Dr Fay Sweeting
- 01202 965049
- fsweeting at bournemouth dot ac dot uk
- http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0334-578X
- Senior Lecturer in Psychology
- Poole House P104a, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole, BH12 5BB
Biography
Prior to joining academia, I was a Dorset Police officer (2004-2021). In 2017, I completed the MSc in investigative forensic psychology at BU and stayed on to complete a funded PhD.
My main research area concerns sexual misconduct within the police - inclusive of abuse of position for a sexual purpose as well as internal sexism, bullying and misogyny. I am also developing a risk assessment tool to assist the police in identifying officers who are engaging in the above mentioned behaviours.
I am currently a member of two National Police Chief Council working groups (abuse of position and internal sexual misconduct) and the HMIC academic research group.
In addition to my main interests, I also conduct research into the rare and complex auto-immune condition of Behçet's disease. I am also supervising post-graduate students in the areas of rape myths, post natal depression and emotions in the neuro-diverse.
Current projects:
National survey on police sexism and misogyny
Pilot psychometric testing of police recruits...
Abuse of position risk assessment tool
Police perpetrated domestic abuse with Associate Prof Natasha Mulvihill at Bristol University.
moreJournal Articles
- Wheeler, A., Farrington, S., Sweeting, F., Brown, A. and Mayers, A., 2024. Perceived Pressures and Mental Health of Breastfeeding Mothers: A Qualitative Descriptive Study. Healthcare (Switzerland), 12 (17).
- Mulvihill, N. and Sweeting, F., 2024. Sexual and violent police perpetrators: the institutional response to reporting victims. Policing and Society.
- Bubbear Rogers, E. and Sweeting, F., 2024. Exploring police employees' attitudes and behaviours as a bystander towards police sexual misconduct. Policing (Oxford), 18.
- Sweeting, F. and Cole, T., 2023. Sexual Misconduct in Police Recruits as identified by Police Trainers. Police Journal, 96 (2), 245-266.
- Davis, H., Lawrence, S., Wilson, E., Sweeting, F. and Poate-Joyner, A., 2023. ‘No one likes a grass’ Female police officers’ experience of workplace sexual harassment: A qualitative study. International Journal of Police Science and Management, 25 (2), 183-195.
- Sweeting, F. and Cole, T., 2023. The sharks and the fishermen: An exploratory content analysis of police officers who abused their positions for a sexual purpose. International Journal of Police Science & Management.
- Sweeting, F. and Cole, T., 2023. “We do employ some morons”: police trainers' opinions on recruitment procedures. Policing and Society: an international journal of research and policy.
- Sweeting, F., Callon, Z. and Firth, E., 2023. How can rape investigations be enhanced? Consideration of attrition in rape cases: Second follow-up study. Psychology of Women and Equalities Section Review, 5 (2).
- Sweeting, F., Cole, T. and Hills, P., 2022. Is the blue wall of silence a fallacy in cases of police sexual misconduct? International Journal of Police Science and Management, 24 (3), 285-297.
- Sweeting, F. and Arden-Close, E., 2022. The impact of Behçet’s disease on intimate relationships in women: A qualitative study. Chronic Illness, 18 (2), 255-267.
- Sweeting, F., Arabaci-Hills, P. and Cole, T., 2021. Outcomes of Police Sexual Misconduct in the UK. Policing (Oxford), 15 (2), 1339-1351.
Books
- Polkinghorne, M. et al., 2023. Fusion Learning Conference 2023 - Proceedings. Poole, Dorset, UK, BH12 5BB: Bournemouth University.
Theses
- Sweeting, F., 2021. Sexual misconduct in police officers: development of a risk assessment tool for the early identification of police officers and staff who abuse their positions for a sexual purpose. PhD Thesis. Bournemouth University, Faculty of Science and Technology.
Others
- Sweeting, F.R. and Cole, T., 2023. “We do employ some morons”: police trainers' opinions on recruitment procedures. Published.
Conference Presentations
- Tackling VAWG Together Conference, 06 Dec 2023, Tidworth, Wiltshire
- Now's the time - Learning Event, 26 May 2023, Birmingham
- Police Misconduct, 16 May 2023, London
- Somerset VAWG day, 15 May 2023, Bridgewater, Somerset
- College of Policing: VAWG conference, 15 May 2023, Ryton
- Avon & Somerset Police Abuse of Position Conference, 15 Mar 2023, Avon and Somerset Police HQ
- Sexual harassment in the workplace, 24 Jan 2023, Manchester
- Professional Standards and Ethics Conference 2022, 21 Nov 2022, Stratford Upon Avon
- Garda Commissioners Conference, 08 Nov 2022, Tipperary
- Shining a light on betrayal, 26 Jul 2022, Belfast
- Abuse of position for a sexual purpose: keeping boundaries professional, 29 Oct 2021, Durham
Broadcast Interview
- Women in the police: the inside story
- Dispatches, Abuse of position for a sexual purpose in the police, Ellie, F, 11 Oct 2021. https://www.channel4.com/programmes/cops-on-trial-dispatches
- Manifesto For Change: Preventing Male Violence in Policing:, We will explore perpetrators, attractiveness of policing to both predatory and opportunistic perpetrators, interventions, and the evidence base of what works, Fish, S, 22 Feb 2021. https://policing.tv/videos/preventing-male-violence-in-policing-ep3-insight-into-police-perpetrators/