I am currently Programme Leader for BA (Hons) Criminal Justice and module leader for the following undergraduate modules:

4013LAWCJ The History of Crime and Criminal Justice;
5028LAWCJ Victimology;
6009LAWCJ Policing;
6020LAWCJ Comparative Criminal Justice.

My research interests include: the history of crime and justice (especially the 19th century); the sociology of punishment (especially Durkheimian theory); media representations of crime (especially victimisation and violence); public attitudes to criminal justice (especially capital punishment); and cultural criminology (especially collective experiences and emotions as affective forces in criminal justice and social control).

I published a monograph, entitled 'Crime, Broadsides, and Social Change: 1800-1850', which combines all of my above research interests. This book also led to my participation in the BBC series 'Who Do You Think You Are' (Richard Osman episode).

I am currently working on a second monograph entitled 'Lexicons of Loss: The Power and Impact of Victim Statements' to be published by Routledge.

I started at LJMU in August 2014 and have extensive experience of criminal justice, having served as both a police officer and a civilian caseworker investigating police complaints, and have also served as a panel member for Children’s Hearings Scotland. I am currently a serving Magistrate for Merseyside.

PUBLICATIONS

Bates, K. (2023) 'Policing: Past and Present', in Corteen, K. et al (eds.) Forensic Psychology, Crime and Policing: Key Concepts and Practical Debates. Bristol: Policy Press.

Bates, K. (2023) 'Police and Victims of Crime', in Corteen, K. et al (eds.) Forensic Psychology, Crime and Policing: Key Concepts and Practical Debates. Bristol: Policy Press.

Bates, K. (2020) Crime, Broadsides and Social Change: 1800-1850. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Bates, K (2019) 'Broadsides', in Turner, J. et al (eds.) A Companion to Crime and Criminal Justice History. Bristol: Policy Press.

Bates, K (2019) 'Burke and Hare', in Turner, J. et al (eds.) A Companion to Crime and Criminal Justice History. Bristol: Policy Press.

Bates, K (2019) 'Crime Fiction', in Turner, J. et al (eds.) A Companion to Crime and Criminal Justice History. Bristol: Policy Press.

Bates, K. (2014) ‘Empathy or entertainment? The form and function of violent crime in early-nineteenth-century broadsides’, Law, Crime & History, Vol.4, Issue 2, pp.1-27.

CONFERENCE PAPERS

‘Bloody Murder!’: The Meaning and Morality of Violent Crime in Early Nineteenth Century Broadsides, British Crime Historians Symposium 3, The Open University, Milton Keynes, September 2012

Criminal Mentalities and Moralities: Representations of Crime and Punishment in Early 19th Century Broadsides, Print Networks Conference on Street Literature: Cheap Print, Popular Culture and the Book Trade, University of Leicester, Leicester, July 2012

‘A Full and Particular Account’: Representations of State Violence in Early 19th Century Broadsides, SOLON International Conference on Crime, Violence and the Modern State III, Lyon 2 University, Lyon, September 2011

Trials and Tribulations: Representations of Criminal Justice in Early 19th Century Broadsides, International Symposium on Courtrooms, the Public Sphere & Convicts, Keele University, Keele, September 2010

Criminal Mentalities – Revisiting the Curiosities of Street Literature, 3rd Annual Conference of the Research Institute for Law, Politics and Justice, Keele University, Keele, November 2009

Morality for the Masses: A Study of British Broadsides 1800-1850, Annual Conference of the British Society of Criminology, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, July 2006

Degrees

2013, Keele University, United Kingdom, PhD in Criminology
2005, Open University, United Kingdom, MA (Distinction) in Social Policy and Criminology
2002, University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom, P.C.G.E (Post-School Education)
1998, Buckinghamshire College, Brunel University, England, BSc (Hons) Sociology and Criminology 2:1

Academic appointments

External Examiner, University of Wolverhampton, 2015 - 2019
Senior Lecturer in Criminal Justice, School of Justice Studies, Liverpool John Moores University, 2014 - present
Lecturer in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Dept. of Social Sciences, University of the West of Scotland, 2002 - 2008