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Biography

Dr Aram Ghaemmaghami is a Senior Lecturer in Criminal Justice and Community Policing and the Course Leader for the MSc Cybercrime, Terrorism and Security. He is a co-lead on the Policing Partnership Exchange within the Police Centre of Academic Excellence, where he works with colleagues and policing organisations on research and knowledge exchange. He is also a member of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary Force Strategic Independent Advisory Group (FSIAG), where he provides expert advice and idependent oversight over police operations within the force area. His earlier career in safeguarding and public health shapes the way he approaches questions of risk, vulnerability and institutional decision-making and continues to guide much of his academic work.

His research focuses on political violence, digital extremism and the development of extremist ideas in online environments. He examines how these ideas move between different digital spaces and how they influence belief and behaviour. This is linked to his broader work on countering violent extremism and on the pressures that fall on communities and institutions when these ideas begin to shape real-world actions. He also works on issues of race and police legitimacy and draws on this to explore how policing organisations respond to harm, public scrutiny and the need for trust.

Another strand of his work looks at the conditions under which sensitive research takes place. He studies the demands faced by researchers and practitioners who work with harmful material and works with colleagues across the University to strengthen systems that support safe and accountable research. This has informed ongoing development of researcher wellbeing frameworks and clearer processes for handling risk in high-pressure environments.

He contributes to joint projects on digital harm, policing practice and institutional response and plays a continuing role in doctoral development through international partnerships. Much of this activity centres on supporting researchers who work in sensitive areas and on building research cultures that can sustain complex inquiry.

Research interests

Aram is a post-colonial scholar that critically engages within the criminal justice system and policy landscape. His research interests include safeguarding, community resilience, communities 'at risk', race relations, police legitmacy, social media studies, online extremism, disinformation/misinformation online, and contemporary counter-terrorism/countering violent extremism practice. 

Teaching responsibilities

Aram teaches and coordinates core modules in research methods and social theory across the undergraduate programmes, and he also leads teaching on countering violent extremism practice; this connects directly with his wider research on political violence and extremism. He is the course leader for the MSc Cybercrime, Terrorism and Security, and he supervises students who work on topics such as terrorism and political violence. He is also passionate about decolonising the curriculum and works on bridging research and practice in relation to issues such as the BAME attainment gap. He also supervises several PhD projects, as well as numerous master's and undergraduate dissertations.