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Dr Anna Hopkins

Profile summary

Professional biography

Anna Hopkins joined Policing Organisation and Practice Team as a Lecturer in November 2020. 

Anna actively researches the role between domestic abuse victim engagement and policing. She has just completed her first project on Evidence Led Prosecutions in Domestic Abuse funded by the Police Star fund. She is currently completing the second Evidence Led Prosecution project  which has received further funding and looks to expand the evidence base of the use of these prosecutions in terms of understnding CJS decision making and the impact on these prosecutions have upon victims. At the completion of the second project, it is anticipated to design an online learning tool to assist officers in understanding the crucial role of evidnece gathering in evidence led prosecutions. 

Prior to this, Anna worked on a large scale project addressing victim (dis)engagement in domestic abuse and sexual violence cases involving 7 forces to understand the key aspects of what causes victim (dis) engagement and at what point. 

Anna also worked on a domestic homicide project with Sandra Walklate analyising serious case reviews from the IOPC and what role the police played prior to the homicides taking place.

She currently advises Merseyside on matters relating to domestic abuse. 

She is part of the team designing and delivering the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) for new police officers, as well as contributing to the overall development of programmes under the Police Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF).

Before joining the team at the OU, Anna worked as a Senior Lecturer at Edge Hill University where she was Year Leader and module leader for several modules. Anna has extensive experience in lecturing in Policing as well as Criminology and Psychology having taught in various universities across the North West of the UK.

Prior to becoming an academic, Anna served as a Police Officer in Greater Manchester Police where she worked in many front line capacities and specialised in Domestic Violence. 

 

Research interests

Anna's currently working on an OU project with Senior Research Fellow Lis Bates which addresses victim engagement and disengagement in domestic violence and rape cases. 

 Anna's research interests focus around victim decision-making in Domestic Violence and Domestic Homicides. Anna's PhD analysed a large number of victim police statements to thematically represent victim decision-making in reporting and retracting domestic violence to the police. Anna is particularly interested in understanding domestic violence victim engagement and what processes/concepts assist in improving victim engagement. 

Teaching interests

Public Protection, vulnerability and victimology. 

Impact and engagement

Hopkins, A. (2023) “Examining Reasons for Victim Retraction in Domestic Violence and Abuse: A Qualitative Analysis of Police Retraction Statements in the United Kingdom." The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles, https://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X231159807

 

Article in Policing Insight: https://policinginsight.com/author/annahopkins/

Hopkins, A. and Miller, P. (2022) ‘This statement is true to the best of my knowledge and belief’: a provisional assessment of the utility of police victim statements in the qualitative understanding of domestic violence and abuse, Journal of Gender-Based Violence, XX(XX): 1–17, DOI: 10.1332/239868021X16528076885500

Walklate, S., Hopkins, A. Real Lives and Lost Lives: Making Sense of ‘Locked in’ Responses to Intimate Partner Homicide. Asian J Criminol 14, 129–143 (2019). 

 

 

External collaborations

Anna currently advises Merseyside Police on matters pertaining to domestic violence. 

Member of the International Police Association: Have forged international working relationships with German Police forces and educational police training institutions. 

Publications

Examining reasons for victim retraction in domestic violence and abuse: A qualitative analysis of police retraction statements in the United Kingdom (2023)
Hopkins, Anna
The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles ((Early Access))


Researching gender-based violence remotely during a pandemic: challenges, opportunities and methodological implications (2023)
Taylor-Dunn, Holly; Bates, Lis; Reed, Dominic; Hopkins, Anna and Morrison, Shona
Journal of Gender-Based Violence ((Early access))


‘This statement is true to the best of my knowledge and belief’: a provisional assessment of the utility of police victim statements in the qualitative understanding of domestic violence and abuse (2022)
Hopkins, Anna and Miller, Paul K.
Journal of Gender-Based Violence ((Early access))