Policing and Democracy in the 21st Century

The International Criminological Research Unit (ICRU)

ONE DAY CONFERENCE – Thursday 17th September 9.00-6.30pm

Venue: University of Liverpool, Eleanor Rathbone Building, Hearnshaw Lecture Theatre

We invite you to join us for a one day conference at the School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool.
The purpose of the conference is to showcase a range of research-based perspectives on the ambiguous and contested notion of ‘democratic policing’. Embracing both mainstream and critical approaches to this topic the conference will provide a space for dialogue between scholars with wide-ranging interests and theoretical affiliations.


Confirmed speakers include:

  • Robert Reiner - Emeritus Professor of Criminology, LSE, Author of The Politics of the Police (2010)
  • Jon Jackson - Professor in Research Methodology, LSE, Co-Author of Just Authority: Trust in the Police in England and Wales (2012)
  • Ben Bradford - Lecturer in Criminology, University of Oxford, Co-Author of Just Authority: Trust in the Police in England and Wales (2012)
  • Anne Alvesalo - Professor in Sociology of Law, University of Turku, Finland, Co-Author of ‘Eyes Wide Shut: The Police Investigation of Safety Crimes’ (2007)
  • David Whyte - Professor of Socio-legal Studies, University of Liverpool, co-author of The Corporate Criminal (2015) and editor of How Corrupt is Britain? (2015)
  • Dave Smith - Blacklisted construction worker, Secretary of the Blacklist Support Group, Co-author of Blacklisted: The Secret War between Big Business and Union Activists (2015)

The programme for the day will include sessions on governance and accountability, police violence, policing workers and political movements, police legitimacy and police-community relations. The day will conclude with a roundtable discussion chaired by Prof. Ian Loader (University of Oxford), and will be followed by a free wine reception to celebrate the launch of the International Criminological Research Unit (ICRU) at the University of Liverpool.


The conference fee is £60 [or £20 for students]
To register for the conference please click here.