OUR NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SECTOR

Sharon joins Crest on a six-month secondment from the Project Delivery Civil Service Fast Stream. As part of the Fast Stream, Sharon has previously been posted at the Department for Work and Pensions as a project support officer in the project management office of the Joint Work and Health Directorate. Before joining the Fast Stream, Sharon completed a History and Political Economy BA at King's College London and studied abroad at University of California, Los Angeles majoring in Political Science. Whilst stuyding abroad, Sharon worked at Initiate Justice, an Los Angeles based non-profit organisation, on developing bills on incarceration policy in California state government.

Marie provides general and strategic business management support to the Crest team and Directors, ensuring our accounting, human resources, procurement and IT operations function effectively. Before joining Crest, Marie was personal assistant to directors at a major UK packaging manufacturer.

Sabha joined Crest on the Micro Placement Programme from City University, before rejoining Crest as an intern whilst taking a year out from her BSc in Economics and Accounting. Sabha is part of the business support team, focusing on finance and procurement.

Before coming to Crest, Callyane was a researcher at the Police Foundation thinktank and a volunteer at Only Connect, a desistance charity for ex-offenders. Since joining us, Callyane has worked across our research and consultancy practices on justice devolution and reform, counter extremism, sexual violence and other gender-based violence. She has managed major service transformation projects at the Crown Prosecution Service and the London Mayor's Office of Policing and Crime, run evaluations of sensitive policy areas including the Prevent programme and delivered training on strategy to analysts at the Ministry of Justice.

Serina was a research officer at His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, supporting PEEL inspections, thematic inspections, and super-complaints, and an intelligence researcher at the Metropolitan Police Service before coming to Crest. A chartered psychologist, Serina has completed a PhD examining identity processes and threat in the context of policing mental health. She holds a professional certificate in Evidence-Based Policing Analysis from the Cambridge Centre for Evidence-Based Policing and has been a Life Skills Recovery Worker for East London NHS Foundation Trust.

Teresa joined Crest from Advance Charity, which helps women who have experienced domestic abuse and the criminal justice system rebuild their lives, where she worked as a community keyworker. Before Advance, Teresa completed the Police Now graduate scheme, and was a police constable and a trainee detective constable for the Metropolitan Police Service. Teresa holds an MA in Terrorism, Security and Society and King's College London. Throughout her MA Teresa specialised in radicalisation, and her MA thesis focused on the link between education and radicalisation.

Rebecca joins Crest after three years as Programme Director for Serious Violence Prevention at Devon and Cornwall Police, where she led a pioneering public health approach to tackling serious violence, including designing and overseeing the recovery response in Plymouth following the 2021 mass shooting. Previously, Rebecca built and led the Strong Cities Network to support over 140 cities worldwide in countering extremism and misinformation, also leading on a range of wider initiatives at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. A recognised expert in counter-extremism, Rebecca has advised organisations including the UN, the OSCE, and the European Commission.

Before joining Crest, Rosie was a data analyst at Advance Charity, which helps women who have experienced domestic abuse and the criminal justice system rebuild their lives. At Advance, Rosie supported service implementation, delivery, contract management and evaluation of services commissioned by the Ministry of Justice, Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime and the London Violence Reduction Unit. Rosie holds an MSc in Public Policy from UCL. In her MSc dissertation, she focused on the importance of preserving family relationships for women to desist from reoffending.

Ben joins Crest as on a six-month secondment from the Finance Fast Stream where he held various roles across several government departments. As part of the Fast Stream, Ben served as a Finance Business Partner at the Home Office, where he was instrumental in setting up the Victims of Terrorism Support Fund, and as a Commercial Finance Business Partner at the Department for Work and Pensions. Ben also worked as a Financial Strategist at the Cabinet Office. Ben holds a BA in Politics and French from the University of Bristol and is a qualified Chartered Accountant (ACA).

Millie joined us from We Are Futures, a social impact agency focused on young people. Before that she was the Head of Sixth Form and History and Politics teacher at an academy in West London. Millie holds an MA Hons in Human, Social and Political Sciences from the University of Cambridge and an MSc in European and Global Governance with Distinction from the University of Bristol. She was the winner of the SPAIS Prize for highest score for her MSc thesis, which was focused on attitudes towards neoliberalism in European populist party discourse.

