Geth Rees
@gethrees.bsky.social
Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Newcastle University. Interested in understanding the intersection of medicine and criminal justice, but also likely to be talking about Japanese Roleplaying Games (JRPGs), running and Star Wars.
Saying goodbye to the amazing colleagues at the Dept of Criminology and Soc of Law at Oslo. Really productive month, lots of writing done as well as plans for a new project. Also attended two events linked to the Digital Forensics project, which were fascinating. Reminded why I love my job.
November 21, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Saying goodbye to the amazing colleagues at the Dept of Criminology and Soc of Law at Oslo. Really productive month, lots of writing done as well as plans for a new project. Also attended two events linked to the Digital Forensics project, which were fascinating. Reminded why I love my job.
After teaching and thinking about the construction of victims and survivors of harm for many years, it has been an honour to have been working the last couple of weeks where some of the most foundational work in the field was developed. I have one more week, but will miss being here when I'm gone.
November 17, 2025 at 2:21 PM
After teaching and thinking about the construction of victims and survivors of harm for many years, it has been an honour to have been working the last couple of weeks where some of the most foundational work in the field was developed. I have one more week, but will miss being here when I'm gone.
As ever, @waylon18.bsky.social said what I said, albeit much more eloquently.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
I have never been a fan of PCCs but there is no question that local democratic police accountability needed boosting when they were brought in. So the question now is how will the promised accountability to local police authorities and mayors be accomplished?
I have never been a fan of PCCs but there is no question that local democratic police accountability needed boosting when they were brought in. So the question now is how will the promised accountability to local police authorities and mayors be accomplished?
Police and crime commissioners to be abolished, government to announce
System introduced in 2012 across England and Wales has faced criticism from police chiefs
www.theguardian.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:03 PM
As ever, @waylon18.bsky.social said what I said, albeit much more eloquently.
Reposted by Geth Rees
📢 Call for abstracts 📢
We’re delighted to open the call for abstracts for LEPH2026, to be held in Leeds, UK from 6-9 September 2026.
We encourage submissions from researchers, practitioners, policymakers, & community leaders.
Deadline: 16/03/26
Read more and submit 👇
leph2026.org
We’re delighted to open the call for abstracts for LEPH2026, to be held in Leeds, UK from 6-9 September 2026.
We encourage submissions from researchers, practitioners, policymakers, & community leaders.
Deadline: 16/03/26
Read more and submit 👇
leph2026.org
LEPH 2026
The Global Law Enforcement and Public Health Association (GLEPHA) and the ESRC Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre will jointly host the 8th International Law Enforcement and Public Health Conference, LEPH2026 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK from 6-9 September 2026.
leph2026.org
November 13, 2025 at 3:18 PM
📢 Call for abstracts 📢
We’re delighted to open the call for abstracts for LEPH2026, to be held in Leeds, UK from 6-9 September 2026.
We encourage submissions from researchers, practitioners, policymakers, & community leaders.
Deadline: 16/03/26
Read more and submit 👇
leph2026.org
We’re delighted to open the call for abstracts for LEPH2026, to be held in Leeds, UK from 6-9 September 2026.
We encourage submissions from researchers, practitioners, policymakers, & community leaders.
Deadline: 16/03/26
Read more and submit 👇
leph2026.org
And there goes another means of scrutinising the police. Not saying PCCs did very much but they were a tool that could be used to hold Chief Constables to account.
BBC News - Police and crime commissioners to be scrapped in England and Wales
www.bbc.com/news/article...
BBC News - Police and crime commissioners to be scrapped in England and Wales
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Police and crime commissioners to be scrapped in England and Wales
The government says it will save £100m over this Parliament and less than 20% of voters can name their PCC.
www.bbc.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:56 AM
And there goes another means of scrutinising the police. Not saying PCCs did very much but they were a tool that could be used to hold Chief Constables to account.
BBC News - Police and crime commissioners to be scrapped in England and Wales
www.bbc.com/news/article...
BBC News - Police and crime commissioners to be scrapped in England and Wales
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Geth Rees
My book with Andy Bartlett - an STS analysis of Bigfooting - is now out and available to order at www.routledge.com/Bigfooters-a... If this is of interest, I would really appreciate it being shared. Thank you.
