St Mary’s Criminology and Sociology Lead Contributes to Student-focused Criminology Textbook

Programme Director for Criminology and Sociology at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, Neena Samota, has contributed to Criminology, a new style of core textbook that speaks directly to students to encourage, engage, and enthuse them around the topic.

The book, published today (31 March) by Oxford University Press, aims to take the University students from their first steps in researching criminology through to exploring potential employment opportunities.

Professor Stephen Case, Professor of Criminology, Director of Studies, Department of Social Sciences, Loughborough University, and co-author of the book, commented, “Neena made an extremely valuable contribution to the most engaging and student-focused criminology textbook ever produced.

“As an expert on critical race theory, she provided a chapter that greatly enhanced the critical depth and breadth of our book, to the benefit of criminology students for years to come.”

In addition to running St Mary’s Criminology and Sociology programmes, and contributing to the rich and diverse portfolio of research and study within the University’s School of Arts and Humanities, Neena maintains extensive engagement with the voluntary sector through research, governance and campaigning work.

She is Chair of Voice4Change England (V4CE), a national infrastructure body supporting the black and minority ethnic voluntary and community sector.

As a member of StopWatch since it was formed in 2010 Neena has supported it’s campaign for effective, accountable and fair policing, she is also a steering group member of the Reclaim Justice Network which campaigns to promote alternatives to criminal justice.

Neena also actively contributes to policy development and sits on a number of advisory groups including the Lola Young Review, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC)’s Police Effectiveness, Efficiency and Legitimacy Advisory Group and the Crown Prosecution Service Scrutiny Panel.

She also sat on the Home Secretary’s Policing and Diversity Panel that worked to increase employment of ethnic minorities in the police. Her teaching is research and policy informed to ensure students critically evaluate crime and justice related issues in their current context.

Having written articles and blogs on stop and search and on race and the criminal justice system, been interviewed for radio and television on policing and ethnic disproportionality in stop and search, prisons and the criminal justice process, Neena has an extensive media portfolio.

High-level academic research has a central role in the activities of the School of Arts and Humanities. At St Mary’s. In the Research Excellence Framework in 2014, the School was the most prolific across the University, with submissions from History, English Language and Literature, Philosophy, and Communications returning high levels of research outputs judged to be of international excellence.