Claire completed her first degree in psychology and then joined the Probation Service, where she worked for the next eight years delivering accredited offending behaviour group programmes to address issues including domestic abuse and substance misuse. During this time Claire also began to support data recording and reporting for a police and probation-led mentally disordered offender liaison and diversion scheme.

She later took up a research role with the Centre for Mental Health, working alongside University of Plymouth on a project examining continuity of access to physical and mental healthcare for people moving through the criminal justice system. She subsequently worked as a prison primary care mental health practitioner offering psychological wellbeing support to adults and young offenders.

As a result of her professional background, Claire’s research interests centre around the lived experience of mental ill health and psychological distress in relation to the criminal justice system. Her PhD in Applied Social Science focused on individuals being repeatedly detained by the police under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act. Having completed this in 2019, she extended her work through an ESRC post-doctoral fellowship and more recently as co-investigator on two research development grants through University of Kent and University of Surrey.

Claire joined the University of York in 2023 to combine the work of the Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre with that of the Institute of Mental Health at York (IMRY), examining mental health and wellbeing within the police workforce.

In summer 2025, Claire moved to the University’s School for Business and Society to work on the ARROW project; investigating pathways into gender-specific, trauma-informed residential rehabilitation for women leaving prison in need of support for drug addiction. Claire is continuing to work closely with Centre colleagues and ARROW is led by Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre Co-Investigator Professor Sharon Grace with involvement of Centre Deputy Director, Professor Charlie Lloyd.