Dr Adam White

School of Law

Senior Lecturer in Criminology

Director of Research

Law Adam White
Profile picture of Law Adam White
adam.white@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 6813

Full contact details

Dr Adam White
School of Law
Bartolomé House
Winter Street
Sheffield
S3 7ND
Profile

I joined the School of Law in 2016. Before arriving at the University of Sheffield, I worked in the Department of Politics at the University of York as a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Public Policy (2010-2015).

I have also spent time as a Visiting Scholar at the University of Washington (Seattle) and worked a researcher for Gun Free South Africa (Cape Town) and Demos (London).

Qualifications
  • PG Cert Academic Practice, University of York (2013)
  • PhD Politics, University of Sheffield (2008)
  • MA Research Methods in Politics and International Relations, University of Sheffield (2005)
  • MA International Political Economy, University of Leeds (2003)
  • BA (Hons) Geography, University of Leeds (2002)
Research interests

My research focuses on four interconnected themes:

  • Policing
  • Private Security
  • Terrorism 
  • Counterterrorism

These interests are multidisciplinary, lying at the intersection of criminology, politics, international relations and socio-legal studies.

Publications

Books

Edited books

  • (Ed.) (2013) The Everyday Life of the State A State-in-Society Approach. University of Washington Press. RIS download Bibtex download

Journal articles

Chapters

  • White A (2022) The Privatization of Criminal Justice: Emotional, Intellectual and Political Responses In Luscombe A, Silva D & Walby K (Ed.), Changing of the Guards: Private Influences, Privatization and Criminal Justice in Canada (pp. vii-x). University of British Columbia Press RIS download Bibtex download
  • White A (2022) Private Security/Private Military: One Phenomenon or Two? In Gill M (Ed.), Handbook of Security. (pp. 123-143). Palgrave Macmillan RIS download Bibtex download
  • White A (2020) Private Security and the Privatisation of Criminal Justice In Bean P (Ed.), Criminal Justice and Privatisation: Key Issues and Debates (pp. 127-141). Routledge. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Dehaghani R & White A (2020) Police Outsourcing and Labour Force Vulnerability. In Albertson K, Corcoran M & Phillips J (Ed.), Marketisation and Privatisation in Criminal Justice (pp. 107-118). Policy RIS download Bibtex download
  • White A (2020) Monopoly or Plurality? The Police and the Private Security Industry in Mid-Twentieth Century Britain. In Churchill D, Janiewski D & Leloup P (Ed.), Private Security and the Modern State: Historical and Comparative Perspectives (pp. 78-95). Routledge RIS download Bibtex download
  • White A (2018) Private Military Contractors: A Criminological Approach. In Wadham B & Goldsmith A (Ed.), Criminologies of the Military (pp. 81-94). Hart RIS download Bibtex download
  • White A (2018) Just Another Industry? (De)Regulation, Public Expectations and Private Security. In Hucklesby A & Lister S (Ed.), The Private Sector and Criminal Justice (pp. 65-96). Palgrave Macmillan RIS download Bibtex download
  • White A (2016) Private Security and the Politics of Accountability. In Lister S & Rowe M (Ed.), Accountability of Policing (pp. 172-191). Routledge RIS download Bibtex download
  • White A (2016) The Market for Global Policing. In Bradford B, Jauregui B, Loader I & Steinberg J (Ed.), The Sage Handbook of Global Policing (pp. 535-551). Sage RIS download Bibtex download
  • White A (2016) Private Military Contractors as Criminals/Victims. In McGarry R & Walklate S (Ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Criminology and War (pp. 191-209). Palgrave Macmillan RIS download Bibtex download
  • Fitzpatrick D & White A (2014) A Crisis of Regulation. In Hay C, Richards D & Smith M (Ed.), Institutional Crisis in Twenty-First-Century Britain (pp. 198-217). Palgrave Macmillan RIS download Bibtex download
  • White A (2014) Beyond the Regulatory Gaze? Corporate Security, (In)visibility and the Modern State. In Lippert R & Walby K (Ed.), Corporate Security in the 21st Century: Theory and Practice in International Perspective (pp. 39-55). Palgrave Macmillan RIS download Bibtex download
  • White A (2014) Politics, Economics and Security. In Gill M (Ed.), Handbook of Security (pp. 89-106). Palgrave Macmillan RIS download Bibtex download
  • White A (2013) A State-in-Society Agenda. In White A (Ed.), The Everyday Life of the State: A State-in-Society Approach (pp. 1-13). University of Washington Press RIS download Bibtex download
  • White A, Bohm A & Senior K (2012) The United Kingdom. In Bakker C & Sossai M (Ed.), Multilevel Regulation of Military and Security Contractors: The Interplay Between International, European and Domestic Norms (pp. 309-328). Hart RIS download Bibtex download

Book reviews

Research group

Areas of Research Supervision

  • Policing
  • Soldiering
  • Privatisation
  • Regulation
  • War
Grants

Title/Description: Centre for Vulnerability and Policing Futures

  • Awarding Body: ESRC
  • People Involved: Adam White (Co-Investigator)
  • Dates: 2022-2027
  • Amount (£): 8.23m

Title/Description: N8 Policing Research Partnership

  • Awarding Body: HEFCE
  • People Involved: Adam White (Co-Investigator)
  • Dates: 2015-2020
  • Amount (£): 6.64m

Title/Description: The Demobilisation of Private Military Contractors

  • Awarding Body: Gerda Henkel Foundation
  • People Involved: Adam White (Principal Investigator)
  • Dates: 2014-2016
  • Amount (£):  53,800
Teaching interests

Over the past few years, I have studied, researched and taught within the disciplines of geography, international political economy, politics and public policy.

But criminology is my passion. It is a fascinating discipline with endless stories – both macabre and heartwarming – which open up a unique window into the human condition.

My aim when teaching criminology is to communicate this fascination to others and to nurture it within their own learning experience.

Teaching activities

The modules I teach are:

Undergraduate

  • Criminology and War
  • Drugs, Crime and Control

Postgraduate

  • Criminality, Victimhood and War
  • Global Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism
Professional activities and memberships
  • Member of the Centre for Criminological Research
  • Editorial Board, British Journal of Criminology
  • Editorial Board, Security Journal
  • Steering Committee, British Society of Criminology Policing Network
  • Fellow, Higher Education Academy