Hannah Smithson

Hannah Smithson, BSc (hons), MSc, PHd, has worked within the field of criminology for over 10 years. She received her PhD from the University of Manchester in 2002, funded by a scholarship from Cheshire Police Authority, entitled ‘Reducing the Risks of Offending through Early Intervention’. Hannah has published extensively in the area of youth offending, youth justice, community safety and crime prevention. Hannah has directed projects funded by government departments, local authorities, police forces and charities. Her research findings have impacted on policy at a local and national level including directly influencing UK government policy. Her research has been instrumental in shaping agendas in research and policy across three interconnected areas: Youth Justice, Youth Gangs and Community Safety and Crime prevention.

Research Interests

Hannah's main research interests are:

Youth justice
Anti-social behaviour
Youth Gangs
Youth racially motivated of offending
Qualitative research methods
Young offenders
Community safety initiatives
Early intervention programmes
Policy analysis and evaluation