Dr Andy Bain joins us with more than 20 years as a leading academic and researcher in both the United Kingdom and the United States of America. His professional background includes three years with the National Probation Service (England and Wales), before moving into academia. During this time he consulted for Dyfed Powys police, Hampshire and IOW county council, and the Home Office and authored a number of local and national reports as part of this work. In 2013 he moved to the United States and continued his academic career, researching the policing of local communities, and gang membership and their influence in local communities. He has provided consultative service to the U.S. Navy, and public defenders offices in Colorado and Kansas. 

 

He has twice been the recipient of the Frederic Milton Thrasher Award. In 2016 he received the award for his work examining the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, and most recently, in 2024 Dr. Bain was recognised for his continued Superior Accomplishments in Gang Research. In 2025 he accepted the position of academic advisor to ONGIA (Organization for National Gang Information and Awareness), a national organisation providing education, training, and awareness on gang-related issues across Canada. 

 

He has authored five academic texts and published with leading international academic and professional journals examining policing local communities; desistance from crime; and gang membership. His current research interests include gangs and their membership; international and transnational gangs; policing social groups; the social psychology of risk-taking behaviour; and the psychology of crime and behaviour. 

 

 

 

Keynote Speaker: Drill Music: Gangs and Serious Youth Violence | National Tackling Gangs, Violence & Weapon Crime Conference 2026, 29 January 2026 

 

Junior Smart OBE is a nationally recognised practitioner and researcher specialising in youth violence, child criminal exploitation (CCE), and desistance. As the Founder of the SOS Project at St Giles Trust, he transformed a small peer-led initiative into a £2 million national programme supporting young people affected by gangs, crime, and exploitation. His pioneering work has influenced national policy and practice on serious 

youth violence and remains a model for lived-experience-led intervention. 

 

For his doctorate (D.Prof) in Policing, Crime and Security, Junior’s research — Ties That Bind: Investigating the Reality of Families Impacted by Offspring Involvement in County Lines Activity - provides rare qualitative insight into how families experience, understand, and respond to exploitation. His findings contribute to shaping cross-sector approaches across policing, social care, and education. 

 

Junior has advised the Home Office, Youth Endowment Fund, and local safeguarding partnerships, contributing to national strategies on violence reduction and early intervention. As Director of Smart Training & Consultancy, he designs and delivers specialist training for legal, education, and frontline professionals, focusing on the identification, prevention, and response to exploitation. 

 

Recognised for his leadership and impact, Junior has received an OBE for services to young people and an Honorary Doctorate in Education. His professional and academic work are united by a core belief: with trust, opportunity, and understanding, every young person can change direction. 

Dr Esimi Cruz is an experienced and award‑winning practitioner‑researcher with over 20 years across child exploitation (sexual and criminal), human trafficking, modern day slavery, youth gangs, serious youth violence (SYV), and community interventions in both statutory and non‑profit sectors, with extensive expertise in family and criminal court proceedings. 

 

He holds a Doctorate (DProf) in Policing, Crime and Security. His doctoral research —Multidimensional Theory of Resilience and Resistance (M.T.R.R.) to SYV — centres on the voices of young people who actively resist SYV, offering an innovative, practice‑grounded framework with implications for policy, education, and community work. He also holds an MA in Youth Justice, Community Safety and Applied Criminology (First Class Honours), receiving the Yvonne Hart Award for research that informed the development of a multidisciplinary gang panel to support families in gang‑affected areas. His BSc (Hons) in Social Work focused on gun crime in the UK’s Black community. 

 

His research on youth gangs, was commissioned by the Children’s Workforce Development Council (2010). He delivered diversion programmes in Youth Offending Institutions through the Damilola Taylor Trust and NOMS. He worked as a guest lecturer at Middlesex and Bedfordshire universities and, as CEO of Esimi Services Ltd., delivering professional training across criminology, youth justice, social care, and trauma‑informed practice. He was member of the London Gangs Forum at the House of Commons and delivered his “The Deviant Adolescent” programme at the Tavistock and Portman Clinic. 

 

He currently manages a therapeutic multidisciplinary hub in North London supporting people affected by SYV and child exploitation. 

 

Nadine is a specialist in Human Trafficking, Modern Slavery, and Organised Crime. Her current MA research focuses on the "Neglect–Exploitation Nexus"—the intersection where systemic neglect and domestic abuse create pathways into child criminal exploitation (CCE). This work provides a vital evidence base for identifying "cliff-edge" gaps in transitional safeguarding, ensuring protection for at-risk groups is maintained across agency boundaries. 

 

With 25 years of experience, Nadine has delivered large-scale organisational transformations across the public and private sectors. She has a proven record in central government, notably the Cabinet Office Strategy Unit, where she partnered with senior civil servants to review Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) policies and promote inclusion frameworks across Whitehall. Her expertise in change management and organisational development ensures systemic transformation remains grounded in the people it impacts. 

 

Nadine’s ability to bridge gaps between statutory enforcement and community contexts is informed by her work for the Department of Health, local government, and the Peabody Trust. This is deepened by her strategic oversight as a former Director for Home-Start, supporting families in crisis, and her work at the Bakhita Centre for Research, delivering trauma-informed digital literacy programmes for young female migrants. She applies this multi-dimensional perspective to help clients and partners map out clear, accountable pathways for multi-agency leadership.