Ucl department of Security and Crime Science

Charities & Not-for-Profit Organisations

Crime Concern

Crime Concern is just one of a number of charities and not-for-profit organisations that MSc. Crime Science graduates may wish to work for. It is an independent, not-for-profit organisation and registered charity.

Positions are advertised on Crime Concern’s website and in the local and national press.

Crime Concern run a Professional Development Programme, which will enable you to access a range of development opportunities, to develop your professional skills.

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  All staff receive a minimum of 25 days holiday each year, rising by one day after each year’s service to a maximum of 30 days after 5 years service.
  
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  Employees also benefit from an extra three-day break between Christmas and New Year.
  
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  We offer a contributory pension scheme where if you contribute 5% of your salary, Crime Concern will contribute a further 10%.
  
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  We operate a flexi-time scheme in many parts of the organisation, which gives you the flexibility to make-up your working time, within the demands of your specific post.
  
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  You will be able to take advantage of our non-contributory health care scheme, which provides private health insurance.
  
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  We offer a life assurance scheme of four times your annual salary.
  
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  We offer a sickness scheme, which, after you have worked with Crime Concern for 6 months, gives you up to 6 months full pay if you are off sick.
  
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  In addition to all of this, we offer a working environment, which allows staff to be creative and encourages everyone to develop to their full potential. 
  

The Police Foundation

The Police Foundation aims to maximise the benefits of policing for all citizens living in the UK. We use research and our strong networks in government, academia and the corporate and voluntary sectors to improve policy and practice on policing, community safety and criminal justice. We place great store in our use of high quality evidence in providing a strictly impartial voice on issues related to contemporary policing and, in time, we aim to become the country’s knowledge hub on policing and public safety.

The Foundation is financially totally independent of the Police Service, the Government and its agencies. Financial support comes from a wide variety of corporate, charitable and individual donors, to whom we are eternally grateful. Our aim is to become a high profile organisation that responds to public concerns about policing and related issues, provides an independent voice on such concerns and thereby helps to make a real difference to the daily lives of people on the ground.

Vacancies appear on the Police Foundation website.

With a first class post graduate qualification in social research and a good understanding of research methods, applicants will help to plan and develop a programme of applied research, publish research papers and reports, organise events and seminars and contribute to public debate on policing and related issues.

Academic

Researcher

Social researchers design, formulate, carry out and manage social research projects, either personally or via agencies.

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  population structure and migration;
  
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  unemployment;
  
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  gender studies;
  
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  crime;
  
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  transport;
  
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  social services;
  
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  health care;
  
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  education;
  
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  the environment.
  

The results of social research projects may be used to shape policy, or to examine the effectiveness of existing policy by evaluating new policy initiatives and developments.

Although the work is open to graduates of all disciplines, most employers prefer a relevant social science discipline.

The main day-to-day tasks of a social researcher can be summarised as follows:

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  liaising with the client and taking instructions about the nature of the research to be carried out;
  
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  working from a brief using an appropriate and creative methodology to design and manage a research project, which, to varying degrees, may involve the use of quantitative and/or qualitative methods. This also involves both pilot and development work;
  
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  using a variety of research techniques to gather relevant information. These will include document analysis, surveys, case studies, interviews, etc;
  
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  developing and testing theories;
  
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  advising external bodies on social policy;
  
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  conducting literature searches using electronic databases and structured appraisals of abstracts;
  
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  carrying out or directing fieldwork to gather information;
  
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  evaluating research and interpreting data, making sure that key issues are identified;
  
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  preparing and reporting findings and disseminating results both orally and in writing;
  
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  providing research-based briefings and advice. This can sometimes involve writing action plans;
  
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  preparing and presenting tenders for new research projects.
  

In central and local government, higher education and most of the independent research institutes there is a recognisable career structure with different grades reflecting experience and seniority.

