Honouring the Past to Shape the Future: Criminology at The University of Manchester

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As part of The University of Manchester’s Bicentenary celebrations, the Department of Criminology has produced a series of blogs reflecting on our rich legacy of research. The series, ‘Honouring the past to shape the future’ illustrates how criminology is deeply intertwined with Manchester's history and the history of the North West. By examining historical developments in criminological research and practice, we aim to deepen an understanding of the discipline and its societal impact today. This involves situating contemporary criminological research within a historical context and examining how the past continues to influence present-day challenges and innovations.

Through this Bicentenary blog series, we explore key research topics such as modern slavery, prisons, homicide, and young people’s experiences of justice. These topics were chosen for their continuing social significance and strong connections to both historical and contemporary criminological issues in Manchester and beyond. The blogs demonstrate the broad and diverse scope of our current research, which has its own historical roots in areas such as crime prevention, domestic violence, drug crimes, youth justice, and feminist criminology.

The Evolution of Crime in the UK: 200 Years of Change

Over the past 200 years, crime in the UK has undergone continuous transformation, shaped by social, economic, and technological changes. In the 19th century, offences such as theft and burglary, poaching (Game Act 1831), and smuggling were prevalent, often tied to widespread poverty and economic hardship during the Industrial Revolution. The arrival of urbanisation saw a rise in organised crime and the need for structured policing, leading to the establishment of the Metropolitan Police in 1829. In the 20th century, crime evolved with advancements in technology, introducing new offences such as cybercrime, fraud, and identity theft (cf. MSc Financial Crime and Compliance in Digital Societies; Centre for Digital Trust & Society). Shifts in societal norms also influenced what was considered criminal, with acts like domestic violence and hate crimes receiving greater recognition and legal response today. Meanwhile, the decline in traditional crimes such as burglary and violent offences in recent decades reflects improved security measures and changing lifestyles, though concerns about knife crime and drug-related violence endure. The interplay of globalisation and digitalisation continues to reshape the criminal landscape, requiring innovative policing strategies and policy responses.

Manchester's Department of Criminology: A Legacy of Innovation

The Department of Criminology has evolved over time, from innovative research and teaching dating back to the late 1980s to the establishment of distinct Undergraduate and Postgraduate Criminology programmes over 20 years ago. From its roots in Social Policy, it became part of the School of Law in 2005 before, more recently, establishing a distinct departmental identity in the School of Social Sciences. Throughout its history, the Department has responded to the growing demand for specialised criminological research and research-led teaching. Criminologists at the University of Manchester have made significant contributions to the field in many areas including drug policy and drug use, quantitative criminology, crime prevention, domestic violence and homicide, serious, organised and white-collar crime.

Professor Ken Pease, appointed Professorial Chair of Criminology in 1990, made significant advancements in crime prevention and criminological theory during his tenure at the university. He was a founding member of the Manchester Quantitative Criminology Group working alongside Professors Denise Osborn, Andromachi Tseloni, Graham Farrell, Tim Hope and Rob Elder. The quantitative tradition at Manchester continued with the work of Professors Juanjo Medina and Judith Aldridge in the early 2000s and remains central to the department, highlighting significant advancements in the analysis of gang dynamics, use of drugs, domestic abuse, and the spatial distribution of crime. 

Professors Howard Parker, Fiona Measham and Judith Aldridge, are widely known for their work on youth culture, drug use, and social policy, particularly the influential ‘Illegal Leisure’ (Parker, Measham, & Aldridge, 1998) with work on the normalisation of drug use (Parker, Williams, & Aldridge, 2002) continuing at UoM alongside Professor Toby Seddon’s work on drug policy and legal frameworks (Seddon, 2023). Developments in this area continue through the work of current Criminology staff.

Professors Rebecca and Russell Dobash conducted pioneering research on domestic violence and homicide. Their legacy feeds into the work of current staff in the department working around gender-based violence. 

In more recent years, Bill Hebenton’s research has made significant contributions to policing and comparative criminology, focusing primarily on China and Greater China/Taiwan, and Jon Spencer’s work on the horsemeat scandal led to a series of projects within the department on food fraud and food crime. Similarly, Jon Spencer’s earlier work on offender management and Professor Shadd Maruna’s work on desistance from crime, has influenced further work on rehabilitation and desistance in the department.

Groundbreaking research in criminology has also been conducted, more widely, within the School of Social Sciences. Professor Carol Smart, who joined the University and Department of Sociology in 2005, pioneered feminist criminology through her seminal work, Women, Crime and Criminology (1976), which remains a foundational feminist critique of criminology to this day.

Today, academics in the Department of Criminology build on the rich legacy of our predecessors, with now over 30 academic staff, 14 PhD students, several research fellows, and dedicated administrative support. Current research is organised around six core themes: fraud, white-collar and organised crime; prisons, punishment, and policing; inequalities linked to offending; violence and its aftermath; and drug markets, consumption, and policy. Each theme reflects the lasting influence of Manchester’s pioneering criminological research and its relevance to contemporary challenges.

Bicentenary Blogs Project: Looking Back to Look forward

Earlier criminologists at The University embodied a commitment to advancing criminological knowledge and addressing complex societal issues through rigorous academic inquiry. The tradition of Manchester Criminology has always emphasised excellent empirical research, critical analysis, and engagement with “real-world” challenges.

In the Bicentenary blog series, we reflect on how lessons from the past, such as the importance of community-based crime prevention and the role of social policy in addressing systemic inequalities, can inform our future approaches to crime and social justice, while also recognising the contributions of those who have shaped our department’s identity across generations.

The Bicentenary blog posts will be published every week in these final months of The University of Manchester’s 200th anniversary. We invite colleagues and the public to join our current leading scholars on this journey into the historical roots of criminological inquiry and its connections to the pressing issues being explored today.