About

Publications

Research Projects

News & Events

he/him

Alistair is a Professor of Criminology & Sociology at the University of Glasgow. He teaches and researches issues of youth violence, street culture, and organised crime, with a particular interest in the global gang phenomenon.

In his research he often draws on ethnographic, creative and interdisciplinary ways of working and is currently leading a study, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (UK), investigating the meaning and utility of ‘public health’ approaches to violence reduction in Scotland and England. Alistair is the author of two books: the first, Urban Legends: Gang Identity in the Post-Industrial City (OUP, 2015) was shortlisted for the BBC/BSA Ethnography Award and co-awarded the British Society of Criminology Book Prize.

Alistair was Director of SCCJR between Jan 2020 and Jan 2023.

Research interests: young people and youth ‘gangs’; youth violence and youth justice; cultural criminology and sociology of risk-taking; critical and theoretical criminology; criminology and social theory; children’s geographies; youth and social change; ethnography and participatory action-research.

Recent publications

Weaver, B. and Fraser, A. (2021) The social dynamics of group offending. Theoretical Criminology. Online first. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/13624806211030459

Fraser, A. and Schliehe, A. (2021) The Carceral City: Confinement and order in Hong Kong’s forbidden enclave. British Journal of Criminology 61(3): 587-606. https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article/61/3/587/6063469?login=true

Fraser, A. and Clarke, A. (2021) Damaged hardmen: Organised crime and the half-life of deindustrialisation. British Journal of Sociology online first. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-4446.12828

Fraser, A. and Schliehe, A. (2021) The Carceral City: Confinement and order in Hong Kong’s forbidden enclave. British Journal of Criminology 61(3): 587-606. https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article/61/3/587/6063469?login=true

Fraser, A. and Clarke, A. (2021) Damaged hardmen: Organised crime and the half-life of deindustrialisation. British Journal of Sociology online first. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-4446.12828

Contact

Institution:

University of Glasgow

Address:

SCCJR
Ivy Lodge
63 Gibson Street
Glasgow
G12 8LR

Research Themes

Globalisation, Harm and Social Justice

Crimes of the Powerful: organised, white collar and state crime

Young People and Youth Justice

April 2022

Criminal Grades? Contract cheating and student exploitation in Higher Education

Recent reports in the UK media highlight that students in higher education are increasingly outsourcing their assignments to third-party service […]

June 2018

Community experiences of serious organised crime: Summary findings

This research was commissioned by the Scottish Government to explore the community experiences of serious organised crime ( SOC) in […]

March 2017

City as lens: (Re)imaging youth in Glasgow and Hong Kong

In recent years, a paradox has emerged in the study of youth. On the one hand, in the context of […]

Review of ‘Global Gangs: Street Violence Across the World’

Urban Legends: Gang Identity in the Post Industrial City

2011

Gangs and Global Exchange: Confronting the Glasgow Gang Complex

  This publication reports on the contributions to a one-day conference held in Glasgow on the 2 December 2010.  Across […]

2009

Deviation from the Mean? Cultural Representations of Glasgow Since No Mean City

Maintaining the collaborative and interdisciplinary ethos of the series, Further From the Frontiers is an absorbing collection of essays showcasing […]

2008

Youth gang identification: learning and social development in restricted geographies

Delinquent youth groups, or gangs, have held a longstanding presence in Scotland as elsewhere in the United Kingdom.  The behaviours […]

2009

Critical Issues in Researching Hidden Communities

This collection of papers represents the culmination of a two-year postgraduate initiative at the University of Glasgow, revolving around research […]

22nd August 2022

The use, impact, condition, and effectiveness of Public Space CCTV across Scotland

Colleagues at the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR) have been contracted by the Scottish Government to report […]

15th July 2020

Public Health, Youth & Violence Reduction

The study responds to the urgent social problem of rising youth violence. England and Wales have seen marked increases in […]

27th October 2014

Evaluation of Early and Effective Intervention (EEI) and Diversion from Prosecution in Dumfries and Galloway

16th October 2013

(Re)Imagining Youth: A Comparative Sociology of Youth Leisure in Scotland and Hong Kong

(Re)Imagining Youth analyses youth leisure in Scotland and Hong Kong in historical and cross-cultural perspective, drawing on a qualitative, comparative […]

21st May 2010

Youth Violence in Scotland

In November 2009, SCCJR were commissioned by the Scottish Government to identify and collate available qualitative and quantitative research data […]

10th July 2008

Youth Gangs and Knife Carrying

In 2008, SCCJR were awarded a research grant of £155,000 by the Scottish Government to undertake ethnographic research exploring the […]

23rd June 2022

Edinburgh Napier University Joins SCCJR as New Partner

22nd June 2022

‘Essay Mills’ Pose Serious Risk to Scottish Universities

20th April 2022

Scottish Justice Fellowship Winners Announced

Blog

1st March 2022

Should Scotland decriminalise all drugs and only use prisons as a last resort for criminals? | HeraldScotland

24th November 2021

Season 2 Just Humans Podcast Launched

12th July 2021

Major new violence reduction research project launched

Blog

12th July 2021

No mean city no more?

5th November 2020

SCCJR Launches new Podcast ‘Just Humans’

26th March 2020

Statement from SCCJR on our work and COVID 19

20th January 2020

SCCJR Announces New Director