Sociology & Criminology for a Changing World
Sarah Brayne is an American sociologist whose research explores the intersection of technology, surveillance, and the criminal justice system. An Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, Brayne investigates how big data analytics and algorithmic decision-making are transforming policing and social control. Her ethnographic and mixed-methods work offers unique insights into the implementation
Robert Reiner is a British criminologist and one of the most influential scholars in the sociology of policing. As Professor Emeritus of Criminology at the London School of Economics, Reiner has spent decades analyzing the political, cultural, and social dynamics that shape modern police work. His research bridges empirical studies of police culture with theoretical
Jonathan Simon is an American criminologist and legal scholar known for his influential analyses of mass incarceration, governance through crime, and the transformation of penal policy in the United States. A professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, Simon has critically examined how fear of crime and security discourses have shaped political decision-making,
David Garland is a Scottish-American criminologist and sociologist renowned for his work on the sociology of punishment, crime control, and the modern state. He is Professor of Law and Professor of Sociology at New York University. Garland’s research has explored the historical and cultural contexts of penal systems, the rise of the culture of control
Alessandro De Giorgi is an Italian-born criminologist and critical social theorist whose work focuses on the intersections of punishment, migration, and neoliberal governance. Currently based in the United States, De Giorgi’s research examines how economic restructuring, global inequality, and intensified border regimes shape the contemporary penal landscape. He is known for combining empirical research with
Thomas Mathiesen (1933–2021) was a Norwegian sociologist and one of the most influential figures in the field of critical criminology and penal abolitionism. Deeply engaged in the critique of modern penal systems, Mathiesen developed a unique theoretical framework that questioned the legitimacy and function of prisons in democratic societies. His seminal work The Politics of