Tim McSweeney

Tim McSweeney is a Senior Lecturer in Forensic Psychology with the School of Life and Medical Sciences at the University of Hertfordshire. He has previously held positions at: Middlesex University, London (2016-2017); Birkbeck, University of London (2010-2015); University of New South Wales, Australia (2009-2013); King's College, London (2003-2010); London South Bank University (1999-2003); and Imperial College, London (1997-1998).

In addition to these academic positions, Tim has held senior research roles with the Ministry of Justice (HM Inspectorate of Prisons; 2015-2016) and Home Office (Counter-Extremism Unit; 2017-2018). He has also served in an advisory capacity to the Council of Europe, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and the World Health Organisation.

Tim has 20 years' experience of conducting and managing applied research studies which have been local, regional, national and international in focus, and used both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Since the late 1990s he has been involved in and led numerous independent studies examining the operation and outcomes of interventions delivered at all stages of the criminal justice process: from policing and the courts, to work undertaken in youth justice, probation and prison settings. His research has been commissioned by a range of funders, including central and local government, law enforcement agencies, charitable trusts and international bodies.

A focus of Tim's research in recent years has been: the supervision and management of offenders; addressing drug and alcohol misuse and dependency within the criminal justice system; understanding 'organised' and group-based forms of offending; and measuring the impact of different criminal justice interventions on reoffending.

• Social research methods
• Data analysis
• Evaluation (process and impact assessment)
• The criminal justice system (policing, courts, probation and prisons)
• Substance use and misuse
• 'Organised' and group-based offending

Level 6 and 7:

• Forensic psychology

Level 7:

• Advanced psychology project