About
Research
Email: zin.derfoufi@stmarys.ac.uk
Biography
Dr Zin Derfoufi is the Senior Lecturer in Law and Criminology at St Mary’s University, London. His interdisciplinary research combines law, sociology and psychology to tackle the most pressing challenges in countering terrorism and violent-extremism.
His work has shaped major legislative reforms in the UK and informed policy changes across Europe. For example, his research on nonviolent direct action helped to safeguard freedom of speech and association by reversing government proposals seeking to impose mass restrictions to online political content. His research also directly framed Resolution 2457 of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, urging Member States to stop misusing anti-terror laws to suppress lawful dissent and to address its discriminatory impact.
Zin produced the first evidence base on the use of Schedule 7—the UK’s most sweeping without-suspicion detention power— leading to legislative changes that introduced stronger safeguards for detainees, enhanced frontline supervision, and the removal of biometric data of thousands of innocent people held on the national DNA database. Collaborating with Parliamentarians, he secured improved transparency and routine Home Office reporting on Schedule 7 use and outcomes.
Beyond counterterrorism, Zin’s work on preventing serious violence informed revisions to police codes of practice on stop and search (PACE Code A).
He has held advisory roles with MPs and Peers, the Home Office, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, the College of Policing, the National Police Chiefs’ Council, British Transport Police, and various local authorities.
His work continues to shape legislative and policy reform. His research is published in leading journals and supported by major funding bodies.
He is open to supervising PhD students in the following areas:
- terrorism and counterterrorism
- preventing and countering violent extremism (PVE/CVE)
- sociolegal approaches to harm reduction.
Research
Research profile
Research outputs
- Eggert, J.P. & Derfoufi, Z. (forthcoming) Understanding Female Radicalization, in Eggert, J.P. (eds) Women, Terrorism & Counterterrorism. I.B. Tauris/Bloomsbury.
- Derfoufi, Z. (2023) Power struggles: Police and crime commissioners, chief constables, and the battle over operational policing. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, [online first] Read more.
- Derfoufi, Z. and Rights & Security International (RSI) (2022) Prevent-ing dissent: How the UK’s counterterrorism strategy is eroding democracy (London: Rights & Security International). Read more.
- Derfoufi, Z. (2020) Radicalization’s Core, Terrorism and Political Violence. Read more.
- Quinlan, T. L. & Derfoufi, Z. (2015) Counter-Terrorism Policing in Delsol, R. & Shiner, M. (eds) Stop and Search: The Anatomy of a Police Power. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Read more.