Sam joined ARU in January 2009 from the Institute of Criminology at Cambridge University. Until 2005, she was at the Institute of Criminology, Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. She is one of a pioneering group of researchers who were instrumental in the establishment of Investigative Psychology as a prominent international research field. In 2017, she was appointed as the first Director of IPPPRI. Under her leadership, PIER has become a leading light in the field of public protection, delivering research of outstanding quality and impact as well as developing strong and productive relationships with a range of global stakeholders across the public sector, government, industry and the third sector.