Keith Wharton

Senior Lecturer

Health, Education, Policing and Sciences

Having started life as an apprentice engineer, I moved into Policing in my mid-twenties. I served with West Midlands Police and the National Crime Squad and became a specialist in pro-active paedophile investigation. During this time I gained the first intercept authority for a paedophile operation, the first 'on-line' property interference authority and went on to develop the Covert Intelligence Investigators Course at Wyboston Police College. I finished my service with the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit as head of Intelligence and Prison Intelligence. Following retirement, I worked for the Ministry of Justice until I was offered a position in the Law Department of the School of Law, Policing and Forensics at Staffordshire University in May 2016. I now lecture in the Law and Criminology Sections of the School of Justice, Security and Sustainability. 

Academic qualifications

  • 2000 LL.B (Hons) Bachelor of Laws (Birmingham)

  • 2011 LL.M Master of Laws (Staffordshire)

  • 2015 Certificate in research 

  • PhD – Doctor in Philosophy – Examination in Law and Practice Relating to CSE

Expertise

  • Child Law
  • Crime
  • Criminology
  • Serious organised crime investigation and overt and covert investigative techniques
  • Terrorism

Research interests

  • Serious and organised crime and urban street gang theory
  • Police culture and practice
  • Crime Reduction
  • Environmental Criminology
  • Safeguarding and child welfare from a legal standpoint
  • Violent and sexual offending
  • Child Law
  • Crime
  • Criminology
  • Serious organised crime investigation using overt and covert intelligence and investigative techniques
  • Terrorism

Teaching

Undergraduate

  • Level 4 Policing and Criminology
  • Level 5/6 urban criminological concepts – criminology and crime.
  • Research supervision

Postgraduate

  • Research supervision
in the UK for Quality Education

Sustainable Development Goal 4, Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2024

for Career Prospects

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023

for Facilities

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023

for Social Inclusion

The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023

of Research Impact is ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Very Considerable’

Research Excellence Framework 2021

of Research is “Internationally Excellent” or “World Leading”

Research Excellence Framework 2021

Four Star Rating

QS Star Ratings 2021