhD in International Maritime Law from the University of Central Lancashire and further obtained his PGCE from the same University in 2020. 

Research Interests 

Olu’s research focuses on the legal regulations of maritime waste management, safety and marine pollution. He has presented several academic papers at conferences in the UK and across Europe and produced some research scholarly work in the area of Public International Law. Currently, he is working on a research article that focuses on the Legal Regulatory Framework for Autonomous Shipping Strategy. 

He is passionate about teaching across some core law modules and is very happy to supervise research dissertations in the area of Public and Comparative Law. 

When Olu is not teaching, he spends much of his time engaged in academic research and with his family. 

Areas of Interest / Expertise

• International Maritime Law 
• Public and Comparative Law
• International Business Law
• Globalisation

Akua Arthur 

Lecturer

Akua Arthur is a Lecturer within the School of Criminal Justice. Along with a BA (Joints hons) in Criminology and International Relations, Akua has successfully completed an MA in Social Policy and Development from Middlesex University as well as a MA in Research Methods from the University of Nottingham. Akua is currently in the closing stages of a 6-year part-time PhD at the University of Nottingham, where she has spent extensive time researching on prostitution and sexual and reproductive health policy in her home country of Ghana, West Africa. Her research findings reaffirm the significant role that the criminalisation of prostitution as well as wider socio-cultural practices has on the negative healthcare experiences of female sex workers (FSWs) within Ghana.

Thus, Akua’s research expertise is in race/ethnicity, gender, belonging, rights, respect and citizenship- this additionally, comes from her varied research portfolio. Having conducted numerous qualitative research on a range of topics such as modern slavery through to Decolonising the Curriculum; Akua has also actively participated in setting up conferences that bring to light the harrowing experiences of families and communities affected by the Windrush Scandal. Her personal academic journey coupled with the extensive research experience continues to inform Akua’s teaching style which can be described as candid, enlightening, and sympathetic. Thus, Akua is an Academic Integrity Officer at the University, and she is also part of the Race and Ethnicity Colleague Group which allows her to achieve her passion of increasing BME representation in HE, particularly pertaining to getting more female’s in top educational positions.  

Salima Murji 

Lecturer

In her previous role, Salima Murji was the course leader for the BA Criminology degree and gained significant experience within this role of managing students and colleagues. She also has relevant teaching and academic qualifications for her role as a lecturer, which she has been undertaking for the last eight years.

Salima is cognizant in designing and delivering undergraduate curricula through lectures, seminars, and workshops, engaging with leading research and contemporary case studies. Significantly, she has experience in undertaking marking, assessment, and examination duties, as well as in assuring judicious feedback is provided to students as part of her HE experience. Her role as course leader necessitated that she assumed module and programme leader responsibilities, such as a pastoral role through tutoring, a supportive role through dissertation supervision, a disciplinarian role through managing student behaviour, retention, behavioural and attendance issues, and conflict resolution between students.

One way she has been able to put this into practice, is for the last seven years, she has created, developed,  organized, and managed an undergraduate dissertation conference for third year students to present their dissertation ideas and progress to an audience of their peers as well as guest panellists from industry. The degree programmes involved included sociology, psychosocial studies, Criminology, public services, English literature, and media studies, making this conference inter-disciplinary. The conference has included many distinguished guest panelists including Peterborough's poet laureate, news reader Carol Hinds, and Ray Bisby the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire to name a few. These events have been a great success, with the students having the opportunity to win academic prizes too.

Emily Aspen

Assistant Lecturer

Emily started her academic journey whilst working within the Criminal Justice System with front line roles in the Charitable, Prison and Probation Sectors as well as Children’s Social Care, following graduation from her Undergraduate degree in Criminology in 2014. Emily began her journey by sharing her practical experiences with student’s at Manchester Metropolitan University which ignited a desire to continue on this path. This led Emily to more regular at Manchester Metropolitan University followed by the role of Associate Lecturer with Arden University and has recently progressed to her current role. 

Emily sees her extensive practical experience as an essential element of her academic teaching practice and hopes to match this with further academic qualifications in the coming years. Emily is due to begin working towards fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.

Abbie Baker

Assistant Lecturer

Abbie is an assistant lecturer here at Arden. She is passionate about Criminal Justice and you'll often find her listening to a podcast or with her head buried in a true crime book! If not, then she'll be out for a run or spending time with family & friends.