Professor Tom Cockcroft
Tom, a criminologist by discipline, is a recognised authority on the subject of police occupational culture. He has worked on a range of research and knowledge exchange projects in the sphere of policing and criminal justice. This has been at local, regional, national and international levels. His publishing profile is largely built upon conceptual, theoretical and data-driven explorations of police culture. He also explores, increasingly, its intersection with the police professionalisation agenda. He is the author of the books: Police Culture: Themes and Concepts (2012, Routledge), Police Culture: Research and Practice (2020, Policy Press) and numerous chapters and articles. He sits on the editorial board of Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice (Oxford University Press). In 2019, he became one of two series editors for Routledge Advances in Police Practice and Knowledge.
Tom currently works with colleagues in the School on initiatives to support and develop the School's research culture. He also spends 2.5 days a week seconded to the Open University's Centre for Policing Research and Learning.
Tom began his post-doctoral career at the University of Kent working on the evaluation of Code F of PACE and, subsequently, on Project Enhance. He then moved to Canterbury Christ Church University where he developed the MA in Criminology and Criminal Justice. He led the Department of Law and Criminal Justice Studies' development of a post-graduate research programme, overseeing the introduction and support of its first PhD students. Simultaneously, he acted as Deputy Director of Criminal Justice Practice within the Department. This saw Tom and Professor Robin Bryant working on a range of knowledge transfer and research projects. This was alongside a host of international policing agencies such as Europol and the Bundeskriminalamt.
In 2014, Tom moved to Leeds Beckett University where he undertook a range of roles including Reader and Head of Subject before being promoted to Professor in 2022. During this time, apart from taking on a number of leadership roles, he undertook funded research projects (ranging in focus from cybercrime to street populations). One explored police experiences of HE which was funded by a Mid Career Prize awarded by Leeds Beckett University. As a result of this research, Tom was invited to join the National Police Learning and Development Transformation Working Group.
Tom's research career has seen him engage with a wide range of challenges for police organisations. For example, developing effective police cybercrime training both in the UK and internationally; the impact of police dispersal powers on young people; the experiences of police officers studying on Higher Education programmes; the impact of the visual recording of police/suspect interviews and the challenges of applying NPM to police contexts.
Most recently, he has been seconded to the Open University’s Centre for Policing Research and Learning to lead the first national research programme into police tutoring, As of November 2022, he expanded his work with the Open University. He led a project assisting forces with understanding how to assess formal and peer learning in RASSO investigations and developing protocols to support the practical implementation of these insights.
- PG Cert Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Canterbury Christ Church University, 2007
- PHD Criminology, Brunel University, 2002
- MSc (Econ.) Criminology and Criminal Justice, Cardiff University, 1995
- BSc (Hons) Behavioural Sciences, University of Huddersfield, 1993
- Police culture
- Police education
- Police knowledge
- Police professionalisation
- Senior Fellow of the HEA
- Member of the British Society of Criminology
- Member of the European Society of Criminology
Tom's research broadly covers the areas of police culture, police knowledge, police education and police professionalisation. Similarly, many of his publications concern the challenges of understanding the complexities of police occupational culture. He is very interested in working with police agencies on projects addressing the above areas.
Notable Publications
- Cockcroft, T. and Hallenberg, K. (2021). Unpacking the blue box: structure, control and education in policing. Policing and Society, December [Online]. Pp 1-20. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2021.2016755.
- Cockcroft, T. (2019). Police leadership and police culture. In: Ramshaw, P., Silvestri, M. and Simpson, M. eds. Leadership in policing: changing landscapes. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 23-46. Available from: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21469-2_2.
- Cockcroft, T., Shan-A-Khuda, M., Schreuders, C. and Trevorrow, P. (2018). Police cybercrime training: perceptions, pedagogy and policy. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 15 (1) October, pp. 15-33. Available from: http://doi.org/10.1093/police/pay078
- Cockcroft, T. (2012) Police culture: themes and concepts. Abingdon: Routledge.
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- Cockcroft, T., Bowles, B, Taylor-Dunn, H. and Williams, E. (2022) Building the Evidence Base for Effective Tutoring of Police Recruits (Research Report to Home Office Uplift Programme).
- Cockcroft, T., Dhingra, K, Trickett, L. and Newton, A., (2022) Perceptions of Victim Services in Derbyshire (Research Report to Derbyshire PCC).
- Cockcroft, T. and Hallenberg, H., Police Experiences of HE (Research report to LBU).
- Cockcroft, T. and Dhingra, K. (2020), A Small-Scale Evaluation of the Leeds Street Support Programme, (Research report submitted to Leeds City Council).
- Schreuders, Z.C. Cockcroft, T., Elliott, J., Butterfield, E., Soobhany, R. and Shan-A-Khuda, M. (2017), Needs Assessment of Cybercrime and Digital Evidence in a UK Police Force, (Research report submitted to College of Policing/HEFCE).
- Cockcroft, T., Trevorrow, P, and Shan-A-Khuda, M. (2017), An Assessment of Methods of Cyber Training, (Research report submitted to College of Policing/HEFCE).
- Hallenberg, K. and Cockcroft, T. (2014), Policing and Higher Education, (Research report submitted to Canterbury Christ Church University).
- Cockcroft, T. and Bryant, R. (2013) Electrical Fires: An Analysis of a UK Fire Service Data Collection, (Research Report submitted to Kent Fire Service).
- Cockcroft, T. and Bryant, R. (2010), An Evaluation of Shepway Community Safety Unit’s Young People and Risk Project, (Research Report submitted to Shepway Community Safety Unit).
- Cockcroft, T. and Bryant, R. (2009), An Evaluation of the Broadstairs Dispersal Area, (Research Report submitted to Thanet District Council).
- Wincup, E., Netten, A., Oldfield, M., Buckland, G., Saunders, R., Cockcroft, T., and Fenyo, A. (2006), An Evaluation of the Approved Premises Pathfinder, (Research Report submitted to Home Office).
- Hale, C, Cockcroft, T, Beattie, I, and Uglow, S. (2004), Project Enhance: An Evaluation, (Research Report submitted to Home Office).
- Newburn, T., Barnard, L., Cockcroft, T., Earle, R., Gilling, L., Hayman., S, Netten., A, Shiner, M., and Uglow, S. (2003), An Evaluation of the Introduction of Visual Recording of Police Interviews with Suspects, (Research Report submitted to Home Office).
- Home Office Uplift Programme, £105,000, 2021
- Derbyshire PCCC, £18,000, 2021
- Leeds City Council, £18,000, 2020
- College of Policing/HEFCE, £643, 290, 2015
- Leeds Beckett University £14,440, 2015
- Roger De Haan Charitable Trust, £24,000, 2013
- Kent Fire and Rescue Services, £4,000, 2012
- Shepway community Safety Unit £12,000, 2010
- Kent County Council £6,816, 2008
- Home Office £39,000, 2003
- British Society of Criminology Conference, 2022
- British Society of Criminology Conference, 2019
- Centre for Policing and Security International Conference, 2019
- European Society of Criminology Conference, 2019
- European Society of Criminology Conference, 2018
- American Society of Criminology Conference, 2017
- British Society of Criminology Conference, 2015
- British Society of Criminology Conference, 2014
- Politihøgskolens Forskningskonferanse, 2014
Email: Email:Professor Tom Cockcroft
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