Dr Laura Pajon Moreno
School of Justice Studies
Faculty of Arts Professional and Social Studies
Email: L.PajonMoreno@ljmu.ac.uk
Telephone: 0151 231 2183
Dr Laura Pajon is a Senior Lecturer at the Liverpool Centre for Advanced Policing Studies. Her research focuses on law enforcement and multi-agency responses to serious and organised criminality, in particular human trafficking and modern slavery crimes. She has led a series of research projects providing empirical insight into the investigation of human trafficking crimes, exploring the complexities and the factors that influence investigation performance, and the impact of multi-agency responses to tackle human trafficking. She has also conducted studies examining the risks and causes of labour exploitation in the UK, and published in other criminal justice aspects such as eyewitness testimony and victimisation.
As a result of her research, Laura collaborates closely with local, regional and national law enforcement agencies (e.g., Gangmasters & Labour Abuse Authority, Immigration and Enforcement, local and regional police forces), and numerous stakeholders (e.g., local authorities, health services, businesses), including leading non-governmental organisations (e.g., Unseen, Stop the Traffik, Barnardo's, the British Red Cross, or Justice and Care). She has advised and influenced the way police and other stakeholders organise the response to human trafficking crimes, as well as informed major police trafficking operations within the East Midlands. Laura’s research on police collaboration also led to the establishment of an anti-slavery partnership (involving more than 44 agencies), which she led and coordinated from its formation in 2018 till 2021. The group secured integrated local responses to human trafficking with a view of safeguarding victims of trafficking and disrupting criminality.
Laura’s work and research on human trafficking criminal investigations and anti-slavery partnerships have received national and international recognition, being praised nationally and internationally by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Association of Universities (IAU), and the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner Office for its high quality and its capacity to impact and inform policy and practice.
Degrees
2021, De Montfort University, United Kingdom, PhD
2020, De Montfort University, United Kingdom, PGCert, FHEA
2016, University of Derby, United Kingdom, MSc Criminal Investigation
2014, University of Barcelona, Spain, BSc Criminology
Academic appointments
Senior Lecturer in Policing, Liverpool Centre for Advanced Policing Studies, Liverpool John Moores University, 2022 - present
Senior Lecturer, School of Law, De Montfort University, 2021 - 2022
Lecturer, School of Law, De Montfort University, 2018 - 2021
Chapters
Pajon L. 2024. The Criminal Investigation of Human Trafficking Crimes in the United Kingdom: Benefits and challenges of police collaboration during police investigations Faulkner EA. Modern Slavery in Global Context. Human Rights, Law and Society Bristol University Press Publisher Url
Journal article
Cox C, Yates J, O'Brien F, Pajon Moreno L, Farrell A, Ward M, McCabe P, James A, McNamara-Catalano I. 2024. Wearable Technology: A Wellbeing Option for Serving Police Officers and Staff? A Comparison of Results of a Pilot Study with Firearms Officers and a Group of Mixed Officers and Staff International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21 :1-17 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Pajon L, Walsh D. 2022. The importance of multi-agency collaborations during human trafficking criminal investigations Policing and Society, :1-19 DOI Publisher Url Public Url
Walsh D, Pajón L, Lawson K, Hafeez K, Heath M, Court N. 2022. Increased Risks of Labor Exploitation in the UK following Brexit and the Covid-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of the Agri-food and Construction Sectors Journal of Human Trafficking, :1-16 DOI Publisher Url Public Url
Pajon L. 2021. Ending human trafficking and all forms of exploitation through multiagency collaboration. Higher Education engages in SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong institutions, :121-133 Author Url
Pajón L, Greco A, Pereda N, Gallardo D. 2020. The factor structure of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory in a Spanish sample of adult victims of interpersonal violence in childhood Spanish Journal of Clinical Psychology, 25 :101-110 DOI
Pajón L, Walsh D. 2020. Proposing a Theoretical Framework for the Criminal Investigation of Human Trafficking Crimes Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 14 :493-511 DOI Publisher Url
Pajón L, Walsh D. 2017. Examining the Effects of Violence and Personality on Eyewitness Memory. Psychiatry, psychology, and law : an interdisciplinary journal of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 24 :923-935 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Soria MA, Pajón L, Company A, Lopez M, Lebron M. 2016. Expressive Partner Homicides in Spain: Differences according to aggressors’ sex Journal of forensic medicine, 1 DOI
Company A, Pajon L, Rosmo J, Soria MA. 2015. Filicidio, Infanticidio y neonaticidio Revista Criminalidad, 57 :91-102
Pajón L, Greco AM, Pereda N, Gallardo-Pujol D. Factor structure of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory in a Spanish sample of adult victims of interpersonal violence in childhood Revista de Psicopatología y Psicología Clínica, 25 :101-101 DOI Publisher Url
Report
Gardner A, Blair K, Pajon L, Burcu O, Phelan K, Gray C, Stirk M, Walsh D. 2022. Fashioning a beautiful future? Fashioning a beautiful future?Supporting workers and addressing labour exploitation in Leicester’s textile and garment industry Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Research Grants Awarded:
The British Academy, (Re-)inventing victim-centred approaches in modern slavery and human trafficking police investigations for successful victim engagement, Grant value (£): 111,329.56. 2024
Liverpool John Moores, QR communities and impact funds, Exploring the response to repeat missing children in a UK Police Force, O'Brien, F., Pajon, L.. Boulton, L. & Phoenix, J., Grant value (£): 8,516. 2023
Co-operation in Science and Technology (COST), CA22128: Developing networks to support the implementation across Europe and beyond of the Mendez principles, Working Group Member, Grant value (£): 520,000. 2023
ESRC Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre, Social Media Facilitated Trafficking of Children and Young People, Pajon, L., Brewster, B., Fell, I. & Krokida, Z., Grant value (£): 24,978.55. 2023
Liverpool John Moores, QR Policy Support Funding scheme, Whodunit: Do detectives have the skills they need to answer that eternal question?, James, A., Pajon, L. & O'Brien, F., Grant value (£): 9,819. 2022
Oscar Kilo (Home Office), Wearable technology, Dr Carol Cox (PI) et al., Grant value (£): 180,000. 2022
Community Renewal Fund, Made to last: building resilience into Leicester’s textile economy, Grant value (£): £75,000. 2021
Leicester Garment and Textile Workers Trust, Preventing labour exploitation in Leicester's textile and garment industry, Grant value (£): £80,733. 2021
Higher Education Innovation Fund, Threats posed by organised crime by new Immigration system to human trafficking, Walsh D, Pajon L, Lawson K, Hafeez K, Heath M, Niel C, Pajon, L., Grant value (£): £15,000. 2020
Higher Education Innovation Fund, support Joint DMU/East Midlands police initiative combatting serious and organised crime, Walsh, D., Pajon, L.,& Charlton, Grant value (£): £3,000. 2019
Conference presentation:
Investigating human trafficking in England: case studies of police operations., The European Society of Criminology, Florence, Italy, Oral presentation. 2023
The importance of of multi-agency collaboration during human trafficking criminal investigations, The British Society of Criminology conference, Surrey, Oral presentation. 2022
Responding to human trafficking criminality, SMILE, Instituto MAUA de Tecnologia, Brazil, Oral presentation. 2022
Investigating Human Trafficking Crimes, 4th Global Meeting: Slavery Past, Present and Future, Innsbruck, Austria, Oral presentation. 2019
Working in multi-agency to investigate Modern Slavery crimes, Modern Slavery Symposium, St. Mary’s University, UK, Oral presentation. 2019
Examining the Criminal Investigation of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery crimes in the UK, European Association of Psychology and Law Conference, Mechelen, Belgium, Oral presentation. 2018
Proposing a theoretical framework for the criminal investigation of Human Trafficking Crimes., European Society of Criminology, Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzergovina, Oral presentation. 2018
Experts’ views of Modern Slavery Criminal Investigations, Inaugural International Conference of the Centre for the Study of Modern Slavery, St. Mary’s University, Oral presentation. 2017
Towards a Model of Excellence in the Criminal Investigation of Moderns Slavery Crimes., WISE Seminar, University of Hull, Oral presentation. 2016
Expressive Partner Homicides, American Society of Criminology, Washington, D.C., Poster presentation. 2015
Award:
Young Researcher: Higher Education engages with SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime & International Association of Universities. 2021
Rising Star Award, De Montfort University. 2021
Excellence in Impactful Research Award, De Montfort University. 2020
Dean’s Prize for Postgraduate Academic Achievement in Law, Humanities, and Social Science for the academic year 2015-2016, University of Derby. 2016
Best Academic Record in BSc Criminology award for the Academic year 2013-2014. 2015
External collaboration:
Coordinator for the Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland Modern Slavery Action Group, Leicestershire Police. 2018