Dr Sean Bell

Professional biography

Retired senior police officer with broad policing experience in operational and strategic roles and executive officer of local police federation. On retirement from the police entered academia conducting PhD research centered on police officer/staff attitudes to colleagues and members of the public with mental health issues. This includes aspects of police culture and the impact of stigma and discrimination towards colleagues with mental health issues. Undergraduate and post graduate degrees awarded by Liverpool John Moores University.

 

Research interests

Policing and mental ill health:

Break a Leg- It's all in the mind: Police Officers attitudes towards colleagues with mental health issues. Sean Bell, Yarin Eski. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, Volume 10, Issue 2, June 2016, Pages 95–101,

Suspicious minds: Police Attitudes to Mental ill health. Sean Bell, Sue Palmer-Conn. International Journal of Law and Public Administration, Volume 1, Issue 2, December 2018, Pages 25-40,

‘Swinging the lead and working the head’ – An explanation as to why mental illness stigma is prevalent in policing. Bell, S., Palmer-Conn, S., & Kealey, N. (2022). The Police Journal, 95(1), Pages 4-23.

A qualitative exploration of UK police employees’ experiences of at-risk alcohol consumption or abstinence. Patricia Irizar, Leanne Jackson, Suzanne H Gage, Sean Bell, Richard Piper, Victoria Fallon, Laura Goodwin. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, Volume 17, 2023,

Are police forces past their due date? Examining the impact of pregnancy, maternity leave and returning to work on women in policing. Duddin, K., Wright, K,. Bell, S. and Wright, K,.(2023) The Open University. 

Teaching interests

Previously at Liverpool John Moores Universty lectured on Policing Studies (BA Hons) and Professional Policing Degrees (BSc Hons). Co-lectured on Responding to Incidents and Module Lead for Law and Technology in Policing. Supervised undergraduate and post graduate research dissertations. Member of the LJMU University Research Ethics Committee.

Currently Year 1 Module Team Chair Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship