Dr Richard Philpot

Senior Lecturer

Profile

I conduct research at the intersection of psychology, criminology, law and technology around how groups coordinate in public emergencies and during criminal events (e.g., in public assaults, mass evacuations, suspected terror attacks). My research further evaluates the psychology of emergency services' interaoperability, and how police behaviour impacts public confidence in policing.

Throughout this research, I explore the unfolding dynamics of real-life group behaviour using digital data sources—including public CCTV footage, bodyworn camera footage, app data and agent-based modelling.

In addition to academic publications, I have produced reports and delivered presentations for government and industry partners, including: the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), the Department for Transport (DfT), Transport for London (TfL), the West Midlands Police (WMP), the Danish Crime Prevention Council, Exeter City Council, and the Movia Transport Agency.

My research has had direct societal impact, having been applied in national agency recommendations (Danish Crime Prevention Council, DfT) and covered by prominent science magazines (e.g., New Scientist, Discover Magazine, Psychology Today) and news outlets (e.g., Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Times, Daily Mail).

Taken together, these findings contribute to theoretical understandings of human cooperation and coordination, public behaviour, and social processes in the digital age.

Research Grants

2023 PI of unsuccessful £2m bid: ‘ Conceptualizing and managing security for a resilient transport infrastructure (CONSEC)’. Large Grant, UKRI.

2022 PI of successful £99,679 bid: ‘Testing assumptions regarding potential behavioural responses during an emergency’. Dstl.

2021 Co-PI of successful £124,904 bid: ‘The Psychology of Interoperability: Building Better Multi-agency Counter-terrorism Training’. CREST.

2020 PI of successful £60,740 bid: ‘Analysis of CCTV Footage to Understand Behavioural Responses during Emergency Incidents in Public Places’. Dstl & DfT.

2019 Co-PI of successful £68,578 bid: ‘Delivering Expertise and Capability in CCTV Analysis of Disasters and Emergencies (DEC-CADE)’. Dstl & DfT.

2019 Co-PI of unsuccessful £9,007 bid: ‘Viewport: Citizen Science Platform for CCTV Analysis’. UK Research and Innovation.

2019 Co-PI of a successful Lorentz Centre bid to secure £28,435 towards an international workshop at the Lorentz Centre, Netherlands, entitled ‘Bystander Roles in Peace and Conflict’, 29 April – 3 May 2019.

2018 Co-applicant of a £359,235 funded grant: ‘Aggression towards public servants’, Work-life Research Fund. Postdoctoral Researcher position offered 2019-2021.

2018 Co-applicant of two unsuccessful Horizon 2020 bids with collaborators from the UK, Spain, Austria, Estonia, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands.

2017 Co-applicant of a £538,602 funded grant: ‘Violence, Bystanders, and... Action!’ (2017-2020). Danish Council for Independent Research. Postdoctoral Researcher on the project until 2019.

2017 Co-PI of successful £35,000 bid: ‘CCTV and Night-time Economy Interventions: A Knowledge Exchange Programme’. Impact Acceleration Accounts, Exeter.