About Sarah Connelly
I am a Lecturer in Criminology and the Manager of the Northumbria Local Appropriate Adult Scheme (NLAAS). I joined the University in 2020, working across the Faculty of Education, Society, and Creative Industries, and the Faculty of Health Sciences. I now work predominantly in the Social Sciences department, teaching across the BSc Criminology, MSc Leadership in Criminal Justice and Policing, and MSc Inequality and Society, alongside contributing to short courses focused on continuous professional development. My teaching spans theory, research, and practice-based modules, and is closely aligned with my research interests in the construction and understanding of vulnerability.
In 2022, I was appointed Manager of NLAAS, where I work with a team of student volunteers to provide 24/7 coverage to local custody suites, ensuring Appropriate Adult safeguards are in place for vulnerable adults (18+). Since then, I have worked with colleagues to expand the scheme by responding to service demand, enhancing training and development, raising awareness of vulnerability and the role of Appropriate Adults in the local area, and strengthening stakeholder and neighbouring partner relationships.
Before joining the University, I worked across equality, diversity and inclusion roles, including as an online support worker for young people seeking support on gender diversity; within a human rights education team; as an EDI representative in the private sector, and within the legal research sector. My practice and research roles are closely connected and feed directly into my teaching, particularly across research methods, leadership, and criminal justice modules.
Qualifications:
I hold a BA (Hons) in Sociology (University of Sunderland, 2013–2016), a Masters in Sociology and Social Research (Newcastle University, 2016–2017), and a PGCert in Higher Education (University of Sunderland, 2022–2023).
I was awarded Fellowship and Senior Fellowship status with Advance HE across 2021 - 2023, completed the Aurora Advance HE leadership programme for women in 2025, the Influence Leadership Programme in 2026, and was awarded a CMI Level 5 Award in Management and Leadership in 2026.
Research:
I am currently a part-time PhD student at Newcastle University (Geography, Politics and Sociology), applying a sociological lens to police custody settings. My research focuses on the construction and understanding of vulnerability, legitimacy, and the broader social processes within custody environments, including professional experiences of supporting trans and non-binary people in custody and institutional ethnographic approaches to higher education.
Leadership:
I also hold leadership roles within the wider Appropriate Adult sector, beyond my work with the NLAAS:
- I was elected to the Board of Trustees for the National Appropriate Adult Network in October 2023, where I contribute to the charity's governance and strategic direction.
- Since March 2025, I have worked with the National Appropriate Adult Network and peers to co-found the first Appropriate Adult Research Network that is linked to the charity in 2025. I was also invited to become its inaugural Chair.
- Manager of the Northumbria Local Appropriate Adult Scheme since September 2022.
- I was Scheme Coordinator for the Northumbria Local Appropriate Adult Scheme from January 2021 until my promotion to Scheme Manager in September 2022.
Together, my roles in practice and research inform one another and feed directly into my teaching.
Teaching and supervision
I currently teach across social sciences including the BSc (Hons) Criminology, MSc Inequality and Society, and MSc Leadership in Criminal Justice and Policing courses. I also supervise dissertations across both undergraduate and masters provisions.
I am the module leader and teach across:
- CRM101 – Criminology Theories, Trends, and Myths
- CRM105 – Becoming a Criminologist
- CPI2000 - Professional Practice in Criminology: Placement Experience
- LCPM08 – Practitioner and Lived Experience Perspectives in Criminal Justice
You will also find me teaching across:
- CRM205 - Doing Criminological Research
- CRM306 - Stigma and Deviance: Vulnerability and Criminalisation
- CRM307 - Criminology Dissertation
- SWKM42 – Advanced Safeguarding Children
I also supervise dissertations (undergraduate and post-graduate) across the following modules:
- CRM307 - Criminology Dissertation
- LCPM03 – Leadership in Criminal Justice and Policing Dissertation
- SSCM26 – Inequality and Society Dissertation
CPD Teaching:
As Scheme Manager for NLAAS, I design and deliver training and CPD opportunities for our active appropriate adults, tailoring content to the bespoke needs of our volunteers and the requirements of the service. This includes:
- Training volunteers to become appropriate adults in line with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and the National Appropriate Adult Network's national standards (2025) for vulnerable populations (18+).
- Unconscious Bias Training – applied to the role of the appropriate adult (2025).
- Co-locating with integrity and independence – applied to the NLAAS scheme since the 2022 co-location strategy.
We also encourage a range of additional training for our volunteers, including inviting specialists to deliver sessions based on the evolving needs of the scheme.
Beyond the scheme, I have contributed to and led wider CPD training. This includes:
- Delivering sessions for CNTW (Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear) NHS nurses in 2022 and 2025 on the role of the Appropriate Adult and the work of NLAAS, designed to support knowledge exchange and strengthen interagency collaboration in the safeguarding of vulnerable adults locally.
- Since July 2026, our team have also joined the delivery of training for new Northumbria Police cohorts, providing context on the role of the Appropriate Adult and how officers are likely to encounter this role in practice.
Interests
- Appropriate adult safeguard applied across England and Wales
- Vulnerability in criminal justice
- Intersectionality and marginalised groups
- Applied criminological research
- Safeguarding and criminal justice
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
Research
Supporting Staff to Research
This project (in collaboration with Dr Nicola Roberts) adopts an institutional ethnography approach to analyse institutional texts and 'work knowledge' to inquire how an HEI can best support staff to research.
Exploring the experiences of trans and non-binary people in custody in the UK: implications for policy and practice)
This project (in collaboration with Dr Helen Williams) will explore the experiences of trans and non-binary people in relation to being processed within a custody suite. Trans and non-binary people face unique challenges within custody. A person’s rights and treatment are based on the custody officer involved and their understanding and decision-making around gender identity. We will gather the perceptions and experiences of people with lived experience and practitioners within custody to explore how guidance from governmental bodies is negotiated by officers, and how this is experienced by individuals.
Continuity of Appropriate Adult Services for Vulnerable Suspects During the Covid-19 Pandemic
This paper (in collaboration with Dr Donna Peacock and Samantha Reveley) draws upon qualitative data collected from providers of AA services to develop an understanding of the impact of Covid-19 on service provision. We conclude that while demand during the pandemic remained at a similar level, the availability of volunteer AAs was impacted, and that PPE provision was inconsistent.
Social Science Placement Research Project
This project (in collaboration with Dr Liz Henry) will use a mixed methods approach to explore the experiences and initiatives behind choosing a social science placement to feed into supporting provisions in future for students, staff, and providers.
Nightstop
For this project, I worked as a research assistant for Dr Lesley Deacon and Dr Sarah Lonbay on a project to support a third-sector organisation. The role includes designing a data collection tool that will explore awareness, service usage, and procurement processes.
I am also currently applying to start a PhD which aims to unpack the term ‘vulnerability’ and the mechanisms impacted by it.
Past research
My master's dissertation explored the ways in which medical diagnoses reinforce heteronormativity. Using the sociology of diagnosis, this body of work analysed the reification of binary coding upon bodies and the nosological approaches cast upon social identities.
Further information
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