Bigfooters and Scientific Inquiry: On the Borderlands of Legitimate Science
Bigfoot exists. Not necessarily as a biological creature, but certainly as an object around which thousands of Americans organise their lives, analysing evidence, and making knowledge. This book exami...
www.routledge.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:30 PM
My book with Andy Bartlett - an STS analysis of Bigfooting - is now out and available to order at www.routledge.com/Bigfooters-a... If this is of interest, I would really appreciate it being shared. Thank you.
Fascinating, yet chilling story about nation states threats over published research. However, what is most interesting is the excellent use of the horrendous freedom of speech legislation, drafted as part of the Tories culture war against universities, actually being used for good. Well done.
A really sobering story about how vulnerable UK universities are to intimidation to get them to abandon human rights research. Claims by China in this report of inadequate "fact checking" should always be accompanied by mention of their exclusions from Xinjiang:
share.google/KY9SxTEk3rUM...
share.google/KY9SxTEk3rUM...
China intimidated UK university to ditch human rights research, documents show - BBC News
Sheffield Hallam University apologises to Professor Laura Murphy for restricting her academic freedom.
share.google
November 3, 2025 at 7:20 AM
Fascinating, yet chilling story about nation states threats over published research. However, what is most interesting is the excellent use of the horrendous freedom of speech legislation, drafted as part of the Tories culture war against universities, actually being used for good. Well done.
Attending the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law at University of Oslo as a Visiting Scholar for the next month. Looking forward to discussing forensic medicine (in all its forms) with colleagues old and new. Very grateful to @leverhulme.ac.uk for supporting this visit.
October 27, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Attending the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law at University of Oslo as a Visiting Scholar for the next month. Looking forward to discussing forensic medicine (in all its forms) with colleagues old and new. Very grateful to @leverhulme.ac.uk for supporting this visit.
Reposted by Geth Rees
I am so excited to share that my #book, Understanding #Health, #Illness and #Society is now available for pre-order! Available here (and lots of other places too, but this one has all 3 formats!): amzn.to/4ng61GB #writing #MedSky #Sociology #NewBook
Understanding Health, Illness and Society: A Patient-Centred Approach to Healthcare
amzn.to
October 23, 2025 at 6:50 PM
I am so excited to share that my #book, Understanding #Health, #Illness and #Society is now available for pre-order! Available here (and lots of other places too, but this one has all 3 formats!): amzn.to/4ng61GB #writing #MedSky #Sociology #NewBook
Ring the PB bell, got a one minute PB at Amsterdam Marathon. PB now 3:58:26. Must confess to being a little disappointed as I trained for more, but at 30k switched to easy running rather than continuing to push at goal pace. No real reason, just felt hard. Need more resilience. Still, new PB.
October 19, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Ring the PB bell, got a one minute PB at Amsterdam Marathon. PB now 3:58:26. Must confess to being a little disappointed as I trained for more, but at 30k switched to easy running rather than continuing to push at goal pace. No real reason, just felt hard. Need more resilience. Still, new PB.
Was discussing this with a Scottish Civil Servant. They were keen for adverts for SARCs, so people can discuss and "rate them like coffee shops". While I agree people need information without CJS involvement, I'm still ambivalent on widescale advertising, e.g. Facebook.
share.google/JSZpQDwJCmgo...
share.google/JSZpQDwJCmgo...
SARCS: Support After Sexual Assault in Scotland | Community Pharmacy Scotland
SARCS offers 24/7 NHS support after rape or sexual assault. Learn how to access care and share the campaign.
share.google
October 15, 2025 at 7:58 AM
Was discussing this with a Scottish Civil Servant. They were keen for adverts for SARCs, so people can discuss and "rate them like coffee shops". While I agree people need information without CJS involvement, I'm still ambivalent on widescale advertising, e.g. Facebook.
share.google/JSZpQDwJCmgo...
share.google/JSZpQDwJCmgo...
Exciting looking event for next year. Will have to submit an abstract.
