Photo of Craig Bennell

Craig Bennell

Director of the PRL

Degrees:Ph.D. (University of Liverpool)
Email:craig.bennell@carleton.ca
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Craig Bennell is the Director of the Police Research Lab. Craig received his B.Sc. in Psychology from the University of Alberta (Canada) and his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Liverpool (UK), where he studied under the supervision of Professor David Canter.

Craig is currently a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Carleton University with a cross-appointment to the School of Linguistics and Language Studies. In addition, he is a member of the Forensic Psychology Research Centre at Carleton University. He is a previous President of the Society for Police and Criminal Psychology, a previous Editor of the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, and sits on the editorial boards of numerous journals in the fields of police and forensic psychology. He is a member of the Research Advisory Committee and Use of Force Committee for the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and a member of The Working Group on Mental Health and Policing for the Royal Society of Canada. He is also a founding member of the Crime Linkage International Network based out of Birmingham, UK.

Together with a great group of graduate and honours students, Craig studies four primary issues: (1) evidence-based policing, (2) police de-escalation and use of force, (3) police responses to people in crisis, particularly mental health crises, and (4) the reliability, validity, and usefulness of psychologically-based investigative techniques.

The construction of the PRL was made possible through funds from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, the Ontario Research Fund, and Carleton University. Craig’s research has been funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Ontario’s Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, the Canadian Police Research Centre, Correctional Service Canada, the Canadian Police Association, the National Police Federation, and Carleton University.

Please browse the PRL website to find more information about Craig’s research interestspublications, and presentations. You can find a copy of Craig’s CV here. If you are interested in potential collaborations or supervision, please contact Craig directly.