Ross Hendy is a Lecturer in Criminology in the School of Social Sciences. His research focuses on the development of theoretical and applied perspectives of police and policing, such as practitioner behaviour and the effectiveness of police intervention. He is developing a new theoretical approach to explain police-citizen interaction, which focuses on explore officer decision-making and their use of control, coercion and the use of force. As a former sergeant with New Zealand Police, he has worked with researchers to enhance their understanding of the police environment, the limitations of police administrative data, and providing advice about real-world issues that criminal justice practitioners and policy-makers face in the criminological and criminal justice environment.

His research has involved the study of police officers from Australia, England, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden. His doctoral research took a mixed-methods approach to consider differences in the manner that routinely armed police (from South Australia) and routinely unarmed police (from New Zealand) interacted with members of the public during conflict-prone encounters. His portfolio of applied research work at New Zealand Police’s Evidence Based Policing Centre focused on developing insight into operational policing issues such as the lethal police use of force and understanding the increasing demand for mental health-related calls for service. 

His broader research and teaching interests include criminological theory, cross-national comparative criminology and criminal justice, applied criminology, policing theory and practice, and transnational policing. He practices mixed-method research, incorporating qualitative and ethnographic research methods, and applied evaluation and evidenced-based approaches to tackle research problems. 

He is keen to work with students, including aspiring and current police practitioners, to advance their knowledge of criminological theory, programme evaluation, and policing issues. 

Dr Hendy is a member of the American and British societies of criminology and an Associate Member of the Royal Society of New Zealand.