Professor Gavin Dingwall

Gavin joined the Law School as a Professor in 2024. Before moving to Northumbria University, he worked as Head of Policy and Communications at the Sentencing Academy and in the Law Schools at De Montfort and Aberystwyth Universities. He has held visiting appointments at King's College London, the University of Birmingham, the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, and Flinders University of South Australia.

He has published extensively on criminal justice, criminology, criminal law and criminal procedure and evidence, with a particular recent focus on punishment and sentencing. His work includes the following books: Minority Ethnic Prisoners and the Covid-19 Lockdown: Issues, Impacts and Implications (with Avril Brandon, 2022); Criminal Justice and the Pursuit of Truth (with Tim Hillier, 2021); Blamestorming, Blamemongers and Scapegoats: Allocating Blame in the Criminal Justice Process (with Tim Hillier, 2015); Alcohol and Crime (2006); Crime and Conflict in the Countryside (ed with Susan R. Moody, 1999); and Diversion in the Criminal Process (with Christopher Harding, 1998).

At De Montfort University, Gavin won University and Faculty awards for his innovative research-enabled teaching practice. The approach was the subject of a podcast by the British Society of Criminology's Learning and Teaching Network. He held a number of senior roles at De Montfort University, including Chair of the Faculty Professoriate. He also served on the University and College Union (UCU) branch committee, acting as the liaison with De Montfort Students' Union.

Gavin is often invited to speak at prestigious academic events, a recent example being the annual Empirical Legal Research Network Lecture at the University of Edinburgh in 2024. Throughout his career, he has engaged with policy makers. For example, he presented oral evidence to the House of Lords' Justice and Home Affairs Select Committee in 2023 about the role and possibilities of non-custodial sentences. Gavin comments extensively on criminal justice in the media, including for the BBC, ITV and LBC. His book Blamestorming, Blamemongers and Scapegoats: Allocating Blame in the Criminal Justice Process (with Tim Hillier, 2015) was the focus of an episode of the BBC Radio 4 programme Thinking Allowed.