Kim Hadfield

PhD studentship in the ecological consequences of marine wildlife crime

Hi, I am a BSc Psychology and MSc Forensic Psychology graduate. I have experience working with personality disordered offenders in a secure hospital and experience volunteering with Derbyshire Constabulary, within the Criminal Investigation Department.

With a background in Forensic Psychology, I have developed a deep-rooted interest in research which seeks to understand offenders’ motivations for criminal behaviour. During my MSc, I additionally discovered a passion for research involving animal and environmental welfare. Based in both Criminology and Marine Ecology, the interdisciplinarity of my PhD project allows me to combine the two, in conducting innovative research which I hope will ultimately inform and facilitate change to wildlife crime enforcement initiatives.

My research project aims to investigate whether the ecological role and functional characteristics of marine wildlife, seized at airports and ports in the UK and Indonesia, can be used to estimate and map ecosystem risk. It will also include prediction of crime in relation to climate change and environmental variables by applying innovative spatial profiling techniques to wildlife crime data. Furthermore, the motivations of convicted wildlife crime perpetrators will be examined.

My PhD offers a unique opportunity to work with an interdisciplinary supervisory team including, Dr Michelle Newberry (Criminology) and Professor Martin Solan (Ocean and Earth Science).