COVID-19 should be considered an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE)

Dr. Michelle McManus is the Subject Head of Criminal Justice, within the School of Justice Studies. Previously, she was the National Research Lead for Public Health and Policing (Public Health Wales) leading the evaluation team within the £6.87m Police Transformation Funded (PTF) programme: Early Action Together (Police and Partners ACEs). This involved the creation and delivery a multi-method, multi-site, evaluation approach to transform policing and criminal justice in Wales to break the generational crime cycle and improving lives.

She was previously a Senior Lecturer with the University of Central Lancashire and was seconded to Lancashire Constabulary for 2 years as their Academic Lead for the Evidenced Based Research Hub. She received a certificate from DCC Sunita Gamblin for Outstanding Contribution to Evidence Based Policing.

She has published a range of journal articles with a focus on multli-agency working, decision making, vulnerability and violence prevention, along with characteristics and patterns of offending within offence types such as serious sexual offences, domestic abuse and serious organised crime.

Emma Ball is a PhD student at LJMU provisionally titled: ‘Post Covid-19 Pandemic: Working with Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE): Facilitators, barriers and values around developing and maintaining relationships within collaborative working, within early intervention and prevention services’. The ambition of the PhD to seeks to understand perspectives of professionals and practitioners within multi-agency teams as well as the views of families, around the role of relationships in partnership working mirror the research objectives stated here. The study will explore how relationships are fostered and maintained and what impact these relationships may have on multi-agency collaboration practices and the support which families receive within an early intervention and prevention setting. She is also a qualified social worker.