Professor Gavin Dingwall

Gavin joined the Law School as a Professor in 2024. Before moving to Northumbria University, Gavin 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 Kings 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. 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); Diversion in the Criminal Process (with Christopher Harding, 1998). He is a member of the Northumbria Centre for Evidence and Criminal Justice, and the Law and Society Research Group.

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 also held a number of Faculty leadership roles, including Chair of the Faculty Professoriate, Chair of the Faculty Research Ethics Committee and Faculty Head of Research Students.

He is often invited to speak at prestigious 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. Recently, for example, he presented oral evidence to the House of Lords' Justice and Home Affairs Select Committee about the role of non-custodial sentences. Gavin has commented extensively on criminal justice matters in the media, including for the BBC, ITV and LBC.