senior lecturer in Criminal Justice, Liverpool John Moores University; presiding justice, Merseyside Criminal Bench
Dr Elizabeth Peatfield is a senior lecturer in Criminal Justice at Liverpool John Moores University and a serving justice on the adult criminal bench in Merseyside.
Leaving home at 15 during the 1980s in Liverpool, she had no access to education and struggled with poverty and social exclusion. Working as a bouncer for over 20 years, she returned to education as a mature student and her working-class background has influenced her work, which focuses on the phenomenon of identity and shifting master status.
Her current status as a criminal court justice has also influenced her research in which she examines the effect of the lack of access to legal aid in the lower courts and the effects on duty solicitors regarding their perceptions of equity in justice.
She is a multiple award winner, with awards such as The Merseyside Women of the Year, The Kirsty Raynor award for Academic Excellence and Rising Star Award for teaching amongst others.