By Lucy Mae Cox,
Loughborough University.
This study explores how Generation Z (Gen-Z) individuals perceive the reliability of video and image evidence within criminal justice contexts in the age of deepfakes. The rapid development of generative artificial intelligence has challenged traditional assumptions regarding the objectivity and trustworthiness of visual evidence, raising concerns about both the manipulation and misinterpretation of digital media. Adopting an exploratory mixed-methods design, data was collected through an online questionnaire (n = 209) and semi-structured interviews (n = 12). Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics and Spearman’s rank-order correlations, while qualitative data was examined using thematic analysis. Findings indicate that although Gen-Z individuals demonstrate high awareness of deepfake technology, this does not result in a complete erosion of trust in digital evidence. Instead, participants exhibit a form of conditional trust, whereby the credibility of visual evidence is no longer assumed, rather it must be established through corroboration and expert validation. Institutional trust emerged as a key factor shaping perceptions of reliability, with confidence in the criminal justice system’s ability to detect manipulated media significantly associated with trust in digital evidence. These findings suggest that deepfakes are reshaping, rather than eliminating trust in digital evidence, with important implications for legal practice, policy development and future research.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21789187
By Simona Maciute,
London Metropolitan University.
This dissertation examines the experiences of women victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence in the United Kingdom, focusing on the effectiveness of support systems and the barriers women face when seeking justice. The study explores how legal frameworks, criminal justice responses, and support services influence victims’ access to protection, recovery, and empowerment. Using a desk-based literature review methodology, the research analyses academic literature, government reports, legislation, and publications from UK support organisations to evaluate current responses to violence against women.
The findings show that although the UK has introduced important legal developments, including the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and protections under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, significant gaps remain between policy and practice. Many women continue to experience barriers such as fear of reporting, lack of trust in the criminal justice system, delays in legal processes, insufficient evidence, and secondary victimisation. The research also highlights concerns regarding sexism and misogyny within policing and wider criminal justice institutions, which may reduce victims’ confidence in seeking support and justice.
The dissertation further demonstrates that support organisations such as Women’s Aid, Refuge, and SafeLives play a vital role in assisting survivors through counselling, refuge accommodation, advocacy, and safety planning. However, funding pressures, unequal access to services, and reliance on third-sector organisations create inconsistencies in support provision across the UK, particularly for minority ethnic women and migrant victims. Overall, the study concludes that while progress has been made in recognising domestic abuse and improving support for victims, further improvements are needed to strengthen the criminal justice response, improve access to support services, and ensure that all women receive fair protection, support, and access to justice.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21568836
By Ewelina Agnieszka Gradwicka,
London Metropolitan University.
This dissertation examines how Agatha Christie’s interwar detective fiction illuminates the narrative foundations of criminological explanation. While Christie’s novels are often approached as entertainment, this study argues that they offer a sophisticated engagement with questions central to criminology: how crime is explained, how motive is constructed, and how moral judgement is shaped. The research problem addressed is the tendency within criminology to treat explanation as the discovery of objective facts, overlooking the role of narrative, interpretation and cultural meaning. The study adopts a qualitative, interpretive approach, combining close textual analysis with thematic reading informed by cultural criminology and narrative criminology. Selected insights from zemiology are also used to examine forms of harm that extend beyond formal legal definitions of crime. Rather than applying a formalised coding methodology, the analysis examines how Christie constructs meaning through motive, narrative structure and moral framing. Three novels form the core case studies: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Murder on the Orient Express and The ABC Murders. These texts are analysed in dialogue with criminological theories including narrative criminology, neutralisation theory and rational choice theory, which are used reflexively as interpretive lenses rather than explanatory tests.
The findings demonstrate that Christie consistently presents crime as a narrative phenomenon rather than a purely legal or behavioural event. Motive emerges as unstable and contingent, shaped by emotion, social context and storytelling. Explanations of crime are shown to depend on perspective, moral consensus and performative display rather than on fixed categories or objective certainty. Across the case studies, Christie reveals the limits of individualistic and rational explanations, highlighting the cultural and emotional dimensions of judgement and responsibility. A zemiological reading further shows that legally defined offences do not exhaust the physical, autonomy and relational harms represented across the novels.
The dissertation concludes that Christie’s fiction offers valuable insight for criminology by exposing the interpretive processes that underpin explanation. It recommends greater engagement with narrative and cultural analysis within criminological theory, recognising fiction as a productive site for understanding how societies make sense of crime.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21500098