 
    Overview
Bethan is currently Reader in Criminology and Criminal Justice. She joined the School of Social Sciences in January 2016, having previously been the recipient of several grants and fellowships at the School of Law, University of Manchester (2011-2015), and the Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Oxford (2008-2011). Bethan holds a PhD in Criminology (Keele University), an MA in Comparative Criminology and Criminal Justice (ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ, received with distinction) and a BA in Criminology and Criminal Justice (ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ, first class).
Her research interests lie in the areas of policing and security, in particular: policing cultures, covert/undercover policing and surveillance; the operation and governance of private security; border enforcement; the use of Artificial Intelligence in law enforcement, and the policing of social divisions. She has conducted two major ethnographic field studies, both of which involved conducting prolonged observations of police officers as they went about their ordinary duties. She has been awarded research grants from the ESRC and Leverhulme Trust, and won a Simon Fellowship at the University of Manchester where she conducted research on the policing of international borders. Bethan is the author of Police Culture in a Changing World (Oxford University Press) and articles in major journals.Â
Recently, Bethan was Co-Investigator on an ESRC grant entitled 'Borders, Boundary Mechanisms and Migration'. This project forms part of the WISERD Civil Society Research Centre, and examined the changing role of police and civil society organisations in the making and unmaking of political borders. It explored the humanitarian response to the migration and refugee crisis in the context of a rise in hostile, authoritarian government policy towards immigration and the increased presence of non-state, far-right political activity at borders.
Bethan is also currently involved in research projects that explore misogyny, interpersonal violence and non-fatal strangulation (NFS).
Bethan is an Editor for the British Journal of Criminology, and an Associate Editor for Theoretical Criminology, having previously been the book review editor for the latter (2012-2019).
Bethan's research interests are also reflected in her undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, including on the following modules: Policing, Security and the State; Serial Killers; and Comparative and International Criminal Justice.Â
Additional Contact Information
Reader in Criminology and Criminal Justice
Office: 114.2 Mezzanine Floor, Main Arts Building
Phone: 01248 382183
Email: b.loftus@bangor.ac.uk
Postgraduate Project Opportunities
Publications
2024
- Published
 Loftus, B., Feilzer, M. & Goold, B., Sept 2024, In: Howard Journal of Criminal Justice. 63, 3, p. 245-271 35 p.
 Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
 Feilzer, M. & Loftus, B., 1 Aug 2024, In: Political Quarterly .
 Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2023
- Published
 Loftus, B. & Hodgkinson, C., 1 Jun 2023, 38 p.
 Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
- Published
 Bacon , M. (Editor), Loftus, B. (Editor) & Rowe, M. (Editor), 3 Dec 2023, London: Routledge. 234 p.
 Research output: Book/Report › Book
- Published
 Loftus, B., Bacon , M. & Skinns, L., Sept 2023, In: The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles. 96, 3, p. 355–373
 Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2022
- Published
 Loftus, B., 2022, 81 p.
 Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report › peer-review
- Published
 Loftus, B., Goold, B. & Mac Giollabhui, S., 30 Dec 2022, Routledge International Handbook of Police Ethnography . Fleming , J. & Charman, S. (eds.). 1 ed. Routledge
 Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
2020
- Published
 Bacon , M., Loftus, B. & Rowe, M., 31 Jan 2020, In: Policing and Society: An International Journal of Research and Policy. 30, 1, p. 1-10
 Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
 Bacon , M., Loftus, B. & Rowe, M., Feb 2020, In: Policing and Society: An International Journal of Research and Policy. 30, p. 117-119
 Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review
2019
- Published
 Loftus, B., Dec 2019, In: British Journal of Sociology. 70, 5, p. 2070-2091
 Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2018
- Published
 Löfstrand, C. H., Loftus, B. & Loader, I., 2018, In: Policing and Society: An International Journal of Research and Policy. 28, 8, p. 968-984
 Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2016
- Published
 Loftus, B., Goold, B. & Mac Giollabhui, S., Jul 2016, In: British Journal of Criminology. 56, 4, p. 629-645
 Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
 Loftus, B., 22 Jul 2016, In: Policing and Society: An International Journal of Research and Policy. 26, 6, p. 713-720 7 p., 6.
 Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
- Published
 Mac Giollabhui, S., Goold, B. & Loftus, B., Dec 2016, In: Qualitative Research. 16, 6, p. 630-645
 Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2015
- Published
 Loftus, B., 2015, In: Policing and Society: An International Journal of Research and Policy. 25, 1, p. 115-125
 Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
 Löfstrand, C. H., Loftus, B. & Loader, I., 9 Nov 2015, In: European Journal of Criminology. p. 1-18
 Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
 Loftus, B., 24 Nov 2015, In: European Journal of Policing Studies. 3, 2, p. 238-254
 Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2013
- Published
 O'Neill, M. & Loftus, B., Nov 2013, In: Theoretical Criminology. 17, 4, p. 437-454
 Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2012
- Published
 Loftus, B. & Goold, B., Jul 2012, In: Criminology and Criminal Justice. 12, 3, p. 275-289
 Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2010
- Published
 Loftus, B., Feb 2010, Oxford : Oxford University Press. (Clarendon Studies in Criminology )
 Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
- Published
 Loftus, B., 2010, In: Policing and Society: An International Journal of Research and Policy. 20, 1, p. 1-20
 Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2008
- Published
 Loftus, B., Nov 2008, In: British Journal of Criminology. 48, 6, p. 778-797
 Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2007
- Published
 Loftus, B., 2007, Police Culture: New Debates and Directions. O'Neill, M., Marks, M. & Singh, A.-M. (eds.). Oxford : Elsevier Press, p. 181-204 (Sociology of Crime Law and Deviance; vol. 8).
 Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Activities
2022
- In collaboration with North Wales Police (NWP), this project will identify and explore with police, civic and public stakeholders the benefits, challenges and ethical concerns raised through the police use of new computational technologies in policing, notably those involving claims to detect and predict criminality through risk-modelling and those based on Intelligent Facial Recognition. - Funding awarded through the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Innovation and Impact Award (Research Wales Innovation Funding). Value = £44,239 - 1 Apr 2022 – 31 Mar 2023 Activity: Other (Contributor)
2020
- Ethnography and the Evocative World of Policing - Jan 2020 → Activity: Editorial activity (Guest editor)
2019
- 2019 → Activity: Editorial activity (Editorial board member)
- 2019 → Activity: Invited talk (Speaker)
- Reviews Editor (since 2013) - 2019 → Activity: Publication peer-review (Editor)
2018
- I took part in a series of three podcast interviews for the College of Policing, where I was discussing leadership and police culture. - Underpinning research: Based on original ethnograhpic fieldwork which has been published as a book and numerous articles. - Beneficiaries: The police. - General notes: Informing about the potentials and pitfalls of the occupational culture within the police. - 10 Sep 2018 Activity: Types of Public engagement and outreach - Media article or participation (Contributor)
- Invited speaker, All Souls Seminar Series, University of Oxford - 2018 → Activity: Invited talk (Speaker)
- Keynote: University of Liverpool - 2018 → Activity: Invited talk (Speaker)
Projects
- 
01/01/2023 – 17/08/2023 (Finished) 
- 
01/03/2022 – 31/03/2024 (Finished) 
- 
01/10/2019 – 31/03/2024 (Finished)