Menzies, Simon-Lewis

I am currently undertaking a PhD project in the communication of scientific evidence and its influence upon decision making during cases of sexual and non-sexual violent crime in the Scottish Criminal Justice System.  

I am currently one of the first Volunteer Student Coordinators for the Scottish Institute of Policing Research. 

I hold an MSc in Applied Criminology and Forensic Psychology from Edinburgh Napier University and a BSc First Class Honours Degree in Applied Criminology: Offender Management from the University of Derby. 

I have experience in using quantitative methodologies most notably in both undergraduate and postgraduate dissertation projects. Likert Scales and a combination of paired t-tests and crosstabulations were employed to comparatively analyse attitudes to capital punishment in undergraduate dissertation. These methods as well as forms of trend analysis were used to determine to what extent, if any, there were divergences between England and Wales and Scotland relating to sentencing and disposals of drug offences as part of postgraduate dissertation.

On my undergraduate degree I worked alongside Professor Dave Walsh the Gangmasters’ Licencing Authority and others to examine interviewer performance in relation to the retrieval of eye-witness testimony using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to gauge, code and compare interviewer skill with correctly retrieved testimony against variables such as length of interview and conduct of interviewer.

On my MSc I investigated the UK trade in arms to UK Foreign Office countries of concern for human rights violations focusing on Colombia. This was a mixed methods project with over twenty semi-structured and unstructured interviews conducted with various experts and eye witnesses which were thematically analysed, various documents procured through freedom of information requests and those already available in the public domain were also thematically analysed and examined for trends.

Research areas include, but are not limited to, criminal justice, decision theory, decision-making, decision science, communication of forensic evidence, communication theory, science communication, responses to crime, punishment, international criminology, expert testimony and opinion, prosecution of crime, rape, and sexual offending. 

Menzies, S-L., Hackman, L. & Vincent, B. (2021). Decisions, Decisions: The Role of Scientific Evidence Communication on Prosecutorial Decision-Making. University of Warwick: Subjective, Probability, Utility, & Decision Making (SPUDM) Conference. 

Menzies, S-L. (2016). An Attitudinal Study of the Punishment and Rehabilitation of Offenders Comparing the USA and UK. Edinburgh Napier University: Popcorn Conference. 

Menzies, S-L., Fenton., M. E. G., Maddock, H., Mills, K. & Walsh, D. (2015). Associations Between Eyewitness Testimony and Interviewer Performance: Do Interviewer Skills Affect Eyewitness Testimony? University of Derby, Buxton: Learning and Teaching Conference.

Walsh, D., Fenton, M., Maddock, H., Menzies, S-L., and Mills, K. (submitted). Minding the gap: A study examining both accuracy of witness recall and witness statement. Investigative Interviewing: Research and Practice.

Walsh, D., Menzies, S-L. & Areh, I. (submitted). The association between eyewitness testimony and interviewer performance. Investigative Interviewing: Research and Practice.

I have teaching experience as a guest lecturer at my undergraduate institution in criminology and academic writing during my postgraduate study. I also have experience presenting research at conferences and in classroom setting.