Centre for criminology

Our research

Home to some of the most influential criminologists of the past 50 years

The Centre for Criminology at Essex has both produced and attracted some of the most influential criminologists of the past 50 years, and continues to push intellectual and policy boundaries, while training and supporting the next generation of criminologists for the future. 

Research interests, projects and publications have been wide-ranging, from studies of the personal and the cultural, through the mapping of organised and corporate criminality, to investigations of state systems of support and intervention, surveillance and violence - all with a critical and sociological approach as the common core.

portrait photograph of Dr Anna Di Ronco
"Our research at the centre is distinctive for its sociological and critical approach to deviance, crime, criminalisation and justice.”
Dr Anna Di Ronco  DIRECTOR, CENTRE FOR CRIMINOLOGY

Highlights from our researchers

Professor Eamonn Carrabine

Biography:

Eamonn Carrabine is a professor of sociology at the University of Essex, where his teaching and research interests lie in the fields of criminology, cultural studies and sociology more generally.

Below you will find highlights of the work that Eamonn has authored and co-authored in relation to the work of the Centre for Criminology:

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Books:

Selected Book Chapters: 

Dr Alexandra Cox

Biography:

Alexandra Cox is a senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Essex. Her research interests lie in the consequences of confinement for young people and in the role of mercy in the lives of people sentenced to extreme prison sentences.

Below you will find highlights of the work that Alexandra has authored and co-authored in relation to the work of the Centre for Criminology:

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Books:

Professor Pamela Cox

Pamela Cox is a professor specialising in criminal justice history, social history and gender. She is currently leading an interdisciplinary ESRC project on victims’ access to justice in English criminal courts over three centuries.

Below you will find highlights of the work that Pam has authored and co-authored in relation to the work of the Centre for Criminology:

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Books:

Dr Isabel Crowhurst

Biography:

Isabel Crowhurst is a senior lecturer, and her main research is concerned with the construction and socio-legal treatment of non-normative sexual practices and intimate lives, and how they are negotiated and made sense of in everyday lived experiences.

Below you will find highlights of the work that Isabel has authored and co-authored in relation to the work of the Centre for Criminology:

Journals:

Books:

Professor Pete Fussey

Pete Fussey is a professor of sociology in the Department of Sociology at the University of Essex. His main research interests focus on surveillance, digital sociology, human rights, control and the city, and he has published widely across these areas

Below you will find highlights of the work that Pete has authored and co-authored in relation to the work of the Centre for Criminology:

Journals:

Books:

Professor Chris Greer

Biography:

Chris Greer is Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research (Designate) and Professor of Sociology. His research and teaching interests are in the broad areas of: Crime, media and criminal justice; Sociology of media and communication; Victimology; Punishment and penality; Criminological theory.

Below you will find highlights of the work that Chris has authored and co-authored in relation to the work of the Centre for Criminology:

Journals:

Books:

Dr Kat Hadjimatheou

Biography:

Kat Hadjimatheou is a lecturer in criminology. Her areas of expertise include police ethics, surveillance technologies, data-driven policing, domestic abuse and human trafficking.

Below you will find highlights of the work that Kat has authored and co-authored in relation to the work of the Centre for Criminology:

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Books:

 

Dr Johanna Romer

Johanna Römer is a lecturer, and her research examines how state power and political authority are produced through the everyday interactions and experiences of persons working within and subject to criminal justice institutions.

Below you will find highlights of the work that Johanna has authored and co-authored in relation to the work of the Centre for Criminology:

Journals:

Dr Anna Di Ronco

Biography:

Anna Di Ronco is a senior lecturer in criminology. Her main research interests lie in regulation, representation and enforcement regarding urban incivilities, and in the use of social media by criminalised environmental movements.

Journals:

Books:

Selected Book Chapters:

  • From harmless incivilities to not-so serious organised crime activities. The expanded realm of European crime prevention and some suggestions on how to limit it in Constructing and Organising Crime in Europe published by Eleven International Publishing 

Dr Anna Sergi

Biography:

Anna Sergi is a senior lecturer. Her specialism is in organised crime, mafia studies, and comparative criminal justice.

Below you will find highlights of the work that Anna has authored and co-authored in relation to the work of the Centre for Criminology:

Journals:

Books:

Dr Carlos Solar

Biography:

Carlos Solar is a lecturer in criminology. His research interests fit broadly under the areas of democratic governance; criminology, mostly on policing, corruption, and organised crime; and military studies.

Below you will find highlights of the work that Carlos has authored and co-authored in relation to the work of the Centre for Criminology:

Journals:

Books:

Selected Book Chapters:

Professor Nigel South

Biography:

Nigel South is a professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Essex. His research interests include environmental crime, green criminology and human rights; illegal and legal drug use; theoretical and comparative criminology; and public health and community services.

Below you will find highlights of the work that Nigel has authored and co-authored in relation to the work of the Centre for Criminology:

Journals:

Books:

Selected Book Chapters:

Dr Darren Thiel

Biography:

Darren Thiel is a senior lecturer with research interests in public policy, criminal justice, policing and economic sociology.

Below you will find highlights of the work that Daniel has authored and co-authored in relation to the work of the Centre for Criminology:

Journals:

Our projects

The Centre for Criminology has pioneered projects at the leading edge of the field – whether examining support for families interacting with the criminal justice system or the state of the planet and environmental harms. Contributing to public debate, policy evidence and scholarly discussion is what we do and our research has been making its impact on society ever since Stan Cohen wrote about ‘Folk Devils and Moral Panics’.

Explore our current research and past research projects below:

Pete Fussey

Pam Cox

Anna Sergi

Kat Hadjimatheou

Alexandra Cox -

Eamonn Carrabine

Carlos Solar

Chris Greer

Anna Di Ronco

Isabel Crowhurst

Johanna Romer

2019 British Academy Leverhulme Small Grant: National Law, Transnational Justice? The role of legal status in parole decision-making in Catalonia, Spain

2020 ISRF Flexi-Grant with James Allen-Robertson Deciphering Violence: New Network Analytic Tools to Improve Hate Speech Detection Online

Nigel South

I am Co-PI on a Global Challenges Research Fund project on ‘COVID-19, Indigenous Communities and Health Justice in Colombia’

Our members are at the forefront of criminological research

With their research and expertise, our members cover a wide range of topics within criminology. These include: crime and the media; organised crime; urban disorder and social control; racism, victims and victimology; sexual labour, regulation and human rights; drug use and markets; women, crime and criminal justice; security; surveillance; green criminology and crimes against the environment; terrorism and counter-terrorism; policing, prisons, punishment and the criminal justice system.

The breath and variety of our interests ensure our work crosses disciplinary boundaries as we draw upon sociology, history, law, urban and rural studies, anthropology, art and film studies, political science and much more.

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Explore our research

Discover cutting edge research from the University of Essex. Browse our site to find relevant publications, projects, groups, centres, postgraduate opportunities for research supervision and wider areas of interest. Simply search our site to find information relating to your subject.

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Contact us
Centre for Criminology University of Essex
Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ
Department of Sociology University of Essex
Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ
Telephone: 01206 873049