About Sarah Connelly
I joined the University in 2020. I teach Social Sciences at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. As a Lecturer in Criminology, I primarily teach on the BSc (Hons) Criminology, MSc Inequality and Society, and MSc Leadership in Criminal Justice and Policing courses. I am also the current Personal Academic Tutor for BSc (Hons) Criminology (level 5 students).
I completed a BA (Hons) in Sociology in 2013–2016 (University of Sunderland), a Masters in Sociology in Social Research in 2016–2017 (Newcastle University), and a PGCert in Higher Education 2022–2023 (University of Sunderland), along with Senior Fellowship status (SFHEA) with the Advance HE in September 2023. I have since returned to Newcastle University as a part-time PhD student in the Geography, Politics, and Sociology department, exploring and applying a sociological response to police custody settings and contexts.
I am currently interested in topics exploring vulnerability, legitimacy, and power in the criminal justice system, including how the term ‘vulnerability’ is understood and navigated in police custody suites in the UK. I am currently a co-investigator on a UKRI Policy Support-funded project exploring the experiences of trans and non-binary people in custody in the UK and a research partner on a project adopting an institutional ethnographic approach. Other works include applying an intersectional lens to gender and age in relation to the current human rights situation for transgender and non-binary populations in the UK.
Outside of my role in the Criminology team, I am actively working and upskilling in areas around leadership and criminal justice. I am the current Scheme Manager for the Northumbria Local Appropriate Adult Scheme and a member of the Board of Directors for the National Appropriate Adult Network.
I am also a candidate on the Aurora programme 2024–2025, a leadership development initiative for women in higher education.
My roles in practice underpin my research interests enabling me to work on projects that can produce/encourage knowledge exchange, developments to practice, and collaborative working. I also include my practice and research experience within my teaching to support learning and curriculum development. This feeds into modules across the research methods as well as leadership and criminal justice focused modules.
Prior to joining the University, I positioned myself in roles including implementing EDI support into business units, support work for gender-diverse young people, working as an education officer within a human rights organisation, and working in legal research on domestic and international research projects.
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 for:
- CRM101 – Criminology Theories, Trends, and Myths
- CRM105 – Becoming a Criminologist
- LCPM08 – Practitioner and Lived Experience Perspectives in Criminal Justice
- SSCM25 – Inequalities, Diversity, and Intersectionality: Theory and Practice
- SOC232 – Researching Society: Private, Public and Third Sector Organisations
- SOC233 – Researching Society with Placement
You will find me teaching across:
- CRM101 – Criminology Theories, Trends, and Myths
- CRM105 – Becoming a Criminologist
- LCPM08 – Practitioner and Lived Experience Perspectives in Criminal Justice
- SOC232 – Researching Society: Private, Public and Third Sector Organisations
- SOC233 – Researching Society with Placement
- SSCM25 – Inequalities, Diversity, and Intersectionality: Theory and Practice
- SWKM42 – Advanced Safeguarding Children
- SOC332 – Social Science Dissertation
- SOC333 – Social Science Work-Based Dissertation
- LCPM03 – Leadership in Criminal Justice and Policing Dissertation
- SSCM26 – Inequality and Society Dissertation
Interests
- Vulnerability and criminal justice
- The role of the Appropriate Adult in practice and policy
- Policy custody, risk, and safeguarding
- Identity, inequality, and power
- The medicalisation of the bodies
- Transgender and non-binary support in the UK
- Neurodiversity
- Legitimacy and power in relation to how bodies are understood
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.