Laura Richards, BSc, MSc, FRSA

Criminal Behavioural Psychologist

Laura Richards advises the Police, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Home Office on violent crime.

Laura left the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), New Scotland Yard in August 2007 to take up the role of advising ACPO after 10 years working on violent crime. Previously she set up the first Homicide Prevention Unit in the UK and the Violent Crime Intelligence and Analysis Unit in the MPS, brigading all the public protection units. She has also worked with the Police Standards Unit, Domestic Violence Bill team and Violent Crime Unit at the Home Office and has trained at the National Centre for the Analysis of Violence Crime at the FBI.
Laura has been involved in many complex murder cases, assaults and other sexual/violent crimes, inclusing the murders of Amelie Delagrange, Sally-Ann Bowman, Jodie Dubrowski and Banaz Mahmod. She has reviewed, analysed and conducted psychological autopsies on hundreds of cases to gain a better picture of the antecedents to murder and intervention and prevention opportunities.

Laura developed the Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Harassment and Honour Based Violence (DASH 2009) Risk Indentification, Assessment and Management Model that is currently being rolled our across police and partner agencies in the UK.
Laura has joined forces with Protection Against Stalking who are working jointly with relevant agencies to change society’s perception, to improve the safety of all victims of stalking and harassment and for the perpetrators to be held to account by the Criminal Justice System.

Laura's first book ‘Policing Domestic Violence’ was published in November 2008 by Oxford University Press and is a practical guide to policing domestic violence offering core practice advice including investigative techniques, risk identification, assessment and management, honour based violence and information on all practical measures which should be employed to protect victims and their children and hold offenders to account.

www.laurarichards.co.uk www.dashriskchecklist.co.uk

Buying Laura's book from Amazon using this link below helps support Protection Against Stalking.