About us.
This project investigates the scale and impact of digitally‑enabled coercive control across York and North Yorkshire. In partnership with North Yorkshire Police, it maps the experiences of victim‑survivors, frontline officers, and VAWG practitioners to identify gaps in services, training, and operational practice. As everyday technologies such as doorbell cameras, tracking devices, and location‑sharing apps become more widespread, opportunities for covert monitoring within coercively controlling relationships have increased. Despite this, robust evidence grounded in the lived experiences of both law enforcement and victim‑survivors remains limited. This project addresses that gap, generating insights to strengthen policing responses and inform policy and practice.
The project is proud to be a part of the Social Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of York — an internationally recognised centre for applied social policy research. Since 1973, SPRU has been committed to reflecting the experiences of service users, working across organisational boundaries, and producing research that drives meaningful change. Its work is funded by bodies including central government, NIHR, ESRC, and leading charitable foundations.
The project team brings expertise in gendered violence, policing, and ethical qualitative methods, combining academic rigour with practical experience of working alongside police and vulnerable groups. Together, the team aims to produce evidence that is policy‑relevant, practice‑focused, and actionable, supporting improved responses to digitally‑enabled coercive control and contributing to a stronger national evidence base.
Research team:
Dr Susan Watson
Susan is Lecturer in Criminal Justice and Social Policy at the University of York. She’s an intersectional feminist researcher who specialises in understanding how technology shapes gendered violence. Susan’s work blends in‑depth qualitative interviewing with large‑scale digital analysis — from speaking with women in public‑facing roles and senior police officers to analysing more than 10 million tweets for her book on the online abuse of women in public life.
Before joining academia, she worked across research, policymaking, and political communication, including roles with the Home Affairs Select Committee and as director of research for a major charitable foundation. This mix of practical policy experience and academic expertise shapes her commitment to producing research that is rigorous, grounded, and useful.
Dr Sam Hinrichs
Sam is a qualitative researcher with a strong grounding in social harm and criminal justice. He has experience working with vulnerable groups and is skilled in trauma‑informed interviewing and creative, participatory methods that support people to share their experiences safely and meaningfully. Before joining the project, Sam worked closely with the police and criminal justice partners on research designed to inform practice and improve outcomes for drug users. His commitment to rigorous, ethical, and impactful research underpins the thoughtful, practice‑aware perspective he brings to the team.
North Yorkshire Police
North Yorkshire Police is the largest police area in England, covering 8,320 square kilometres of mostly rural communities. The force serves roughly 820,000 people, including the city of York. North Yorkshire Police are partners in this research.
Steering group.
Group members:
