I joined the Department of Social Sciences at Loughborough University in April 2016. Prior to that I worked in the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds. I completed by my PhD in 2008 also at Leeds. My first degree was in sociology at the University of Liverpool. I work mainly in the area of social policy and criminology, but I am influenced by my background in sociology. My primary research interests revolve around an analysis of ‘elites’. This has taken me in numerous directions. I have explored the influences and drivers of policy making looking at the relationship between science and evidence in the making of drugs and welfare policies. I have recently published work on State Criminality and Crimes of the Powerful. I am also interested in the theory and application of realist methods.