Debbie joined HMICS as Support Inspector in July 2023, having been with the Scottish Government statistics profession for the previous 5 years. Debbie has a background in quantitative and qualitative research and also previously had a varied career as a police Crime and Intelligence Analyst. 

Debbie holds a PhD in Criminology from the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research at the University of Glasgow, and an MSt in Applied Criminology and Police Management from the University of Cambridge. During her time at the SCCJR, Debbie was involved in several research projects, primarily in the field of gender-based violence research.

Debbie’s role is to support HMICS inspections in accordance with the inspection framework, which includes supporting and guiding Lead Inspectors in designing research instruments, specifying analysis and designing and writing reports. She also has corporate responsibilities which includes project management to ensure inspection activity is to the agreed resource levels, budget and timescales and oversees the design, formatting and publication of inspection documents and reports to ensure all are produced to the HMICS corporate standard.