Institute of Criminal Justice Studies

Profile

Fiona Wadie is a Lecturer at Portsmouth University in the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies. She is in the process of writing up her doctoral research looking at the practices and processes of investigative interviewing by police officers in England and Wales. It considers how various factors, including: formal (e.g. legislation); informal (e.g. police culture) and structural issues (e.g. training), impact and influence the practice of the police when conducting an investigative interview with a suspect, victim or witness. She has previously spent time working at the National Centre for Social Research, specialising in Questionnaire Design as part of the Survey Methods Unit.

Expertise

• Policing
• Investigative interviewing
• Police training
• Police culture
• Research Methods
  • Qualitative Research Methods (Interviewing; Observation; Focus Groups)
  • Qualitative analysis using MAXqda; NVIVO
  • Quantitative Methods (Survey questionnaire design and testing)
  • Analysis using SPSS; Excel

Qualifications

• MSc Criminology and Criminal Justice
  Dissertation entitled P.E.A.C.E: Police Experiences of Investigative Interviewing.
  Department of Sociology, University of Surrey 2008-2009
• BSc Sociology and Social Research
  Dissertation entitled Attitudes towards the Criminal Justice System: An evaluation using cognitive interviewing methods to explore respondents understanding of questions asked in the British Crime Survey.
  Department of Sociology, University of Surrey 2004-2008

Current Research Projects

PhD Candidate, Department of Sociology, University of Surrey (2009 – current)
Thesis titled: The practices and processes of investigative interviewing in England and Wales.

This research looks at the use of investigative interviewing methods by police officers in England and Wales. It explores how the organisation and culture of the police impacts upon their work, and also how research and guidance is utilised within the teaching and day-to-day work of investigative interviewing.

This work is supervised by Professor Nigel Fielding and Dr Karen Bullock and is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

Publications

Research conference presentations

• “Following the rules? The practices and processes of investigative interviewing” paper presented at the British Society of Criminology Annual Conference, Portsmouth, United Kingdom, July 2012.
• “Training in Investigative Interviewing Methods in England and Wales” paper presented at 5^th Annual International Investigative Interviewing Research Group Conference, Toronto, Canada May 2012.
• “Police Culture and the Investigative Interview” poster presented at 5^th Annual International Investigative Interviewing Research Group Conference, Toronto, Canada May 2012.
• “Investigative Interviewing in England and Wales”, paper presented at the Postgraduate Research Conference, University of Surrey, United Kingdom, January 2012.
• “Investigative Interviewing: From Research to Policy?” paper presented at the Postgraduate Conference of the British Society of Criminology Annual Conference, Newcastle, United Kingdom, July 2011.
• “A sociological study on the practices and processes of investigative interviewing in England and Wales” poster presented at the 4^th Annual International Investigative Interviewing Research Group Conference, Dundee, Scotland, May 2011.

Research seminars

• “The practices and processes of investigative interviewing in England and Wales”, invited to present paper to Crimsoc at the University of Sheffield, February 2012.

Other presentations

• “Interviewing Techniques”, presented at Mount Browne, Surrey Police Headquarters to Surrey Appropriate Adult Volunteer Service (SAAVS) Annual Training, November 2012.

Current Teaching Activity

FTUG BSc (Hons) Criminology and Criminal Justice (Levels 4, 5 and 6)

• Introduction to Criminology
• Introduction to Criminal Justice
• Researching Criminologies 1
• Skills for Criminologists
• Institutions, Processes and Control
• Questioning Criminology
• Key Issues in Criminal Justice
• Contemporary Criminologies

Awards and prizes

• Bursary award from the British Society of Criminology for attendance and presentation of paper at the Annual British Society of Criminology Conference 2012 (Portsmouth, United Kingdom).
• Bursary award from the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group to attend and present a paper at the 5^th Annual International Investigative Interviewing Research Group Conference 2012 (Toronto, Canada).

Membership of Professional Bodies

• Member of the British Society of Criminology
• Member of the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group (iIIRG) 
• Associate of the Higher Education Academy
• Institute of Criminal Justice Studies, University of Portsmouth