Dr Chris Baldwin, PhD

Biography

Dr Baldwin studied law as an undergraduate at the University of Sunderland, graduating with first-class honours in 2006. He was also awarded the Sunderland Academy Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement in that year.

After undertaking a variety of roles within the legal industry, he left legal practice in 2008 to teach law and criminology at Newcastle College. He was appointed as a lecturer in law at the University of Sunderland in July 2010, teaching (and leading) a wide range of modules, specialising largely in the law of obligations and criminal law and practice. He was made a senior lecturer in 2013 and successfully defended his doctoral thesis (without corrections or amendments) in December 2019.

He remained in post until July 2021, before joining the University of Cumbria in the same month. He teaches on a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate law and criminology programmes, specialising in criminal justice (criminology) and the law of tort (law).

Outwith the above, he has also lectured on a visiting basis at the University of Law (2022) and also edited level 3 and level 6 materials for the Cilex Law School (2018 - 2021).

Qualifications and memberships

LL.B (Hons) 2006

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) 2019

Fellow of Advance HE (2015)

Academic and research interests

Dr Baldwin has worked extensively to improve the provision of clinical legal education for undergraduate law students. In 2013 he designed, opened and managed the pro-bono law clinic at the University of Sunderland and variously supervised students engaged in live client work. He has also engaged in the skill of client interviewing, coaching a student team to 2nd place in the Client Interviewing Competition for England and Wales in 2017. 

Dr Baldwin's is a sociolegal researcher interested in criminal procedure, rehabilitation and desistance, but his particular interest lies in the various collections of criminality data in England and Wales and the collation, storage and usage of that data in it's various guises. He has published a number of peer-reviewed papers concerning the use of criminality data for criminal records purposes, while his doctoral thesis concerned a critical examination of police (non) compliance with data protection legislation in respect of the Police National Computer.

His current research projects include an examination of the 'data footprint' created by TPIMs for those suspected of terrorism-related activity, and an empirical analysis of criminal records resulting from consensual youth 'sexting'.

Research supervision

Chris is able to supervise post-graduate students across a depth and breadth of subject areas in both law and criminology.

Although especially interested in research students interested in criminality data, his past and current PhD supervisions include research in areas as diverse as counter-terrorism deradicalisation strategies in the UK, Canada and New Zealand, facilitating improvements for online processes for civil litigation and measuring the value of 'youth work'.

Publications

Research papers

Baldwin, C, ‘The demise of the Criminal Records Bureau’ (2019) 83(3) Journal of Criminal Law 229

Baldwin, C, ‘The Vetting Epidemic in England and Wales’, (2017) 81(6) Journal of Criminal Law 478 – 496

Baldwin, C, ‘Necessary Intrusion or Criminalising the Innocent? An exploration of Modern Criminal Vetting’, (2012) 76(2) Journal of Criminal Law 140 – 163

 

Doctoral Thesis

Baldwin, C, Protection from harm or more harm than good? A critical evaluation of the PHOENIX Police National Computer application and concurrent compliance with applicable data protection legislation (December 2019)

 

Conference presentations

Baldwin, C., ‘Desistance – the solution to the criminal records conundrum?’ Faculty of Business, Law and Tourism Research Conference, September 9 – 10 2020

 Baldwin, C., ‘Lest talk about Sex(ting)!’ Faculty of Business, Law and Tourism Research Conference, September 12 2019

Recent external roles

Northern Chair for the Client Interviewing Competition for England and Wales (2017-2021)

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