Benjamin Bowling is Professor of

Criminology Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

Criminal Justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, an author and an honorary psychotherapist. He is a recipient of the Radzinowicz Memorial Prize awarded for the best article in the ''British Journal of Criminology'' in 1999. Bowling was elected

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...

in 2022.

Early life and education

Bowling is the son of the artists

Frank Bowling Sir Richard Sheridan Patrick Michael Aloysius Franklin Bowling ''('' Richard Sheridan Franklin Bowling; born 26 February 1934), known as Frank Bowling, is a British artist who was born in British Guiana. He is particularly renowned for his larg ...

and Claire Spencer. He is of Guyanese descent through his father. He has a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in psychology from

Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Education ...

and a PhD from the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. He has a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree in

Psychodynamic Psychodynamics, also known as psychodynamic psychology, in its broadest sense, is an approach to psychology that emphasizes systematic study of the psychological forces underlying human behavior, feelings, and emotions and how they might relate t ...

Counselling and Psychotherapy from

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

Career and research

After working at the Home Office Research Unit Bowling moved to the

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

and taught at the

John Jay College of Criminal Justice The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts col ...

before returning to Britain where he became a lecturer in criminology at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1996. He joined King's as a lecturer in law in 1999 and has been a visiting professor at the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...

, at

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

and at the East China University of Political Science and Law. Bowling's research examines practical, political and legal problems in policing and the connections between local and global police power. His work exploring central themes of fairness, effectiveness and accountability has been published in three books: # ''Policing the Caribbean'' (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

2010) #''Global Policing'' (with James Sheptycki,

SAGE Publishing Sage Publishing, formerly SAGE Publications, is an American Independent business, independent Academic publishing, academic publishing company, founded in 1965 in New York City by Sara Miller McCune and now based in the Newbury Park, California, ...

2012) # ''Stop and Search: Police Power in Global Context'' (edited with Leanne Weber,

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

2012) in 2012 Bowling published (with James Sheptycki) a co-edited four-volume major work for SAGE Publishing on ''Global Policing and Transnational Law Enforcement''. He has published numerous articles in the ''

Modern Law Review The ''Modern Law Review'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of Modern Law Review Ltd. and which has traditionally maintained close academic ties with the faculty of law at the London School of Economic ...

'', ''

Criminal Law Review Case citation is a system used by legal professionals to identify past court case decisions, either in series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a neutral style that identifies a decision regardless of where it is reported. Case cit ...

'', ''Policing and Society'' and '' Theoretical Criminology''. Bowling's studies of ''Violent Racism'' (Oxford University Press 1998) and ''Racism, Crime and Justice'' (with Coretta Phillips,

Longman Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publisher, publishing company founded in 1724 in London, England, which is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman ...

2002) are the standard works on these subjects.

Public engagement

Bowling submitted evidence to the

Stephen Lawrence Stephen Adrian Lawrence (13September 1974 – 22April 1993) was an 18-year-old black British citizen from Plumstead, southeast London, who was murdered in a racially motivated attack while waiting for a bus on Well Hall Road, Eltham, on the ...

Inquiry in 1999 and has been a specialist adviser to the House of Commons, Home Affairs Committee, the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

, the

Equality and Human Rights Commission The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is a non-departmental public body in Great Britain, established by the Equality Act 2006 with effect from 1 October 2007. The Commission has responsibility for the promotion and enforcement of e ...

, the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. He is a founding member of

StopWatch A stopwatch is a timepiece designed to measure the amount of time that elapses between its activation and deactivation. A large digital version of a stopwatch designed for viewing at a distance, as in a sports stadium, is called a stop clock ...

, a charity that works to inform the public about the police's use of Stop and Search powers in the UK and to promote fair, effective and accountable policing. Bowling has appeared in the media commenting on stop and search and criminal justice.

Psychotherapy

Bowling is an honorary psychotherapist with the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust. He has an MSc in Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy from

and is a member of

British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) is a professional body for counselling, counsellors and psychotherapy, psychotherapists practising in the United Kingdom. History Originally founded in 1977 as the British Associ ...

Awards and honours

Bowling is a recipient of the Radzinowicz Memorial Prize awarded for the best article in the '' British Journal of Criminology'' in 1999. He was elected a Fellow of the

Academy of Social Sciences The Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS) is a representative body for social sciences in the United Kingdom. The academy promotes social science through its sponsorship of the Campaign for Social Science, its links with Government on a variety of m ...

in 2005 and a

in 2022.

Publications

Bowling's publications include: * ''Young People and Crime'' (with John Graham;

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

1995) * ''Violent Racism'' (

1999) * ''Racism, Crime and Justice'' (with Coretta Phillips: Longman criminology series,

Pearson Education Pearson Education, known since 2011 as simply Pearson, is the educational publishing and services subsidiary of the international corporation Pearson plc. The subsidiary was formed in 1998, when Pearson plc acquired Simon & Schuster's educatio ...

2002) * ''Policing the Caribbean'' (

2010) * ''Global Policing'' (With James Sheptycki:

2012) * ''Stop and Search: Police Power in Global Context'' (with Leanne Weber,

2012) * ''Global Policing and Transnational Law Enforcement'' Volumes 1 – 4 (with James Sheptycki, Sage Library of Criminology, SAGE Publishing 2015)

Personal life

Bowling is the frontman of the British

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

band ''Doc Bowling and his Blues Professors''.

References

External links

Official webpage (on King's College London website)Doc Bowling and his Blues Professors: Official websiteBowling's Twitter account
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowling, Ben 1962 births Living people 20th-century Black British male singers 20th-century British male singers 21st-century Black British male singers 21st-century British male singers 21st-century Black British people Academics of King's College London Academics of the University of Cambridge Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London Alumni of the London School of Economics Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University British blues singers British criminologists British psychotherapists English people of Guyanese descent Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences Fellows of the British Academy John Jay College of Criminal Justice alumni Professorships at King's College London