Professor Sarah Soppitt

Professor

Department: Social Sciences

ADSS Sarahsoppitt Staffprofile 255

Sarah joined the Criminology team at Northumbria University in 2005 since which time she has undertaken a number of roles including Programme Director and Head of Department of Social Sciences before becoming the Associate Pro Vice Chancellor for Teaching and Learning, for the Faculty of Arts, Design and Social Sciences.

Sarah became an Associate Professor in 2016. Sarah’s current work focuses upon social enterprise and cooperatives, and their role in developing employment opportunities for those with offending histories, and promoting desistance.

Sarah has developed a number of key partnerships with Police, Probation and Youth Justice, and third sector organisations which support broader teaching, learning and research agendas. Sarah currently leads a multi-disciplinary team of academics with an interest in Policing, and manages the Northumbria Police partnership.

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Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Sarah is a professor in criminology who has developed a considerable body of work, and reputation for applied criminological research. She has been involved in criminal justice research, consultancy and evalutions nationally and internationally for twenty years, primarily addressing issues associated with justice involved young people . Most recently, with her colleagues Dr Rebecca Oswald and Dr Samantha Walker, Sarah has been focusing on serious youth violence and children criminal exploitaiton. Currently Sarah, (with Sam and Rebecca) is conducitng research around child first approaches with young people involved in serious youth violence (British Academy), the support availble in commnuties affected by serious youth violence and anti-social behaviour (Durham PCC), and the use of threat to life warnings with under 18s. Collectively they have developed the Safer Children Network (NE), a knowledge transfer platform for those working with young people involved in, or at risk from serious youth violence. https://hosting2.northumbria.ac.uk/saferchildrennetwork/

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
The role of ‘place’ in understanding the drivers of serious youth violence: an examination of identity, territorialism, and community., Walker, S., Oswald, R., Soppitt, S. 23 Apr 2025, In: Criminology and Criminal Justice
Improving the Hope of Young People Impacted by Serious Violence and Child Criminal Exploitation: Full Report May 2024, Oswald, R., Soppitt, S., Walker, S., Irving, A. 17 May 2024
“Improving the Hope of Young People impacted by Serious Violence and Child Criminal Exploitation”. Interim Report April 2023, Oswald, R., Walker, S., Soppitt, S., Irving, A. 4 Jun 2024
‘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. 3 May 2024, 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
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. 19 Aug 2022
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
CEPOL Stakeholder Engagement Survey 2018, Rowe, M., Soppitt, S., Francis, P. 16 Jul 2018