Dr Mary Fraser

Mary is a social scientist working on the modern history of police work.

She joined SCCJR as an Associate in 2018. She was previously senior lecturer in the Department of Government (now renamed Politics) at the University of Strathclyde from 1993-2007 teaching research methods to post-graduates and supervising their dissertations and theses. She has held public appointments in Scotland and England along with research grants and awards. With a background in practice in the NHS, she relates to the interests of practitioners and academics, particularly in the public services.

Her current research interests are in police management of the population, focusing on times of disaster with the recurrent themes of release of police manpower into other essential industries to prevent their collapse. She promotes the use of history in police practice and contributes widely to historical and social science research methods, particularly the use and analysis of newspapers and occupational journals. She was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 2023 https://royalhistsoc.org/ and is a founder member of the academic group of the Police History Society https://www.policehistorysociety.com/about-1 .

Mary also featured in a University of Glasgow podcast which was published in March 2025.

Recent publications:

Fraser, M. (2019) Policing the Home Front, 1914-1918: The control of the British population at war. Abingdon and New York: Routledge. Part of the Routledge Series in First World War History.

Fraser, M. (2025) The role of the police in disaster management. Policing and Society.

Fraser, M. (2025) Hidden history of Scottish policemen’s role in WWI food crisis revealed. 1919 Issue 44, January https://1919magazine.co.uk/january2025/scottish-policemen-ww1/