Gary is currently the Acting Head of School. Prior to this he has held various positions within the School, including Deputy Head, Associate Head (with responsibility for teaching and learning, the student experience and quality assurance), and undergraduate Law course director. He has extensive and varied experience of teaching law at University at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. He has designed and developed a number of innovative courses and modules in law which has ultimately led to recognition as a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. In addition, he is a member of the Society of Legal Scholars, Socio-legal Studies Association, British Society of Criminology, and Association of Law Teachers.

Research:

Upon completion of Gary’s doctoral thesis on Sentencing Convicted Thieves: Principles, Policy and Practice, he has continued to pursue active research in criminal law and justice. In particular, he has an interest in the interplay between sentencing policy and practice, and the use of judicial discretion in this context. Dr Betts has written on the courts’ application of sentencing guidelines, the relevance of previous convictions, and the sentencing of corporate offenders.

He welcomes expressions of interest from prospective research students who wish to undertake postgraduate study in sentencing, corporate crime or criminal law.

Area of Expertise:

• Sentencing theory, policy and practice
• Corporate Criminal Liability
• Criminal law, particularly offences against property