Alex has experience in both micro and macro quantitative analysis, having completed an MSc in Finance and Economics at the University of Southampton. During a placement year at University, Alex was an Analyst Intern for Warner Brothers where he developed a daily Covid-19 case tracker to monitor global Covid-19 trends to facilitate the international company response.

Maddie originally joined Crest as an intern after completing an LLB in English Law with American Law from King's College London. At Crest, Maddie has managed projects including the Youth Endowment Fund Annual Review on Youth Vulnerability and Violence and an evaluation of victims' experiences of the criminal justice system as part of the criminal justice joint inspection led by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services.

Before Crest, Alex was a management trainee at Southend City Council as part of the Local Government Association graduate scheme. He worked across four departments including community safety, where he co-wrote the Council’s Strategic Intelligence Assessment investigating trends in crime and community safety. At Crest, Alex has supported the delivery of the PoliSCOPE methodology to five UK police forces, helping them better understand and manage their demand. Alex is also involved in evaluating the Tackling Organised Exploitation (TOEX) programme and has led quantitative analysis for HMICFRS on misconduct within fire and rescue services in England and Wales. Additionally, Alex has facilitated workshops that offer tailored support to local partnerships, helping them develop strategic needs assessments and evaluation capabilities in line with the Serious Violence Duty.

Before joining Crest, Kelvin worked as a Senior Policy Advisor at the Home Office, where he served as a policy lead on Public Order Policing and worked on the delivery of new Primary and Secondary legislation. Kelvin also previously worked at the College of Policing, where he led work on the development of national police investigation guidelines in England and Wales. He has also worked as a Lead Policy Research Officer at criminal justice charity StopWatch, where he specialised in stop and search policy and provided evidence-based advice to support client scriptwriting. Kelvin holds an BSc in Social Policy with Government from the London School of Economics and an MSc in International Social and Public Policy, also from the London School of Economics.

Before joining Crest as an intern, Danielle has worked as an administrative assistant at Children Heard and Seen, a charity which supports children with imprisoned parents. She also has experience in a range of research roles, including at the Lund Trust where she supported the production of a report on how to direct funds to help solve noise pollution in the UK. Danielle also holds an MSc in Biological Sciences from the University of Oxford.

Before joining Crest, Will worked as a Producer and Development Producer within Factual and Factual Entertainment Television, overseeing the development of productions on multiple projects for the UK and International distributors. As a Project Officer, Will ensures projects are delivered on time, to budget and with Crest’s hallmark of quality.

Sam joined us as an intern, after completing his BA (Hons) in History at Queen Mary, University of London. Sam leads media analysis for public inquiry clients, including the Thirlwall Inquiry and has supported the management of media lock-ins and commemorative hearings for several public inquiry clients. Sam also supports consultancy projects, including developing a toolkit to support Violence Reduction Units to improve their operational sustainability.

Before joining Crest, Tara completed an MSc in Crisis and Security Management at Leiden University and a BA in European Social and Political Studies at UCL. Tara worked as an Assistant Analyst at the Hague Centre of Strategic Studies. Tara's interests include prison reform, gender-based violence, and national security policies. As an analyst, Tara will be working across our consulting and insights portfolios.

Before joining Crest as an intern, Charles completed an MSc in Countering Organised Crime and Terrorism at UCL. Charles also holds a BA (Hons) in Geography with proficiency in French from the University of Sussex.

After completing an MSc in Gender from the London School of Economics and working with the menstrual health charity Irise International as a Communications Officer, Jess now manages Crest's policy and governance work. Jess has drafted instructions for new legislation on public inquiries and developed statutory guidance for the Children and Young People (Jersey) Law 2022, each for the Government of Jersey. Jess co-authored published research on county lines and maternal imprisonment and led the qualitative research for a report into domestic abuse perpetrators for the Home Office.

Anousha joined us as an intern after completing her BA (Hons) in Human, Social and Political Sciences at the University of Cambridge. Anousha has worked across a number of high profile projects at Crest, supporting on engagement and analysis.

