Personal statement

Dr Sophie Pike is a Lecturer in Criminology at Bath Spa University. 

Sophie’s PhD research explored changes to the police investigation of homicide in England and Wales from the 1980s to the present day. The qualitative study was based on interviews with former and serving homicide detectives and members of the legal profession, as well as case file analysis and observations of investigations and detective training. The findings of this research will be presented to the Home Office in November 2018. 

Before starting her undergraduate degree, Sophie worked as a Community Safety Support Officer for a local authority Community Safety Team. She has also worked for a Social Services Child Protection Team. 

Academic qualifications

  • PhD - University of South Wales (2018)
  • MSc, Criminology and Criminal Justice (with distinction) - University of South Wales (2011)
  • BSc, Criminology and Criminal Justice - University of Glamorgan (2010)

Professional memberships

  • British Society of Criminology

Other external roles

  • External member - University of South Wales’ Violence and Homicide, Investigation and Prevention, Expertise and Research (VHIPER)
  • Former Co-chair - British Society of Criminology, Wales branch (2018)

Areas of expertise

Sophie's research interests and areas of expertise include:

  • Homicide
  • Violence
  • Major crime investigation
  • Detective work
  • Policing
  • Qualitative research.

Research outputs

Publications

  • Brookman, F., Pike, S., Maguire, E.  (accepted 10th April 2019)  “Dancing Around Miranda: The Effects of Legal Reform on Homicide Detectives in the US and the UK”.  Criminal Law Bulletin
  • Pike, S. (2019) ‘Homicide’, in: J. Muncie and E. McLaughlin (eds.). The Sage Dictionary of Criminology, London: Sage Publications, 4th Edn, pp. 264 – 266
  • Brookman, F., Jones, H., and Pike, S.  (2017) ‘Homicide in Britain’ in Brookman, F., Maguire, E., and Maguire, M.  (Eds.) Handbook of Homicide.  Wiley-Blackwell 
  • Pike, S. (2016) 'An Exploration of the Changes to the Police Investigation of Homicide in England and Wales from the 1980s to the Present'. In SAGE Research Methods Cases. London: Sage Publications.

Conference papers

  • "A Critical Exploration of Changes to the Investigation of Homicide in England and Wales from the 1980s to the Present Day: Findings from PhD Research". Home Office. Home Office, Central London (13th November 2018)
  • "Explaining Changes to the Investigation of Homicide in England and Wales". European Society of Criminology Annual Conference. University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (29th August – 1st September 2018)
  • "An Exploration of Changes to the Investigation of Homicide in England and Wales from the 1980s to the Present Day". European Society of Criminology Annual Conference. Cardiff University, South Wales (13th – 16th September 2017)
  • "The Changing Face of Homicide Investigations – only the crime is fixed in time". Presented with Dr Cheryl Allsop. British Society of Criminology Conference. Nottingham Conference Centre, Nottingham (6th – 8th July 2016)
  • "An Exploration of Changes to the Investigation of Homicide in England and Wales from the 1980s to the Present Day: Scientific and Technological Change". British Society of Criminology, Welsh Branch. University of South Wales, Treforest (15th October 2015)
  • "Homicide Investigation: Past, Present and Future". Presented with Professor Fiona Brookman and Dr Cheryl Allsop. The Welsh Centre for Crime and Social Justice (WCCSJ) Annual Conference. Gregynog, Mid-Wales (May 2015).

Research and academic outputs

Go to ResearchSPAce

The Routledge international handbook of homicide investigation
book

Allsop, C and Pike, S, eds. (2023) The Routledge international handbook of homicide investigation. Routledge, Abingdon. ISBN 9781032047263

A recent history of homicide investigation: changes and implications for criminal justice in England and Wales
book

Pike, S (2022) A recent history of homicide investigation: changes and implications for criminal justice in England and Wales. Routledge, Abingdon. ISBN 9781032062341

Contemporary challenges in homicide investigation
book_section

Brookman, F and Pike, S (2024) 'Contemporary challenges in homicide investigation.' In: Burgason, K.A and DeLisi, M, eds. Routledge handbook of homicide studies. Routledge, New York, NY, pp. 644-662. ISBN 9781032505305

Homicide investigations and survivors of homicide
book_section

Allsop, C and Pike, S (2023) 'Homicide investigations and survivors of homicide.' In: Allsop, C and Pike, S, eds. The Routledge international handbook of homicide investigation. Routledge, Abingdon. ISBN 9781032047263

Homicide investigation and miscarriages of justice
book_section

McCartney, C, Allsop, C and Pike, S (2023) 'Homicide investigation and miscarriages of justice.' In: Allsop, C and Pike, S, eds. The Routledge international handbook of homicide investigation. Routledge, Abingdon. ISBN 9781032047263

Behind the (crime) scenes: researching the history of homicide investigation in England and Wales
book_section

Pike, S (2023) 'Behind the (crime) scenes: researching the history of homicide investigation in England and Wales.' In: Allsop, C and Pike, S, eds. The Routledge international handbook of homicide investigation. Routledge, Abingdon. ISBN 9781032047263

Homicide in context
book_section

Pike, S, Allsop, C and Brookman, F (2020) 'Homicide in context.' In: Loucks, N, Smith Holt, S and Adler, J.R, eds. Why we kill: understanding violence across cultures and disciplines. 2nd ed. Routledge, Abingdon, pp. 19-33. ISBN 9780367271664

Homicide
book_section

Pike, S (2019) 'Homicide.' In: Muncie, J and McLaughlin, E, eds. The Sage dictionary of criminology. 4th ed. Sage, London. ISBN 9781526436726

Homicide in Britain
book_section

Brookman, F, Jones, H and Pike, S (2017) 'Homicide in Britain.' In: Brookman, F, Maguire, E.R and Maguire, M, eds. The handbook of homicide. Wiley Blackwell, Chichester, pp. 320-344. ISBN 9781118924471

An exploration of the changes to the police investigation of homicide in England and Wales from the 1980s to the present: a qualitative research study
book_section

Pike, S (2016) 'An exploration of the changes to the police investigation of homicide in England and Wales from the 1980s to the present: a qualitative research study.' In: SAGE Research Methods Cases. Sage, London. ISBN 9781473951945

Dancing around 'Miranda': the effects of legal reform on homicide detectives in the USA and the UK
article

Brookman, F, Pike, S and Maguire, E.R (2019) 'Dancing around 'Miranda': the effects of legal reform on homicide detectives in the USA and the UK.' Criminal Law Bulletin, 55 (5). pp. 725-763. ISSN 0011-1317

Investigating homicide: back to the future
article

Allsop, C and Pike, S (2019) 'Investigating homicide: back to the future.' Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice, 5 (3). pp. 229-239. ISSN 2056-3841