Elena Martellozzo

Dr Elena Martellozzo is an associate Professor in Criminology at Middlesex University, London. Elena’s research includes exploring children and young people’s online behaviour, the analysis of sexual grooming and police practice in the area of child sexual abuse. In 2003-2009, she carried out innovative research with the newly formed London Metropolitan Police’s Paedophile and High-Tech Crime Unit (2003-2009). She was given unprecedented access to documents, staff, and facilities enabling her to view and understand online predators in their ‘natural environment’. In 2016, she co-led a piece of research on behalf of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) and Office of the he Office of the Children's Commissioner (OCC) on the impact online pornography may have on young people. She also co-led research the Internet Watch Foundation, evaluating key performance indicators and desired outcomes in safeguarding cyberspace from illegal content by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF); and for the Centre of Expertise for Child Sexual Abuse, where she developed a typology of sex offending. The findings of her research inform police and other agencies strategy and practice both in Italy and the UK. Elena develops and delivers training programmes for Prometeo, an Italian leading charity who supports victims of sexual abuse, and police officers working in child protection. Elena is the author of Online Child Sexual Abuse (2012), which has become a seminal text, and co-author of Cybercrime and Its Victims (2017).