Expert Witness Conference 2024

Professor Leam Craig is a Consultant Forensic and Clinical Psychologist and Partner at Forensic Psychology Practice Ltd. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society, a Fellow of The Academy of Social Sciences, a Full Member of the Academy of Experts and the Expert Witness Institute.. He has over 25 years' experience in conducting psychological reports for courts in criminal and child care proceedings; completing over 1200+ court reports assessing sexual and violent offenders, parents other carers and children in care proceedings (with an age range between 6 to 16 years for psychometric assessment and clinical interview), and observation of contact with an age range from 8 months to late adolescence, as well as offending behaviour in adults.

Glenda C. Liell, is a Forensic Psychologist with over 25 years' experience in roles across criminal justice including high security prisons, regional psychology, headquarters, and probation.  She is the current Chair of the BPS Committee on Test Standards and has represented the Division of Forensic Psychology on other BPS Committees.  Her most recent publication was as lead editor of Challenging Bias in Forensic Psychological Assessment & Testing, the first book of its kind aimed at improving forensic practice in testing.  She has also guest lectured at various universities.

HHJ Andrew Smith KC, is a Circuit Judge who sits primarily at Birmingham Crown Court.  His work focusses on serious crime cases including homicide.  He is a contributing editor to the Judicial College's Crown Court Compendium.  Andrew also sits in the County Court and is a criminal course tutor judge for the Judicial College.  Prior to becoming a Circuit Judge, Andrew was in silk for ten years.  He prosecuted and defended a range of criminal cases with a particular emphasis on cases involving the deaths of babies and young children and murders arising out of organised criminal activity.   Andrew is the National Lead Facilitator for Vulnerable Witness Advocacy Training of both criminal and family advocates on behalf of the Inns of Court College of Advocacy.

Benjamin Douglas-Jones KC, was appointed as a Recorder of the Crown Court in 2018 and a Deputy High Court Judge in 2021.  He is a leading silk in financial, serious, consumer, appellate and human rights crime.  He defends professional and corporate clients including public limited companies and prosecutes for the Serious Fraud Office and CPS Headquarters' Specialist Fraud Division, Appeals and Review Unit, Organised Crime Unit, Proceeds of Crime Unit and Complex Case Units.  He also prosecutes for local authorities.  He has prosecuted financial crime in the Supreme Court and has defended in the most high-profile frauds in England and Wales for over 18 years.  Recorder Douglas-Jones practises in all serious, complex fiscal and non-fiscal fraud, including corporate, financial, banking, carousel, MTIC, tax evasion scheme, acquisition, mortgage, Excise, Hawala, advance fee (419), boiler room, Ponzi , NHS, dental, pharmaceutical, Internet, car-ringing, gambling, cheque clearing cycle and insurance fraud.  His appellate work has seen him appear in over 200 reported cases.  He is a leading Silk in appeals concerning issues of human trafficking and refugees and conducts second-opinion defence appellate work where he did not appear in the Crown Court and is instructed by the CPS Appeals and Review Unit in the High Court and Court of Appeal.  He is editor of Human Rights in Criminal Law; Bloomsbury Professional (2022), and has co-written the CPS Guidance on charging and prosecuting victims of human trafficking for over 10 years, the Law Society Guidance on defending people who might be victims of human trafficking and the refugee defence and the Judicial College Guidance on trying defendants who might be victims of trafficking or slavery.  He is author of Blackstone's Guide to the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Dr Katie Maras, Ph.D., is a Reader in Psychology and Deputy Director of the Centre for Applied Autism Research (CAAR) at the University of Bath. Her research focuses on autistic people's experiences within the Criminal Justice System and the adaptations that police and other professionals can make to accommodate their differences. She has particular expertise regarding police interviewing techniques and is currently leading a three-year ESRC-funded project extending this work to examine how autistic people can be supported to provide their best evidence in court.  Katie works with policy makers, police and other legal professionals to provide evidence-based policy, guidance and training when working with autistic people.

Professor Michael Kopelman Ph.D, FBPsS, FRCPsych, FMedSci is Emeritus Professor of Neuropsychiatry, King's College London (Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience).  He formerly ran a Neuropsychiatry and Memory Disorders Clinic at St Thomas's Hospital, London, for 25 years.  He is a former President of the International Neuropsychological Society and the International Neuropsychiatric Association.  He has been co-editor/co-author of The Handbook of Memory Disorders, 2002 and Lishman's Organic Psychiatry, 4^th edition, 2009. He has written on many aspects of amnesia and memory disorders - from the nature of cognitive deficits in neurological disease to amnesia in crime.  He is a member of Forensic Psychiatry Chambers, and his medico-legal work has included criminal, extradition, death row, detainee, civil, and appeal cases.

Professor Heather Flowe, Ph.D (University of California, San Diego), is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Birmingham. With research funding from various organisations (UKRI, Nuffield Foundation, National Science Foundation, US), Heather has led extensive research on memory and trauma in legal contexts, focusing on topics such as police interviews, criminal identification procedures, and case adjudications, especially in sexual offenses involving alcohol. Heather serves on editorial boards for several scientific journals and grant award panels. Heather has provided expertise to numerous governmental organisations, including the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, and the National District Attorney's College in the US, as examples.  She appeared on the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 2022, and her research has been featured in documentaries and popular science magazines. Heather serves as the Director of Global Engagement for the College of Life and Environmental Sciences and is a member of the University's Senior Leadership Group.

Professor Graham M. Davies, is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Leicester and an Honorary Professor at the Universities of Birmingham and Coventry. His research interests lie in the testimony of children and adults and the support of vulnerable witnesses at court.  He led the working party responsible for the original version of 'Achieving Best Evidence', the official guidance on interviewing vulnerable witnesses.  He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a former president of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition and of the European Association for Psychology and Law.  In 2012 he received the BPS Senior Academic Award for lifetime achievement in Forensic Psychology and in 2019, the Tom Williamson Award from the IIIRG for his contributions to the development of investigative interviewing.  In retirement, he continues as Consulting Editor for the journal 'Applied Cognitive Psychology', a journal he founded and to author articles, reviews and reflections.

Professor Chris Brewin, FBA FMedSci is emeritus professor of clinical psychology at University College London. He has conducted research into many aspects of human memory using experiments, questionnaires, interviews, and neuroimaging, and published reviews of the literature on false memory for psychologists and legal professionals. He is known for developing influential models of the psychological mechanisms responsible for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A particular focus of these has been the impact of traumatic events on intrusive symptoms such as memories, flashbacks, and voice-hearing, and on the sense of identity. He has played a major role in designing and implementing the mental health response to major incidents such as terrorist attacks in the U.K., with an emphasis on setting up screening and access to evidence-based treatment. He has been an advisor to the American Psychiatric Association over revisions to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), and been centrally involved in recent revisions to the diagnosis of PTSD implemented by the World Health Organization in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). His clinical work has focussed on the cognitive-behavioural treatment of complex posttraumatic stress disorder, and his medicolegal work on the assessment of PTSD and on memory for historical sexual abuse.

Professor Laura Mickes, is a Professor at the University of Bristol in the School of Psychological Science, is an expert in human memory. Her research advances both the fundamental and applied aspects of recognition memory. Her basic research integrated two seemingly incompatible frameworks, and her applied research challenged established practices in police lineups and redefined the relationship between eyewitness confidence and accuracy. Her work has had a significant influence on real-world policy (in the US), and it underscores the often-unrealised potential of bridging basic and applied research.