Gill Harrop Ph.D.

Gill Harrop, Ph.D., is a criminal psychologist and a Senior Lecturer in Forensic Psychology at the University of Worcester, where she has led the UW Bystander Intervention Programme since 2016. This programme encourages students to recognise problematic behaviour and develop the knowledge and skills to be active bystanders against violence and abuse, while identifying barriers to intervention, building individuals’ confidence and willingness to intervene, and ensuring that organizational processes are in place to encourage active bystandership.

Harrop’s work is primarily focused on healthy relationships, bystander intervention, and tackling violence and abuse. She also examines the interaction between male social norms, male role models, and harmful sexual behaviour. Harrop has developed and delivered healthy relationship strategies and bystandership programmes across a range of applied settings, including higher education, police, the NHS, and sports clubs. She has previously worked in a range of investigative settings, including as a criminal intelligence analyst in Lincolnshire Police Major Crime Unit, and has advised a number of police forces on areas related to criminal investigations, the psychology of offending, and bystander intervention. Harrop has written extensively on criminal psychology and bystander intervention for a range of sources and has presented her work to a variety of audiences, including the UK National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), academic conferences, government inquiries, and national media. She has a BSc(hons) in Psychology from Glasgow University, an MSc in Investigative Psychology from Liverpool University, and a PhD from the University of Lincoln.