Dr Nicola O'Leary

Dr Nicola O'Leary

Senior Lecturer in Criminology

Faculty and Department

  • Faculty of Arts Cultures and Education
  • School of Criminology, Sociology and Policing

Qualifications

  • BA (Sheffield Hallam University)
  • MA (University of Hull)
  • PhD / DPhil (University of Hull)

Summary

I am a lecturer in criminology and a researcher with interests in the fields of victims and victimisation, vulnerability, domestic abuse / coercive control, media and crime, and identity and representation.

Having worked previously at the University of Leeds, I was appointed lecturer at the University of Hull in 2013.

I am currently the Principal Investigator on a funded research project, entitled 'Giving voice to victims: a strengths-based investigation into victim identities', supported by the British Academy.

I am the current Programme Director for the suite of Criminology Programmes at University of Hull. I am also module leader for a range of undergraduate and post graduate modules including: Development of Criminological Theory (L4); Representations of Crime (L5); Criminal Justice and Community Safety Placements (L6); Contemporary Imprisonment (Hong Kong) (L6); Crime Control and Community Safety Hub (L7).

Recent outputs

View more outputs

Book

A Victim Community: Stigma and the Media Legacy of High-Profile Crime

O’Leary, N. (2021). A Victim Community: Stigma and the Media Legacy of High-Profile Crime. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87679-1

Journal Article

Living in Misery: Child to Parent and Grandparent Violence and Abuse

Mills, T., Green, S., & O'Leary, N. (2023). Living in Misery: Child to Parent and Grandparent Violence and Abuse. Temida, 26(2), 163-188. https://doi.org/10.2298/TEM2302163M

Prevalence and patterns of domestic abuse victimisation in an English police workforce

Brennan, I., Couto, L., & O’Leary, N. (2023). Prevalence and patterns of domestic abuse victimisation in an English police workforce. Policing and Society, https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2023.2184817

Police victims of domestic abuse: barriers to reporting victimisation

Couto, L., O’Leary, N., & Brennan, I. (2023). Police victims of domestic abuse: barriers to reporting victimisation. Policing and Society, https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2023.2250523

A New Approach for Researching Victims: The 'Strength-Growth-Resilience' Framework

Green, S., Calverley, A., & O'leary, N. (2021). A New Approach for Researching Victims: The 'Strength-Growth-Resilience' Framework. The British journal of criminology, 61(3), 852-871. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azaa093

Research interests

My research interests lie in the interdisciplinary fields of victimology, criminology, cultural studies, innovative research methods and the ethics of researching vulnerable populations. My doctoral research and subsequent publications focus on the ethics and methods of investigating community-based and media representations of stigma, trauma and victimisation. Within this I have an identifiable interest in the management of self-identity, social reaction, transformative ability and resilience. I am an experienced researcher in the qualitative field with particular experience and understanding pertaining to use of in-depth narrative interviews with vulnerable populations, across a range of settings, who have experienced significant trauma and harm. More recently my research has focused on working with survivors and victims of domestic abuse; from how they can be supported and empowered to interact with the criminal justice system (or not), to understanding the dynamics of recovery and resilience.

Lead investigator

Project

Funder

Grant

Started

Status

Project

Understanding Community Insights into the Impact of GRIP hotspot policing’

Funder

Home Office

Grant

£299,585.00

Started

1 January 2024

Status

Ongoing

Project

Giving voice' to victims: a strengths-based investigation into victim identites

Funder

British Academy

Grant

£6,235.00

Started

1 March 2017

Status

Complete

Co-investigator

Project

Funder

Grant

Started

Status

Project

Improving Victim & Police Communication and Confidence

Funder

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside

Grant

£49,387.00

Started

1 May 2021

Status

Ongoing

Project

AREDAA feasibility study

Funder

Home Office

Grant

£109,491.00

Started

1 August 2021

Status

Ongoing

Project

Humberside VRU Evaluation

Funder

Humberside Police

Grant

£202,891.00

Started

1 January 2023

Status

Ongoing

Project

Cultures Of Victimology: understanding processes of victimization across Europe

Funder

EC European Commission

Grant

£71,905.00

Started

1 September 2019

Status

Ongoing

Postgraduate supervision

I am very interested in supervising doctoral students in the areas of: victimology, vulnerability and resilience, media and crime and collective identity and representation.

Current PhD students:

Thomas Hammond (PhD Criminology), Surveillance, Migration and Identity in Brexit Britain

Patrick Oniya (PhD Criminology), An examination of why public sector corruption is resilient: a case study of Nigeria.

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