Careers
Anushka Ranade, Intern
Tuesday 2 April 2024
Anushka Ranade is a second year student at University College London (UCL) who’s spent the last six months working one day a week with us while studying for her BSc in Security and Crime Science. Anushka landed this opportunity through a scheme UCL runs, allowing students to spend six months in industry. Before leaving us at the end of March, Anushka shared her reflections on the past six months working with us:
I decided to apply for a placement at Crest Advisory because of my interest in their mission to make communities safer. Some of their work, like research into Black attitudes to police use of stop and search, and their support on the Baroness Casey Review, which looked into the standards of behaviour and internal culture of the Metropolitan Police Service, particularly stood out to me. Crest’s work resonates closely with my academic pursuits, where I could get a better understanding of how the theories behind crime science can be applied to real-world scenarios.
Throughout my time at Crest, I was able to contribute to multiple projects such as one focused on youth justice and how trauma-informed practices are used on children who commit serious violent crimes, broadening my understanding of unfamiliar topics. I’ve built up my skills in writing literature reviews, note-taking in interviews and workshops. I also carried out quantitative analysis and used data programmes, such as R and Atlas.ti, meaning I’m now more comfortable using these methods to analyse data. As we use these programmes in my university course, it’s been interesting to see how they are used outside of academia.
Crest holds regular training sessions internally which I was pleased to be able to attend. Sessions can range from a presentation on a project that has been recently completed, to a topic someone in the team is passionate about themselves. I attended training session presentations focused on data analysis and LGBTQIA+ History Month, as well as “CJS coffee” discussions. Here, someone from the team will hold a discussion on a topic related to the criminal justice system, with the most recent discussion considering modern slavery. It’s clear that Crest’s emphasis on employee engagement and training allows people to learn more about all aspects of their work and the wider criminal justice system.
At the end of my placement, I participated in a poster presentation event organised by UCL. Here I showcased some of Crest’s work and my own experiences to first-year UCL students of security and crime science, faculty members, and other industry professionals. Crest team members Issy Ross, Fernanda Reynoso-Serna and Sophie Wilkinson came along to the event and helped to answer any questions the students had.
Throughout my time at Crest, I have appreciated its inclusive and supportive culture. Crest is more than a consultancy, it embodies a collaborative community of experts, where seeking assistance and fostering strong relationships are encouraged.
I would like to encourage students who have the opportunity to consider pursuing a work placement with Crest to do so – is an invaluable experience that can provide insights and skills for future careers and the chance to contribute meaningfully to real-world challenges and make a difference.
I would also like to thank everyone at Crest for a great placement experience, I have thoroughly enjoyed working here!
We have hosted placement students from a variety of different backgrounds. In recent years we’ve welcomed graduates from the Police Now and Unlocked programmes, as well as those from the Civil Service Fast Stream. Every summer we welcome Micro-Placement students from City, University of London. You can read about their experiences on our Careers page.
If you’re interested in doing a placement with us, please get in touch at contact@crestadvisory.com and we can discuss in more detail.
For graduates, or anyone at the beginning of their working career, we run six-month internships on a regular basis for those who have an interest in crime and justice and who want to learn more about the sector. To find out more, please see the Internship section on our Careers page.