John joined Crest as an intern after completing an MA in European Politics from University College London and working in education, spending time as a teaching assistant and co-founding a tuition business for school-age students. At Crest, John leads media and stakeholder analysis for statutory and non-statuory inquiries, including the Grenfell Tower, Manchester Arena, and Lampard Inquiries. He has played a key role in press office operations, managing media lock-ins and supporting with commemorative hearings. Additionally, John has supported various consultancy projects, including audience segmentation and stakeholder engagement for nationwide initiatives such as the Covid-19 Inquiry and the Home Office's Serious Violence Duty.

Bheena joined Crest after five years working in executive and personal assistant roles for drug research companies including Aztrazeneca, RxCelerate, Amphista Therapeutics. Before this, Bheena spent 18 years working for the Civil Service across various departments and a further 10 years working as a personal assistant to the executive for adult health and social care organisation De Vere Care.

Helena joined Crest as an intern, while she was studying for an MSc in Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London, writing a dissertation which explored body image concerns in men, using a meta-analysis to assess psychosocial treatment options. After completing her Masters, Helena has rejoined us as a junior analyst. Helena also holds an MA in Philosophy & Theology from the University of Edinburgh. She has experience working in SEN education and is a trained volunteer at UK eating disorder charity BEAT.

Fernanda joined Crest after completing an M.Phil in Public Policy at the University of Cambridge. Before this, she worked at the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) where she evaluated the implementation of public policies aimed at addressing the root causes of migration in Southern Mexico and Central America. Fernanda has also worked as a protection officer in a migrant shelter in northern Mexico where she provided humanitarian aid to women, men, boys and girls. She holds a second masters in Conflict Resolution from the University of Essex.

Isabella joined Crest via our internship programme from a drug harm reduction think-tank, where she worked on policy and communications content. At Crest Isabella has co-authored two reports on Black perspectives on crime, policing and stop and search and has created an online toolkit for practitioners in youth justice on delivering effective trauma-informed practice. Isabella has also worked on a project for the Home Office, supporting on the implementation of the Serious Violence Duty and delivering workshops to support local areas improve their community engagement to reduce serious violence. Isabella works across our inquiries, research, and consultancy practices.

James originally joined Crest as an intern after completing a BA in law at Kings College London. Following several promotions, James now manages projects across violence reduction, justice policy and governance. He's worked for violence reduction units, police and crime commissioners and local authorities, specialising in quantitative analysis and advice on partnership working. James has also managed projects translating ministerial commitments into legislation for the Jersey Government and is leading an assessment of police force areas' readiness to implement the Serious Violence Duty.

Before joining the team, Alice was an office administrative assistant at investor MML Capital Partners and also worked as a Lettings Administrator at Knight Frank. Alice is currently studying for a level 5 Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development qualification.

Before joining us on our intern programme, Anna worked at the African Child Trust, managing its communications and marketing. At Crest, Anna has managed the press office for statutory and non-statutory public inquiries across England and has faciliated the media on the publication of inquiry reports. Anna also supports the publication and media for Crest Insights reports and other publications.

Catrina joined us as an intern after completing her BA and MPhil in Classics from the University of Cambridge. During her time at Crest Catrina has worked on serious violence reduction projects, supported Violence Reduction Units to improve their operational sustainability, and supported on reviews into safeguarding in the Church of England and the culture of Welsh fire services.

Louis is currently an intern at Crest whilst also studying a part-time MA in Terrorism, Security and Society at King's College London. Louis has previously worked as a project officer at the Refugee, Asylum and Migration Policy Project, where he led on organisation and analysis of a joint inquiry by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Migration and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Poverty into the effects of UK immigration, asylum and refugee policy on poverty.

Before joining us, Amber was an advisor specialising in health and education policy at the Behavioural Insights Team, which she joined following a previous role as a psychologist at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. Amber trained as a psychological researcher at University College London and has a BSc in Neuroscience and an MSc in Psychology. At Crest, Amber has managed evaluations of the Police Education Qualifications Framework and our research into black views on policing, crime and the use of stop and search powers.

