Key details
Dr Sarah Kilbane
Senior Lecturer in Criminology
Sarah joined the University of Greenwich in 2015 after completing her PhD in Psychology with the University of Liverpool. Her early research focused on threat assessment, particularly stalking and threatening of public figures, as well as 'malicious contamination' crimes, including poisoning, product tampering and food terrorism.
Sarah's current research explores the role of emotions in shaping behaviour, with a particular focus on the development and impact of stigma. In recent years, she has published research examining the role of perceived responsibility in stigmatising attitudes towards people with criminal justice involvement and mental health conditions. She is currently leading a project to develop a stigma reduction toolkit in this area. Other ongoing research projects involve the role of altruistic fear in terrorism-related fear and avoidance behaviours, as well as the causes and consequences of maths anxiety among criminology students. Across her work, Sarah is also committed to co-production and collaborative research involving both students and people with lived experience.
As a member of the Criminology team, Sarah teaches a variety of subjects relating to forensic psychology and criminology, including quantitative research methods, forensic mental health and the psychology of terrorism.
Responsibilities within the university
- Programme Leader for the MSc Criminology and Criminal Psychology
- Deputy Lead for the Centre for Transformative and Global Justice
- Deputy Chair for the Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences Research Ethics Committee
- Member of the University Research Ethics Board
Awards
- Senior Fellowship, SFHEA (2025)
- Awarded a University of Greenwich Research Sabbatical (2019)
- Twice awarded University of Greenwich REF Competitive Funding (2015/16; 2017/18)
Recognition
- Associate Editor, Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression
- Fellow (FHEA; 2016 - present)
- Honorary Recognised Teacher, University of Liverpool (2016)
Research / Scholarly interests
- Forensic mental health stigma
- Stigma reduction initiatives
- Altruistic fear and the fear of terrorism
- Emotion and behaviour change
- Mathematics anxiety
- Threat assessment and management, including the assessments of criminal and terrorist threats
Recent publications
Article
Tomlin, Jack , Mitisheva, Asya, Kilbane, Sarah, Markham, Sarah , Tully, John (2026), The value of person-first language in forensic mental health services. Royal College of Psychiatrists - Cambridge University Press. In: , , , . Royal College of Psychiatrists - Cambridge University Press, BJPsych Bulletin ISSN: 2056-4694 (Print), 2056-4708 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2026.10230).
Kilbane, Sarah , Tomlin, Jack, Mitisheva, Asya, Cornetchi, Nicoleta (2026), Mental health locus of origin, locus of control of behaviour and stigma towards criminal justice-involved persons with mental health problems. Routledge. In: , , , . Routledge, Psychiatry, Psychology and Law ISSN: 1321-8719 (Print), 1934-1687 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/13218719.2026.2624847).
Kilbane, Sarah and , Tomlin, Jack (2025), Stigma in forensic mental healthcare: an introduction to the special issue. SAGE Publications. In: , , , . SAGE Publications, International Journal of Forensic Mental Health . pp. 1-5 ISSN: 1499-9013 (Print), 1932-9903 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/14999013251366448).
Tomlin, Jack , Romero, Alison, Zamorano, Maria, Jordan, Mel , Turner, Shelley , Kilbane, Sarah (2025), Systematic review of forensic mental health patients on conditional discharge: Part Two – Qualitative findings using a desistance lens. SAGE Publications. In: , , , . SAGE Publications, International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology ISSN: 0306-624X (Print), 1552-6933 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X251357614).
Kilbane, Sarah , Zamorano, Maria, Romero, Alison, Jordan, Mel , Turner, Shelley , Tomlin, Jack (2025), Systematic review of forensic mental health patients on conditional discharge: Part One – Quantitative findings, methodology, limitations and future research. SAGE Publications. In: , , , . SAGE Publications, International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology ISSN: 0306-624X (Print), 1552-6933 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X251357615).
Tomlin, Jack , Mitisheva, Asya, Cornetchi, Nicoleta, Kilbane, Sarah (2025), Person-first, recovery-oriented language and public attitudes towards people in forensic mental health services. SAGE Publications. In: , , , . SAGE Publications, International Journal of Forensic Mental Health . pp. 1-13 ISSN: 1499-9013 (Print), 1932-9903 (Online) (doi: ).
Conference item
Kilbane, Sarah and , Tomlin, Jack (2025), Attribution of responsibility and the development of stigma toward forensic mental health patients. In: 2025 IAFMHS Conference: "International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services Annual Conference", 24th - 26th June, 2025, Dublin, Ireland , . , . pp. 240-240 (doi: https://iafmhs.org/2025-program) NB Item availability restricted.
Kilbane, Sarah C. , Tomlin, Jack, Romero, Alison, Zamorano, Maria , Jordan, Mel , Turner, Shelley (2024), Mental health patients on conditional discharge in England and Wales: a systematic literature review. In: International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services 2024, 18th - 20th June 2024, Francisco, CA , . , (doi: https://iafmhs.org/page-18373).
Tomlin, Jack , Kilbane, Sarah C., Mitisheva, Asya, Cornetchi, Nicoleta (2024), Person-first language reduces stigma and increases perceptions of responsibility. In: International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services (IAFMHS) 2024, 18th - 20th June, 2024, San Francisco, CA, USA , . , (doi: https://iafmhs.org/page-18373).