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Dr Paul French

@drpaultjfrench.bsky.social

140 followers 410 following 400 posts

Criminologist. PhD: Moral Panic, Extremism & Conspiracy Theory. Saying things that are mildly interesting https://linktr.ee/PauliticalCorrectness

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Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · Feb 13

👋 I’m Paul, a criminology lecturer & writer. I post about:

🔎 Crime & justice
🌍 Politics & social issues
📚 Academia

Follow for analysis, deep dives & media critique. Let’s connect!

#Criminology #Politics #SocialIssues

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · 1d

A great peice in @theguardian.com this morning concerning
@thereformpartyuk.bsky.social, Nigel Farage, Nathan Gill and connections to the Russians that Reform voters seem all too happy to turn a blind eye to...

www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

Reform UK, the Russian spy and rolls of Kremlin cash: the inside story of Nathan Gill

How did a former Mormon bishop end up pleading guilty to taking bribes to make statements in favour of Russia in the European parliament?

www.theguardian.com

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · 21d

I’m not going to stop posting on Bluesky until I’m known as ‘that dude with all the typos and grammar errors.’

Renound.

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · 21d

A PhD after her Masters degree…

Lisa tells The Foucault Forum and @drpaulfrench of her long-term ambitions at the @University of Chester

#drpaulfrench #universityofchester #phd #education

Reposted by Dr Paul French

Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 22d

Ever since I finished Question Time, Reform have massively been on the attack.

Including a rant from Richard Tice entirely designed to distract from Reform and Russia.

Everyone should know about Nathan Gill, the bribes from Russia and the link to Reform.

280 2.4K 6.6K

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · 27d

Share it far. Share it wide.

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · 28d

Watch the full chat on YouTube 👇
youtu.be/PyuzT_HjZTc?si

#Politics #NorthernIreland #Strabane #GrassrootsActivism #YouthInPolitics #CommunityVoices #DrPaulFrench
#chester

Young People & Politics

YouTube video by The Foucault Forum

youtu.be

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · 28d

I recently sat down with @coreyfrench1, a political activist from Strabane, County Tyrone, who’s been involved in politics since his teens.

We talked about what drives young people to get active, the challenges of grassroots politics, and what it means to fight for change in Northern Ireland today.

Young People & Politics

YouTube video by The Foucault Forum

youtu.be

1 1

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · 28d

Full chat on YouTube 👇
youtu.be/NVhHbrIJK9s?si

#Education #HigherEducation #Careers #DoYouNeedADegree #University #StudentLife #DrPaulFrench #chester #universityofchester #UoC

Do you really need a degree to make a difference?

YouTube video by The Foucault Forum

youtu.be

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · 28d

🎓 Do you really need a degree to make a difference?

I spoke with Maddy Brown, Student Recruitment Coordinator at the @uochester, about the real value of higher education, and how passion, skills, and experience can shape your path just as much as a degree.

Do you really need a degree to make a difference?

YouTube video by The Foucault Forum

youtu.be

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · 29d

I’d never though about this before-schools as havens of consistency during turbulent time.

It’s a view that will stick me.

#strabane #northernireland #school #education #drpaulfrench #research #criminology #society #consistency

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · 29d

“Schools were one of the very few, if not the only, sources of consistency in a conflict environment. The staff and students always turned up, the bells rang at 9am, lunch was at 12, and we all went home at 3:15. Monday to Friday.”

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · 29d

I’m researching for a book that I’m writing on my hometown (Strabane) during The Troubles.

I just wanted to very quickly share with you one of my favourite quotes so far from a former teacher:

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · Sep 3

STOP!

Never forget that Liz Truss is mental, tanked the economy, and the Conservatives put her there. Many of those same Tory’s are now with Reform. Farage praised her budget.

That is all; on you go.

1 1

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · Aug 31

I hate to be the one to tell you…

But digesting memes, clipped videos, and listening to stupid confident people spout unverified claims on the Internet - all projected simply enough for you to understand - is not research.

Not even close.

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · Aug 30

You can be innocently ignorant on a topic; that’s fine, you can learn.

But when presented with factual information and you refuse to change your mind; that’s stupidity.

When that information debunks your falsehoods on immigration, that’s when you cross the line into bigotry and racism.

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · Aug 24

If you find yourself in a position where your identity centres largely on a flag, and tou clap seeing roundabouts vandalised, you might want to consider a hobby.

Crafts, maybe. Or skittles. Even just a daily crossword is good.

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · Aug 24

A @uklabour change I, as a criminologist, agree with. Short prison sentences are, on the whole, pointless for a large number of reasons. Making better use alternative sentences would be much more productive and cheaper.

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · Aug 3

Do all the Little Englanders sincerely think that if we stopped spending the small, small percentage of our national budget on refugees/asylum seekers, that the gov would invest that back into them?

That’s not how neoliberalism works, my uninformed little buddies.

You’ll still be left wanting.

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · Jul 28

🧠 Does strain theory still explain crime today?

Durkheim, Merton, Agnew - they shaped how we think about deviance. But what about power, race, gender, or white-collar crime?

📝 New post explores what these theories got right and what they missed:

open.substack.com/pub/drpaultj...

#criminology

Does Strain Theory Still Hold Up?

A Critical Look at Anomie in Criminology

open.substack.com

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · Jul 27

We need a nuanced take - one that sees trauma *and* agency, data *and* context.

Full post here: drpaultjfrench.substack.com/p/psychologi...

#criminology #drpaulfrench #positivism #criminaljustice

Psychological Positivism: From Understanding to Control?

A legacy that's far from straightforward

drpaultjfrench.substack.com

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · Jul 27

Psychological positivism helped humanise justice systems.

But it also pathologised people, medicalised deviance, and sometimes ignored free will altogether.

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · Jul 27

Or take moral reasoning theory…

Yes, it’s true that some offenders score lower.

But interventions aimed at improving moral reasoning don’t always change behaviour.

(Thinking ≠ doing.)

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · Jul 27

Take **psychopathy**, for example.

Is it a diagnosis? A moral judgement? A prediction of future harm?

It’s used to justify longer sentences, often with *questionable accuracy* and serious bias.

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · Jul 27

BUT…

⚠️ Limitations:

- Overly deterministic
- Labels people as defective or pathological
- Struggles to explain political/white-collar crime
- Often ignores inequality, power, and social context

Dr Paul French @drpaultjfrench.bsky.social · Jul 27

✅ Strengths:

- Introduced scientific measurement to criminology
- Focused on childhood development and trauma
- Enabled rehabilitation and early intervention
- Influenced CBT, moral reasoning, empathy training