Dr Rebecca Oswald

Assistant Professor

Department: Social Sciences

Rebecca is an Assistant Professor in Criminology and Sociology in the department of Social Sciences. She currently teaches on undergraduate Criminology modules and on the Northumbria Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) and Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP) programs. She was awarded her PhD at Northumbria University, entitled 'Exploring the Impact of Meaningful Employment upon the Identity and Desistance Process of Young Offenders' in 2020.

Email Rebecca

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Rebecca's research interests lie in the areas of youth crime, youth justice, desistance from offending and the role of voluntary sector organisations working with criminalised populations.

Rebecca's research is currently focused on two areas. Firstly, investigating Work Integration Social Enterprise and their role in supporting criminalised individuals desist from crime. Secondly, to greater understand the changing picture of serious youth violence in the Northeast of England and the interventions and best practices that can support young people impacted by violence and child criminal exploitation.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Exploring how employment schemes for young offenders aid desistance from crime, Oswald, R. 1 Mar 2023, In: Probation Journal
Exploring Young Offenders’ Conceptions of Meaningful Employment, Oswald, R. 1 Mar 2023, In: Trends in Psychology
‘Safe spaces and places’: the value of design-led methodologies in developing online narratives, Oswald, R., Soppitt, S., Spencer, N., Powell, L., Richardson, C., Coombs, S. 23 Jan 2023, In: International Journal of Social Research Methodology
The Digital Turn in Social Work Education and Practice, Toros, K., Falch-Eriksen, A., Lehtme, R., Saia, K., McInnes, A., Soppitt, S., Oswald, R., Walker, S. 27 Sep 2023, Smart Learning Ecosystems as Engines of the Green and Digital Transition, Singapore, Springer
The role of environmental work in supporting child desistance, Oswald, R. 15 Sep 2023, In: Safer Communities
Condemned to precarity? Criminalised youths, social enterprise and the sub-precariat, Soppitt, S., Oswald, R., Walker, S. 15 Jun 2022, In: Social Enterprise Journal
Serious Youth Violence and First Time Entrants to the Youth Justice Service in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne: Serious Youth Violence Pathfinder (April 2022), Soppitt, S., Oswald, R., Powell, L., Spencer, N., Richardson, C. Apr 2022
The impact of employment upon young offenders' identities, Oswald, R. 1 Jun 2022, In: Howard Journal of Crime and Justice
Do Flood Mitigation and Natural Habitat Protection Employment Reduce Youth Offending?, Long, M., Oswald, R., Stretesky, P., Soppitt, S. 1 Jun 2019, In: European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research

Qualifications

PhD November 28 2020
Criminology MA June 30 2016
Law LLB (Hons) June 19 2012

+

Northumbria Open Days

Open Days are a great way for you to get a feel of the University, the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the course(s) you are interested in.

+

Research at Northumbria

Research is the life blood of a University and at Northumbria University we pride ourselves on research that makes a difference; research that has application and affects people's lives.