Dr Kevin Stenson

Dr Kevin Stenson is a part-time visiting professor at London Met. He supervises PhD and professional doctorate theses in the fields of criminology and policing. Kevin's PhD was from Brunel University and he was previously Professor of Criminology at Middlesex University

Photo of a male Professor of Criminology Kevin Stenson

Kevin Stenson

Kevin's enduring theoretical interest has been in exploring the new forms of liberal governance that have emerged since the rise of New Right ideologies and administrations, with particular reference to the politics of crime control. Kevin emphasises a need to counterbalance an interest in 'governance from above' by state, Non-Governmental Organisation and major commercial agencies, with a focus on 'governance from below', by a host of networks and agencies from religious and friendship groups to 'organised' crime, paramilitary and 'terrorist' organisations. He was involved in a large grant study (£500k) funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council: 'Negotiating Identity: young people's perspectives on faith values, community norms and social cohesion' organised from Brunel University by Professor Nicola Madge.

Kevin's research has included studies of:

  • young people's perceptions and uses of public spaces, social work, probation and policing practice (including stop and search and community policing)
  • the link between inter-ethnic conflict and policing
  • urban development and social order
  • studies in social housing neighbourhoods in the Thames Valley of the links between deprivation, crime and other social problems
  • the development and evaluation of community safety policies and practices
  • parent support programmes
  • the negotiation of religious identities among young people in urban locations

Kevin has produced a range of official reports, sat on UK Government committees, advised policymakers and published widely in leading journals. His work has been translated into other languages and Kevin has been invited to present papers in a range of countries and worked with many international scholars.

Authored

  • Madge, N, Hemming, P J, and Stenson, K (2014) Youth on Religion, the Development, Negotiation and Impact of Faith and Non-faith Identity, London: Routledge.
  • Stenson, K and Silverstone, D (2014) `Making police Accountable: governance and legitimacy`, in J M Brown (ed.) The Future of Policing, London: Routledge.
  • Madge, N, Hemming, P, J, Goodman, A, Goodman, S, Kingston, S Stenson, K, Webster, C (2011) `Conducting Large-Scale Surveys in Secondary Schools: The Case of the Youth On Religion (YOR) Project`, Children and Society.
  • Lippert, R and Stenson, K (2010 forthcoming) `Advancing Governmentality Studies, Lessons from Social Constructionism` in Theoretical Criminology, 14, 4.
  • Stenson, K (Forthcoming, 2010) `Risk, Crime and Governance` in Martine Herzog-Evans (ed), Transnational Criminology Manual (volume 1) Nijmegen: Wolf Legal, Publishers.
  • Fletcher, R and K Stenson (2009) `Governance and the London Metropolitan Police Service`, Policing, A Journal of Policy and Practice. 3 (1) 12-21. Special issue on policing and governance, edited by Kevin Stenson.
  • Stenson, K (2008) `Governing the Local: Sovereignty, Social Governance and Community Safety`. Social Work and Society (online), 6, 1: (21 pages) – Special issue on De-and Re-Territorialisation of “the Social”` – commentary on the work of Kevin Stenson.
  • Stenson, K (2008) `Beyond Kantianism: Responses to Critiques` Social Work and Society (on line), 6, 1: (7 pages) – Special issue on De-and Re-Territorialisation of “the Social” commentary on the work of Kevin Stenson.
  • “Surveillance and Sovereignty” (2008), in M Deflem (ed) Surveillance and Governance: Crime Control and Beyond” Sociology of Crime, Law and Deviance, Volume 10, Bingley: Emerald.
  • Lea, J and Stenson, K (2007) `Security, Sovereignty, and Non-State Governance “From Below”`Canadian Jnl. of Law and Society, 22, 2: 9-28. Special issue of journal on `Governance from Below` edited by Kevin Stenson and Randy Lippert.
  • Stenson, K (2007)`Framing the Governance of Urban Space`, in: – R Atkinson and G Helms (eds) Securing an Urban Renaissance: crime, community and British urban policy Bristol: The Policy Press.
  • Stenson, K (2007) “Das Lokale regierung. Den Kampf um Souveränität im Ländlichen England” (2007), in F Kessl and H-U Otto (eds) Territorialisierung des Sozialen, Regieren uber soziale Nahraume. Opladen and Farmington Hills: Verlag Barbara Budrich.
  • Stenson K and Waddington, PAJ (2007) Macpherson, Police Stops and Institutional Racism in M Rowe (ed) Policing Beyond Macpherson Cullompton: Willan.
  • Stenson, K (2005) "Sovereignty, Biopolitics and Community Safety in Britain" Theoretical Criminology (special Issue on community safety in Europe) 9,(3) 265-287.
  • Waddington, PAJ Stenson, K and Don, D (2004) "In proportion: race and police stop and search" British Journal of Criminology 44,6: 889-914.
  • Stenson, K and Edwards, A (2004) 'Policy Transfer in Local Crime Control: Beyond Naive Emulation', in T Newburn and R. Sparks (eds) Criminal Justice and Political Cultures, national and international dimensions of crime control, pp.209-233. Cullompton: Willan.
  • Stenson, K and Edwards, A (2003) 'Crime control and local governance: the struggle for sovereignty in advanced liberal polities', Contemporary Politics Vo1.9, 2: 203-218.
  • 'Community Safety in Middle England – the local politics of crime control'. In G Hughes and A Edwards (eds) Crime Control and Community, the new politics of public safety, pp.109-139. Cullompton: Willan 2002.
  • Stenson, K, and Sullivan, RK (eds) (2001) "Crime, Risk and Justice, the politics of crime control in liberal democracies". Cullompton: Willan
  • Stenson, K (2000) "Someday Our Prince Will Come: zero tolerance policing and liberal government" in T Hope and R Sparks (eds) Crime, Insecurity and Order, Routledge.
  • Stenson, K (1999) "Crime Control, Governmentality and Sovereignty", in Russell Smandych (ed) Governable Places, readings on governmentality and crime control, Aldershot: Dartmouth/Ashgate (1999).
  • Stenson K and Watt, P (1999) `Governmentality and “The Death of the Social?”: a discourse analysis of local government texts in the South east of England, in Urban Studies, 36:1:189-201 spring 1999.
  • Stenson, K (1998) "Beyond Histories of the Present", Economy and Society, 27:4:333-352
  • Stenson, K (1998) "The Displacement of Social Policy as crime Control" in S. Hanninen (ed) The Displacement of social Policy Jyvaskyla, Finland: University Of Jyvaskyla Press.
  • Watt, P and Stenson, K. (1998) "The Street: 'It’s a bit dodgy around there', safety, danger, ethnicity and young people's use of public space. in T Skelton and G Valentine (eds) Cool Places, Geographies of Youth Cultures London: Routledge. 
  • Stenson, K (1995) "Communal Security as Government – the British Experience", in W Hammerschick et al (ed) Jahrbuch Fur Rechts Und Kriminalsoziologie, Baden: Nomos, 1995
  • Stenson, K (1993) "Community Policing as A Governmental Technology", Economy and Society, 22,3: 373-89.
  • Stenson, K and Cowell, D (eds) (1991) The Politics of Crime Control, Sage: Beverly Hills/London (includes K Stenson, `Making Sense of Crime Control`).

Dr Kevin Stenson
Visiting Professor of Criminology
E: k.stenson@londonmet.ac.uk