My research areas span the introduction and reception of neighbourhood policing and explore the often contested and resisted dominant discourses surrounding image and identity management in police (sub)culture with a particular focus on gendered uniform and equipment. I am also interested in proxemics; how police staff use spaces, places, and objects to extend authoritarian control. This also links in with my research on 'contamination' in occupations; how workers (particularly police officers) deal with physical, moral, and psychological contamination and stigma leading to certain occupations being regarded as 'dirty work'. I have also worked with several integrated neighbourhood policing teams and related agencies to develop new crime prevention training strategies for front-line roles and spent three months comparing strategies at the Police Training Academy in Ankara, Turkey.
Senior Lecturer in Criminology