Dr Lauren Swan-Keig is currently an associate tutor in the department of Policing and a postdoctoral researcher working as part of the research team on a UK Research and Innovation Fellowship iLeX project. The aim of the project is to explore information exchange between international law enforcement agencies.

Lauren has completed an undergraduate degree in Forensic Psychology and Criminal Justice, a master’s degree in Investigative and Forensic Psychology and was awarded a full scholarship to complete a PhD. Lauren attained the PhD in 2020, this was largely interdisciplinary and focused on improving the communication between the emergency services and members of the public. This was done by evaluating local, regional, and national large scale live exercises that involved members of the public and high number of emergency service personnel.

Outputs of Lauren’s PhD research included practitioner reports (Report to Home Secretary on JESIP during Ex. Joint Endeavour; Evaluation Framework for European Commission & Cabinet Office during Ex. Unified Response) and delivering training as part of Merseyside Fire and Rescue’s Incident Command and Control professional development programme. Lauren was also an active member of the Merseyside Resilience Forum, assisting in the development of their new website.

In addition to the above, Lauren has taken part in other important projects such as co-chairing an independent debrief of the Bosley Mill Incident and subsequently producing a report for Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Lauren has research interests in the multi-agency communication. Particularly with how effectively Police, Fire and Rescue and the Ambulance Service communicate with each other and then to members of the public; in addition to how well they communicate with other partner agencies. Lauren also is interested in community resilience and how the emergency services can enable members of the public to become prepared for prospective emergencies.

Whilst completing her PhD at the University of Liverpool, Lauren taught on multiple postgraduate programs in the University’s medical school on topics such as casualty communication and decision making, in addition to teaching the foundations of psychology on a psychiatry degree programme. Lauren has also supervised students completing their final dissertations on the Investigative and Forensic MSc course at the University of Liverpool, specifically with topics related to the emergency services and live exercises.

Lauren has recently been made an Associate Tutor with Edge Hill University and has been undertaking some teaching on Policing modules in the department.

Lauren has previously been employed as a freelance researcher for a Channel 5 two-part documentary ‘Inside Broadmoor’. For this Lauren provided the background research to the serial offenders discussed in the show.