The Royal Statistical Society
(RSS) has awarded a highly prestigious Honorary Fellowship to Northumbria
University academic Professor Marion Oswald MBE.
Each year, the influential RSS awards
honorary fellowships to a small and select group of outstanding individuals of
great eminence working in fields related to statistics who are not necessarily
or primarily members of the statistical profession. The lifetime award
particularly recognises those whose work furthers the Society’s goals and
values, like supporting public understanding and furthering interdisciplinarity
in research.The RSS
said Professor Marion Oswald's work on administrative law for automated systems
used by public authorities, driven by her leadership and pragmatism, has been
instrumental in integrating ethical principles into data science
practice.
Professor
Sir John Aston, RSS President, said of this year’s cohort of awardees, ‘Our
2025 honours recipients exemplify the wide-ranging positive impact statistics
can have on improving research outcomes and on society. This year’s honorary
fellows are exemplary supporters of the discipline, showcasing what can be
achieved through collaboration. On behalf of the RSS, I am delighted to give my
heartfelt congratulations to all this year’s recipients.’
A Professor of Law at Northumbria,
Dr Oswald is also a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Emerging
Technology and Security (the Alan Turing Institute) and chairs the West
Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner and West Midlands Police Data Ethics
Committee. Her research covers the interaction between law and digital
technology, and has made
distinctive contributions in respect of privacy, fair decision-making and artificial
intelligence (AI) and the way that data is acted upon by the public sector, focusing
on policing and national security. In 2022 Professor Oswald received an MBE for
services to digital innovation.
Professor
Oswald is also a member of the Biometrics and Forensics Ethics Group (BFEG)
which provides independent ethical advice to the Home Office on matters related
to biometric and forensic material, and on complex data sets and AI. She is the
Principal Investigator of the 4-year PROBabLE Futures project (Probabilistic AI
Systems in Law Enforcement Futures), a keystone project funded by Responsible
AI UK.
Commenting on her award, Professor Oswald said: “I am honoured and humbled to receive this award from the RSS. The
research and public service work I am involved in covers some challenging and sensitive
issues around the use of data and emerging technologies in policing and
national security that can have serious implications if used inaccurately or
inappropriately but considerable benefits if used well. There are many people engaged in my area who are doing amazing work to
support ethical and beneficial data science practice, and I’d like to
acknowledge them, especially my collaboration with my PROBabLE Futures colleagues
at Northumbria University and other institutions, the Centre for Emerging
Technology and Security at the Alan Turing Institute, West Midlands Police and Crime
Commissioner Simon Foster, ACC Matt Welsted and all the members of the West
Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner and West Midlands Police Data Ethics
Committee. I would like to congratulate all the other recipients of honorary
fellowships.”
Professor Michael Stockdale, Head of Law
at Northumbria, added: “Receiving this award is well deserved
recognition for Marion’s leading research and public service work in relation
to the use of data and the impact of emerging technologies in policing,
national security and the justice system. It also reflects the strength and
growing reputation of Northumbria Law School in this field.”