Sarah joined Crest from Black Box Research where she specialised in researching modern slavery, child criminal exploitation and county lines. Sarah holds a BA and MRes in Criminology from the University of Manchester and during her studies she contributed to a social network analysis of corporate bribery and corruption networks. At Crest, Sarah recently led the quantitative analysis of national vulnerability and violence trends for the Youth Endowment Fund Annual Review of youth vulnerability and violence.

Before joining Crest, Oli was manager of the Jill Dando Institute Research Laboratory at University College London which was set up as the first research lab in Europe to hold and analyse highly classified police and intelligence data in collaboration with academia. He was previously analytics director for a market research company before moving to Sky TV and designing and implementing an in-house capability that enabled them to test and measure the performance of their brand and communication work. At Crest, Oli manages quantitative analysis across the business, having esablished the in-house capability to design and run surveys for a range of different clients and research projects. Oli also holds a PhD in Crime Science modelling the deterrent effect of police foot patrol in micro-places.

Before joining Crest, Alyssa completed a PhD in Criminology and an MPhil in Criminological Research at the University of Cambridge. As part of her PhD Alyssa designed and conducted an in-depth qualitative research project with 51 children and young people in alternative education provision across four regions of England about their experiences carrying weapons. She has also conducted comparative research on prisons and the rehabilitative ideal in the US and Norway and worked on a project on data-driven librarianship in prison libraries across the US.

Before joining Crest, Beth was a researcher at the Serious and Organised Crime Unit at Home Office, specialising in county lines, child criminal exploitation and drug trafficking. Beth had previously been a researcher for the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse after completing an MPhil in Criminological Research from the University of Cambridge. At Crest, Beth specialises in qualitative research on county lines, vulnerability and exploitation, having co-authored published research on county lines. This research included an in-depth analysis of 13 young people involved in county lines and concluded with a presentation of the findings to over 180 local partners and research area experts.

Harry was previously an associate at public affairs agency H/Advisors Cicero, where he acted as a political adviser to the Police Federation of England and Wales, supporting their political engagement and helping drive a series of campaigns to improve policing across the UK.

Nishat originally joined Crest on our internship programme and now works across our inquiries and reviews projects, having most recently provided administrative and analytical support to the Baroness Casey Review of the Culture and Standards of the Metropolitan Police Service. Nishat also project managed an independent review into disorder at major international sport event. Nishat also supported the development of statutory guidance for the Children and Young People (Jersey) Law 2022 for the Government of Jersey and delivered a strategic demand assessment for the States of Jersey Police. Nishat has a BA in International Relations from SOAS University London.

Manon originally joined Crest in 2018 as a Senior Analyst and has now returned as a Senior Manager. She holds a BA (Hons) in Experimental Psychology and an MSc in Forensic Psychology. Manon has worked as a Research Associate at the Wales Centre for Public Policy, where she conducted large-scale reviews on poverty, social exclusion, and race equality for the Welsh Government, and as a Senior Policy Officer at Public Health Wales, focusing on the public health impacts of the cost of living crisis. Manon has also previously worked as a Family Worker at HMP Wandsworth. At Crest, Manon has co-authored reports on topics including online fraud, children of prisoners, and listening to British Muslims on policing, extremism, and Prevent.

After completing an MA in International Politics and completing an internship at Human Rights Watch, Freya began an internship at Crest. Since joining the team, Freya has worked on literature reviews for His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services inspection on how victims are treated throughout the criminal justice system and survey design for the Office of National Statistics.

Sophie completed her PhD in Criminology from the University of Southampton, where she focused on the factors driving modern slavery offences and prevention measures. Before joining Crest, she worked as a Research Assistant on a project supporting British victims of modern slavery. At Crest, Sophie has co-authored the College of Policing and NPCC National Policing Statement on Violence Against Women and Girls for 2024 and supported the development of the VAWG 4P Delivery Framework for 2024-2027. She has also co-authored the published Hadley Devolution Report and contributed to the MOPAC Domestic Abuse victims’ needs assessment. Sophie is the author of a chapter in the upcoming Palgrave Handbook of Modern Slavery.