We are excited to share the themes for #LEPH2026, which will focus on vulnerability in all its forms. The conference invites contributions that examine structural, situational, systemic and intersectional vulnerability, viewed through an equity lens. Key themes👇
October 10, 2025 at 11:43 AM
Exciting looking event for next year. Will have to submit an abstract.
Lovely card from the amazing Dr Gabriella Mwedzi (unfortunately not on Bluesky) commemorating her successfully passed viva. Gabriella was a pleasure to supervise, and her thesis, an ethnography of a Black Pentecostal Church, was fascinating and impactful. Keep an eye out for Gabriella's articles.
October 9, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Lovely card from the amazing Dr Gabriella Mwedzi (unfortunately not on Bluesky) commemorating her successfully passed viva. Gabriella was a pleasure to supervise, and her thesis, an ethnography of a Black Pentecostal Church, was fascinating and impactful. Keep an eye out for Gabriella's articles.
Badenoch proposing to close programmes that promote critical thinking, challenging authority and understanding (and empathising with) other cultures. Really not surprising given the activities of the last Tory government.
So, the plan is to cut English, the arts, and sociology - the degrees that actually study culture - while on another part of your platform claiming to “defend” British culture.
It’s performance nationalism with a reading age of seven.
It’s performance nationalism with a reading age of seven.
October 8, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Badenoch proposing to close programmes that promote critical thinking, challenging authority and understanding (and empathising with) other cultures. Really not surprising given the activities of the last Tory government.
Reposted by Geth Rees
Meet AARC, the Appropriate Adult Research Community, linked with NAAN.
Absolutely chuffed to have co-founded this with fantastic colleagues. Also looking forward to kickstarting chairing and supporting this space where I can💫. Another brilliant day at a NAAN event.
Absolutely chuffed to have co-founded this with fantastic colleagues. Also looking forward to kickstarting chairing and supporting this space where I can💫. Another brilliant day at a NAAN event.
October 7, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Meet AARC, the Appropriate Adult Research Community, linked with NAAN.
Absolutely chuffed to have co-founded this with fantastic colleagues. Also looking forward to kickstarting chairing and supporting this space where I can💫. Another brilliant day at a NAAN event.
Absolutely chuffed to have co-founded this with fantastic colleagues. Also looking forward to kickstarting chairing and supporting this space where I can💫. Another brilliant day at a NAAN event.
Definitely something to watch this week. Expecting to hear plenty of "bad apple" justifications over the coming week but perhaps there are more structural bases for these kinds of behaviour. Watch this space.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Why the BBC went undercover in the Met Police to investigate claims of racism and misogyny
A BBC reporter describes secretly filming misogynistic and racist attitudes among serving Metropolitan Police officers.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 1, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Definitely something to watch this week. Expecting to hear plenty of "bad apple" justifications over the coming week but perhaps there are more structural bases for these kinds of behaviour. Watch this space.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Really thoughtful blog on the current limitations of postmortems for providing accurate answers and closure for the bereaved. Really looking forward to working with @drimogenjones.bsky.social on some collaborative projects in the new year.
In my latest blog, I explore the role of postmortem examinations in delivering accurate data, supporting the bereaved, advancing public health, and serving justice. With limited resources and growing complexity, I consider whether death investigation is ‘educated guesswork’ and if that matters.
Educated Guesswork? Postmortems, Cause of Death and the Role of Law
A while ago I posted about resources and purpose. I wrote about an issue which had played on my mind for some time – the fact that there was, and remains, what I perceive to be an unwillingness to …
deadbodiesandthelaw.wordpress.com
October 1, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Really thoughtful blog on the current limitations of postmortems for providing accurate answers and closure for the bereaved. Really looking forward to working with @drimogenjones.bsky.social on some collaborative projects in the new year.
Someone please explain what an ID card can do that an NI Number can't (in terms of legal working). Can't see what it adds and will also be worked around in same ways (cash in hand for instance). Looking forward to the inevitable U-turn. BBC News - www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cw...
