Karen is an academic expert in sociology, criminology and qualitative research methods. She is Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Aberdeen, her alma mater. Previous academic posts include Assistant Professor in Criminology at the University of Nottingham, Associate Professor in Criminology at the University of Leicester, and Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Loughborough University.

She has completed extensive research and partnership work with police constabularies in England over the past decade. While at Loughborough University she was the co-founder of the East Midlands Policing Academic Collaboration (EMPAC) and subsequently lead the Victims, Witnesses, and Public Protection Network as part of a College of Policing and HEFCE Policing Knowledge Fund. She has also completed funded evaluations and research for West Midlands Police, Gloucestershire Police, and various East Midlands police constabularies. She set up and led the Policing Research Group at Loughborough University.