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Tara Dickens

Dr Tara Dickens

Director of Policing

School of Law, Policing and Social Sciences

Tara is a Principle Lecturer and the Director of Policing at Canterbury Christ Church University,

She is responsible for all national and international Policing related Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Partnership Programmes in the School of Law, Policing and Social Sciences.

Prior to academia, she spent 20 years as a Kent Police officer working in uniformed response, criminal investigation, intelligence and public protection in different ranks. During her time in Public Protection she held responsibility for investigations into child sexual harm, child serious physical harm, high risk domestic abuse and was a nationally accredited child death investigator. Other portfolios of responsibility included missing persons and mental heath for South East Kent, Implementation of the intelligence led policing model and Gender progression/ representation across the force.

Securing an MSc in Police leadership and Management whilst an operational officer on the fast track promotion scheme, her dissertation focused on Police Culture winning the best dissertation award. Awarded a scholarship to attend the University of Kent at Canterbury (UKC) as an associate lecturer she complete a PhD in Forensic Psychology, titled 'An examination of the psychological pathways of male carers who seriously harm and murder their children', supported by the National Homicide working group into reducing child death. She teaches a variety of policing related issues across programmes within the school with occasional guest lecturing at other institutions on policing related matters.

Tara is a passionate supporter of Police Professionalisation and is actively involved in the professionalisation agenda with the College of Policing and the Police Education Consortium, overseeing delivery of the PCDA/DHEP and DDHEP to serving officers in Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire. Her key academic interests focus on Police Culture, Police Professionalisation, Fast Track Detective Programmes, Equality and Diversity: the PCDA/DHEP experience of ‘police culture’, and child death investigation.

  • Criminal and forensic psychology
  • Police and policing, particularly police training and education, police professionalisation, and organisational culture

Tara sits on the Higher Education Forum, a national body representing the interests of Universities with a current focus to deliver the Police Educational Qualifications Framework in partnership with the College of Policing.

Current Research Projects

  • Offender Interviewing
  • Fast Track Detective Programme (DDHEP)
  • Equality and Diversity and the PCDA/DHEP experience of police culture
  • Unexpected death in children

Current PhD Supervisions

  • Practitioners experiences in understanding and preventing filicide in New Zealand
  • Evolving police responses to vulnerability in adolescence and extra-familial harm – The impact of the Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice programme, UK.

PhD Examinations

  • The Investigation and Prosecution of Cyberstalking in Australia

Tara is also the Strategic Lead for the Programme Management Board within the Police Education Consortium, working in partnership with Cumbria, Middlesex and Portsmouth University. Jointly responsible for operational delivery of the PCDA, DHEP and DDHEP to Surrey, Sussex and and Hampshire Police.

Research Projects

  • Evolving police responses to vulnerability in adolescence and extra-familial harm – The impact of the Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice programme.. Researcher(s): Mr PHIL ASHFORD. Supervisor(s): Dr Tara Dickens, Dr Katarina Ozcakir Mozova, Professor Susan Millns. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • The Impact of Behaviour Detection Officer Training on proactive policing.. Researcher(s): Miss Mary Bolton. Supervisor(s): Dr Katarina Ozcakir Mozova, Dr Tara Dickens, Dr Sarah Lieberman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Understanding, predicting and preventing those at risk of committing child homicide or critically injuring children in New Zealand. Researcher(s): Mr Bruce O'Brien. Supervisor(s): Dr Katarina Ozcakir Mozova, Dr Tara Dickens, Professor Robin Bryant. [Postgraduate Research Project]

External Examiner for South Wales University

Higher Education Forum Board Member 2023 - Present

Fatherhood Institute, ISafe Advisory Group Member 2022- Present

 

Dickens, T. E, Bettles, K. Carpenter, A. (2023) The International Cold Case Analysis Project (ICCAP): Investigating Cold Cases Internationally with the Assistance of Students from Police Academies and Universities. International Association of Chief Of Police, San Diego, California.

Dickens T.E (2019) The psychological pathway of men who seriously harm or murder children. Association of Chief Police Officers National Homicide Working Group. Leicester, Uk.

Dickens T. E (2018) An examination of the psychological pathway of men who seriously harm or murder children. University of Bournemouth.

Dickens T. E (2017) The offenders perspective. Advances in Preventing and Investigating Child Homicide’ conference, University of Huddersfield. UK

Dickens T. E (2016) An examination of men who seriously physically harm children. The National child death reduction conference.

Dickens T. E (2014) A psychological agenda of those who severely harm children. Association of Chief Police Officers national homicide working group. London.UK