A FORMER police officer who has helped catch some of the most infamous killers in UK criminal history is joining a North-East university.

During the course of his career, Gary Shaw revolutionised techniques used by detectives when interviewing suspects accused of heinous and high profile crimes.

His methods have changed the face of UK policing and now he is bringing his wealth of experience to the University of Sunderland

From the investigation into the 2010 murder of Joanna Yeates in Bristol to the 2008 disappearance of West Yorkshire schoolgirl Shannon Matthews and the 2005 shooting of police officer Sharon Beshenivsky to the 2015 headline-making case where Emile Cilliers tried to kill his wife Victoria by tampering with her parachute before a skydive.

All these cases have something in common and that is they have been influened by the work of Gary Shaw.

Now the nationally renowned investigator is bringing his 41 years of experience to the university after he was appointed Professor of Investigative Practice.

He takes up his full-time role with the university this week teaching students on the BA in Applied Investigation and MA in Investigative Management programmes.

Mr Shaw will teach his students, many established detectives already working in the field, proven techniques that will be critical in future investigative interviews.

He said: “This is all about making detectives better at what they do, helping them solve crimes and arming them with the skills they need.”

Mr Shaw, from Ryhope, Sunderland, joined Northumbria Police in 1977 and during the course of his distinguished career, he became the National Interview Advisor, spending time at police forces across the country examining interview techniques and putting into place a new strategy when it came to interviewing suspects.

He said: “It was about switching mind-sets from a confession-based form of interview to a more ethical technique. I believe in continuous development for investigators.

“We are in a very different world compared to 15, or even 10, years ago.

“I’m keen to develop the thinking of detectives so that when they go to crime scenes they are able to make informed decisions and take as much away as possible.”