Digital ID cards will make it tougher to work in UK illegally, says Keir Starmer
The prime minister says Labour has shied away from illegal immigration concerns, but says the new ID will make
www.bbc.co.uk
September 26, 2025 at 7:17 AM
Someone please explain what an ID card can do that an NI Number can't (in terms of legal working). Can't see what it adds and will also be worked around in same ways (cash in hand for instance). Looking forward to the inevitable U-turn. BBC News - www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cw...
Speaking to the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners today about the findings from our Police Custody Healthcare project and what PCCs can do. Going to advise them to request data of how frequently custody suites have embedded healthcare as better staffing is a good first step.
September 25, 2025 at 6:55 AM
Speaking to the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners today about the findings from our Police Custody Healthcare project and what PCCs can do. Going to advise them to request data of how frequently custody suites have embedded healthcare as better staffing is a good first step.
Reposted by Geth Rees
Why are the American president's claims about autism the first item on British news bulletins?
He's not our president, the advice doesn't apply here and he's not presented any evidence to support his assertions.
So why spread these claims? What make this the biggest story in the UK?
He's not our president, the advice doesn't apply here and he's not presented any evidence to support his assertions.
So why spread these claims? What make this the biggest story in the UK?
September 23, 2025 at 6:51 AM
Why are the American president's claims about autism the first item on British news bulletins?
He's not our president, the advice doesn't apply here and he's not presented any evidence to support his assertions.
So why spread these claims? What make this the biggest story in the UK?
He's not our president, the advice doesn't apply here and he's not presented any evidence to support his assertions.
So why spread these claims? What make this the biggest story in the UK?
Have deleted my academia.edu account (long overdue to be honest). Thread below explains how to do so and why, and I can confirm this method works, even if, like me, you've forgotten your password.
September 18, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Have deleted my academia.edu account (long overdue to be honest). Thread below explains how to do so and why, and I can confirm this method works, even if, like me, you've forgotten your password.
Great and important thread.
Bear with me, I anticipate your disagreement. There is a clear pattern to the advice given to those who want to press back against rising racism. What it boils down to is that if you point out that racism is often being dressed up as “legitimate concerns” you will alienate people. /1
September 16, 2025 at 6:56 AM
Great and important thread.
An unnamed senior colleague of mine had a strategy of completing a research project and then applying the funding after the fact. In this way the bid could clearly articulate the RQs and what he would "expect" to find. This process needs priming and so begins with, so-called "hobbyist" research.
Is this when management all agree so decide to do a scan for "low quality" research they can put a stop to. Then, after spending hours/resources looking, can't actually identify any?
Ministers ‘want to shift funds away from low-quality research’ .
Universities UK president says institutions cannot afford “unfunded hobbyist research”.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...
Universities UK president says institutions cannot afford “unfunded hobbyist research”.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...
September 12, 2025 at 8:36 AM
An unnamed senior colleague of mine had a strategy of completing a research project and then applying the funding after the fact. In this way the bid could clearly articulate the RQs and what he would "expect" to find. This process needs priming and so begins with, so-called "hobbyist" research.
Nykelharperists sampling governmental alerts. youtu.be/Gc8wvD2ouaE?...
The Government Alert Polska by Ed Pritchard
YouTube video by NyckelharpaUK
youtu.be
September 8, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Nykelharperists sampling governmental alerts. youtu.be/Gc8wvD2ouaE?...
Reposted by Geth Rees
NEW: An Oxford report warns that misleading media coverage is shaping public debate on immigration and human rights.
The study finds the ECHR is frequently misreported in deportation cases, fueling misconceptions that erode trust in the legal system.
🧵 [1/8]
The study finds the ECHR is frequently misreported in deportation cases, fueling misconceptions that erode trust in the legal system.
🧵 [1/8]
September 4, 2025 at 10:59 AM
NEW: An Oxford report warns that misleading media coverage is shaping public debate on immigration and human rights.
The study finds the ECHR is frequently misreported in deportation cases, fueling misconceptions that erode trust in the legal system.
🧵 [1/8]
The study finds the ECHR is frequently misreported in deportation cases, fueling misconceptions that erode trust in the legal system.
🧵 [1/8]