Research. Insight. Impact. | Aptus Business Crime Research Centre
GET TO KNOW THE PEOPLE DRIVING OUR RESEARCH AND IMPACT
Prof. Emmeline Taylor
Director
Professor Emmeline Taylor is the founding Director of Aptus Business Crime Research Centre. Multi-award winning and described in The Times as‘ one of the country’s foremost criminologists’, Emmeline is committed to producing policy-relevant outputs and engaging in activities that promote new knowledge at the forefront of complex crime-related issues.
She has a distinguished record of 60+ original research publications including peer-reviewed international journal articles, books and reports .
Emmeline’s passion for research stems from her commitment to creating a safer and fairer society. Alongside colleagues and associates at Aptus Business Crime Research Centre, she regularly works with the police, probation, prisons, national government and private business to develop projects to address some of the most challenging societal issues including violent crime, antisocial behaviour, retail security, burglary, and the responsible use of surveillance technologies.
Dr Arabella Kyprianides
Senior Researcher
Arabella holds a PhD in Social Psychology. She has a particular interest in the policing of communities and business. At Aptus Research and Consultancy, Arabella has led the body of work on Business Crime Reduction Partnerships (BCRPs) and their interplay with private security and the police. She is also focused on better understanding the role of Restorative Justice and rehabilitation in policing and crime. From these projects she has authored several reports and journal articles including Trauma, Reconciliation and Restorative Practice in Policing published by the College of Policing and Business Crime Reduction Partnerships: Enhancing Success published by the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC).
Dr Kyprianides is an active member of the UCL Centre for Global City Policing (CGCP) and the Keele Policing Academic Collaboration (KPAC). Her work spans ESRC and Nuffield-funded research grants, alongside consultancy projects focused on intervention evaluation, policing, crime, and recidivism. Arabella’s research explores public trust, police legitimacy, and compliance-particularly in the context of policing marginalised communities-as well as the social determinants of mental health and wellbeing among vulnerable groups, with a specific interest in the role of social identity
Dr Holly Powell - Jones
Research Associate and Online Law Expert
Prior to completing her PhD, Holly worked as broadcast journalist across TV and radio, producing news content for BBC, Sky and Global. Her social media law for schools project was awarded substantial grant funding from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner(OPCC) between 2013 and 2017, reaching up to 15,000 pupils annually. Holly leads the way with collaborations with organisations including the BBFC, the PSHE Association, the NUJ, SAGE Publishing Ltd., the Centre for Investigative Journalism, and Tech Pathways London to inform their work in the digital age. Holly’s passion is understanding and advocating for young people’s risk perceptions online and on social media. She’s presented at several international conferences, from gloriously sunny Hawaii to rainy Cardiff!
Sinead Garvan
Media and Communications
After more than a decade in broadcast at the BBC and Virgin, Sinead brings a wealth of experience to media and communications. Sinead is co-host of our retail sector podcast Retail Crime Uncovered (make sure you subscribe!) where she brings the retail crime news to life with her eagle-eyed insights. Sinead also co-creates and delivers on training content relating to media and public relations
Neil Redfern
Strategic Alliance Partner
Neil Redfern has over 30 years’ experience across some of Australia’s largest and most iconic retail brands. Driven by a commitment to protecting businesses from financial loss caused by criminal activity and other risk factors, Neil established Redfern Retail Risk which brings a proven ability to safeguard stakeholder interests, business reputation, and physical assets.
Over the course of his career, he has held a range of specialist and leadership roles, working collaboratively with cross-functional teams to design and implement strategies that reduce risk exposure and protect profit. Neil possesses deep expertise in Total Retail Loss, Risk and Compliance Management, Crime Prevention, Physical Security Systems, Merchandise Protection, and the end-to-end management of loss prevention teams.
A well-connected and self-motivated industry leader, Neil is passionate about mentoring others and contributing to the ongoing advancement of the retail security and profit protection profession.
In 2025 Neil was recognised as a ASIAL Fellow.
Advancing Security
Through Knowledge
Interested in our research or looking to work with Aptus? Whether you need expert insight, access to reports, or support on a project, we are here to help. Reach out to our team to start the conversation.