Senior Lecturer in Law   

Research Interests

One of my main interests is anti-terrorism policy.  At present, I am coming to the end of a project examining the formulation and use of principles in debates on anti-terrorism policy and embarking on a multi-disciplinary project on cyber-terrorism with colleagues from Politics and Engineering.  I am also interested in the regulation of anti-social behaviour.  As well as a number of articles on the ASBO – considering such issues as the use of the order against young people, the definition of “anti-social behaviour” and the classification of the order as a civil remedy – I recently completed a report (with Dr Simon Hoffman) for the Welsh Assembly Government on Swansea’s approach to youth anti-social behaviour.

Recent Publications

Articles   

“Understanding Anti-Terrorism Policy: Values, Rationales and Principles” (2012) 34(2) Sydney Law Review (forthcoming)

“Tackling Youth Anti-Social Behaviour in Devolving Wales: A Study of the Tiered Approach in Swansea” (2011) 11(2) Youth Justice 150-167 (with Simon Hoffman)

“Substantively Uncivilized ASBOs: A Response” [2010] Criminal Law Review 762-764 (with Simon Hoffman)

“Should ASBOs be Civilized?” [2010] Criminal Law Review 457-473 (with Simon Hoffman)      

“Keeping Off-roaders on Track: Addressing the Misuse of Off-road Vehicles in Urban and Rural Settings” [2010] Journal of Planning & Environment Law 16-26 (with Victoria Jenkins)

“The Unbalanced Imagery of Anti-Terrorism Policy” (2009) 18(2) Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy 519-540
“Why We Should Abandon the Balance Metaphor: A New Approach to Counterterrorism Policy” (2008) 15(1) ILSA Journal of International and Comparative Law 95-146

“Constructing a Framework for Criminal Justice Research: Learning from Packer’s Mistakes” (2008) 11(2) New Criminal Law Review 257-311
“The Use of ASBOs Against Young People in England and Wales: Lessons from Scotland” (2007) 27(4) Legal Studies 604-629 (with Mark Telford)
“ASBOs and Control Orders: Two Recurring Themes, Two Apparent Contradictions” (2007) 60(4) Parliamentary Affairs 601-624

“ASBO Prohibitions and Young People – Hills v Chief Constable of Essex Police” (2007) 19 (3) Child and Family Law Quarterly, 374-89.

"The Principle of Composite Sentencing: Its Centrality to, and Implications for, the ASBO" [2006] Criminal Law Review 791-808

"A Suicidal Woman, Roaming Pigs and a Noisy Trampolinist: Refining the ASBO’s Definition of Anti-Social Behaviour" (2006) 69(2) Modern Law Review 183-213

"The Nature of the Anti-Social Behaviour Order – R (McCann & Others) v Crown Court at Manchester" (2003) 66(4) Modern Law Review 630-639

Reports

Evaluation of the Tiered Approach to Youth Anti-Social Behaviour in Swansea (2009) Report prepared for the Welsh Assembly Government (with Simon Hoffman)

Review of Criminal Justice Policy in Jersey (2002) Report prepared for the Home Affairs Committee (with Professor Andrew Rutherford, Antonia Jameson, Mark Telford & Mark Bamford)

Papers   

“Of Principles and Politics: A Realist Perspective on Control Orders and Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures” delivered at the Society of Legal Scholars Annual Conference (September 2011)

“Critiquing Anti-Terrorism Policy” research seminar at University of Sydney Law School (April 2011)

“Anti-Terrorism Policy: The Contours of a Conceptual Framework” research seminar at University of New South Wales Law School (March 2011)   

“Soft Speak and Big Sticks?  Responsive Regulation and Youth Anti-Social Behaviour” delivered at a symposium on anti-social behaviour organised by the Centre for Criminal Justice and Criminology at Swansea University (December 2010)

“Criminal Law, Control Orders and the Preventative State” delivered at the conference “From School Exclusion Orders to Anti-Terror Laws: Human Rights and the Use of Law in the Modern State” (organised by SOLON and the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies) (October 2010)

“The Viability, Necessity and Preventative Rationale of Control Orders” delivered at the ESRC-funded workshop “Anti-Terrorism, Citizenship and Security in the UK” held at Swansea University (July 2010)

“The Tiered Approach to Youth Anti-Social Behaviour in Swansea” research seminar at the Welsh Assembly Government (May 2010) (with Simon Hoffman)

"Defining Anti-Social Behaviour-A Legal Perspective" delivered at a day conference organised by the National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection (October 2007).

“ASBOs and Young People” delivered at the Centre for Legal Research and Policy Studies, Oxford Brookes University (November 2006)

“ASBOs and Control Orders: Two Common Trends, Two Apparent Contradictions” delivered at staff seminars at the School of Law, University of Birmingham (May 2006) and the School of Law, Swansea University (March 2006)

“The Anti-Social Behaviour Order and the Scottish Children’s Hearings System” delivered at a staff seminar at the School of Law, University of Southampton (February 2005) (with Mark Telford)

“New Labour’s Reasons for Creating, and Critics’ Objections to, the Anti-Social Behaviour Order” delivered at the conference “YOTs and ASBOs” (organised by Criminal Justice Associates) (October 2004)   

Relevant Activities

• Member of the Society of Legal Scholars
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• Visiting Scholar, University of Sydney Law School (February – April 2011)
• Visiting Scholar, Columbia University Law School (February – May 2007)

Research Supervision

Current PhD Students

Samantha Morrison   

Lella Nouri

Andrew Whiting

I would welcome proposals or enquiries for research into criminal law, including substantive criminal law, theoretical approaches to criminal law and criminal justice policy.