In the civil service there are two main grades to which external candidates are recruited: Research Officers (ROs) and Senior Research Officers (SROs). The entry point for an RO is a first degree in social sciences plus some postgraduate experience, for example a Masters degree. SROs are only recruited with at least three to four years' research experience, usually in an area that is relevant to the department. There is an internal promotion from RO to SRO when a person is felt to have reached the appropriate standard. These grades are managed by principal research officers who are rarely recruited from outside.
In some organisations, colleagues employed on a short-term basis support a small core group of permanent staff.
Researchers employed at university specialist research centres are usually on career grades linked to those of lecturing staff but staff are also employed on short-term contracts for a year or two.
Promotion generally brings involvement in larger projects and project management, as well as more policy decisions, tendering for new business, staff and financial management. Particularly in the private sector it is important that senior researchers can win new business.
Typical employers

All the main government departments employ social researchers to some degree. There are, however, some specialist departments, like the Office for National Statistics (ONS), who employ a great many social researchers. Within local government, research is initiated for the purpose of assisting officers and elected members in formulating policy and evaluating the effectiveness of council services. A policy unit may provide research services but individual service departments may also employ research staff.

The following salary information has been collected by Prospects Graduate Careers (www.prospects.ac.uk)

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  Range of typical starting salaries: £20,000 - £30,000 (salary data collected Jan 08).
  

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  Range of typical salaries after five years (in the public sector): £39,000 - £43,000 (salary data collected Jan 08)
  
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  Range of typical salaries at senior level/with experience (e.g., after 10 years in post): up to £75,000 in private sector posts (salary data collected Jan 08).
  
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  In higher education, those who do not secure a permanent academic post are likely to reach a ceiling of around £32,000 (salary data collected Jan 08).
  

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  Working hours are mainly nine to five with some extra hours required during the different stages of a project. Often, fieldwork interviews are conducted in the evenings or at weekends. It may also be necessary to work longer hours near to a project deadline.
  
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  The work is office based and involves frequent local travel and some UK travel.
  
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  Once practical experience has been gained, there are opportunities for freelance or consultancy work.
  
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  There are plenty of opportunities for part-time work.
  
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  Jobs are available throughout the UK, e.g. in university towns and cities. Some sectors of employment are more concentrated in London and the South East.
  
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  In some sectors, short-term contracts are common and this has lifestyle implications.
  
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  Working to project deadlines can be stressful.
  
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  The work demands occasional absence from home in order to attend conferences or network with people from overseas.
  

Research Degree

A PhD is a qualification which students can obtain after carrying out independent research for a period of at least three years. Most PhD programmes require you to have taken a Masters degree before hand, although other experience relevant to the field is often valuable.

You will normally require an upper second or first class degree in a relevant subject. Some funding bodies may set higher criteria. The recruitment process varies from university to university, but in general you should make an attempt to contact your preferred research supervisor to discuss the application with them.

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   The relevance of the proposed research to the field of Crime Science. Applicants that propose new research that uses scientific methods to assist in the prevention or detection of crime will be favoured.
   

Examples include:

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  research investigating crime patterning;
  
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  in-depth investigations of particular types of crime (e.g. robbery or burglary);
  
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  the use of forensic evidence in crime detection;
  
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  evaluations of Innovative crime prevention interventions;
  
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  crime and design research, and;
  
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  developing crime science methods.
  

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   Previous research experience. Applicants should provide evidence that they have conducted original research in the past. This could have been conducted in a previous job, or as part of a project or dissertation for a previous degree.
   

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   Possession of a good first degree in a relevant discipline, particularly those that have included research methods training.
   

Prospective students should make themselves familiar with the JDI and SCS web site, particularly the frequently asked questions section. Interested students should also ensure that they read the UCL Graduate School Prospectus or Guide to Graduate Study before completing the graduate application form.

Gaining funding for research degrees in the social sciences can be very difficult. There are many scholarships and grants available from charities and trusts but the main funding body is the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Competition for ESRC funding is fierce and the number of awards made in the UK each year is only around 500-650.