Professor Robert Ralphs
Professor of Criminology and Social Policy
My profile
Biography
Rob is a Professor of Criminology and Social Policy. He has 15 years experience of research and lecturing in the areas of substance misuse, youth crime, violent crime, gangs, criminal justice policy and criminological theory.
Academic and professional qualifications
First class BSc (hons) degree in Sociology from the University of Salford in 1997. He later studied at postgraduate level at the University of Manchester before obtaining his PhD from the Department of Sociology at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2005.
Consultancy and advisory roles
Rob is regularly asked to be an expert consultant and his consultancy work has included Gang, gun and knife related Consultancy for Hackney Borough Council, Manchester City Council, the North West Development Agency the Scottish Government and other local authorities, concerned about violent offending, drug use and emerging gangs.
Community, charity and NGO links
Rob’s involvement in gang related work extends beyond his academic life and he is a Trustee of the charity Mothers Against Violence who work to reduce gang membership and related violent crime. He was also a founder member and secretary of GMPs Trafford division Gun and Gang Independent Advisory Group and is involved in the Inter Community Defence Council which provides conflict mediation around gang related disputes and supports many other local community initiatives and individuals that work to tackle youth crime, substance use, and violent crime. He has recently helped to set a ‘recovery in the community’ arm of Mothers Against Violence (MAV) which now works with problem drug users at various stages of recovery, vulnerable young sex workers in the city centre. Together with fellow MAV members and partenr agencies such as the Angelus Foundation and North Base, he is working on developing a harm reduction and education package around legal highs.
Impact
His research into gangs has resulted in inputs into policy developments and think-tanks at local, national and international level.
Teaching
Postgraduate teaching
Rob teaches in the areas of criminological theory, youth and crime, substance use and violent crime. He has a particular expertise and knowledge in the fields of drug use (both problematic and recreational) and gangs and related violent crime, i.e. gun and knife crime and drugs.
He has a particular focus on youth and violence, teaching on units such as Crime and Violence, Contemporary Issues in Deviant Youth Lifestyles, Troubles of Youth, Youth Justice and Juvenile Delinquency and Managing Offenders in the Community.
Subject areas
Criminology
Supervision
He currently supervises both postgraduate and undergraduate students in research on alcohol, drugs, gangs, violent crime and youth justic policy.
Research outputs
Rob is particularly interested in two broad areas of research: drug use, gangs and (violent) youth crime.
Some of Rob’s recent research includes being the lead researcher on an ethnographic study of youth gangs, the £255,000 ESRC funded project Youth Gangs in an English City: Social Exclusion, Drugs and Violence. Articles from the research have been published in Children and Society(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1099-0860/homepage/youth_gangs_in_british_cities__research_informs_the_policy_response.htm), Research Ethics Review, the Journal of Youth Studies, and in a number of edited collections. A book based on this research ‘Youth Gangs in an English City’ is due for publication by Routledge in 2012. Other major research projects have included the £233,000 ESRC funded project Governing Drug Related Crime in the Risk Society (Jan 2007-June2009). Publications based on this research have been published in the British Journal of Criminology and Drugscope with the related book: ‘Tough Choices: Drug policy and the risk-security nexus’ in press and due for publication with Oxford University Press in early 2012. He has also been the lead researcher for the following research projects: exploring parents of ‘gang’ members support needs; ‘8 ‘til late’ mentoring evaluation; a local authority funded research project into the ‘extent and nature of violent gangs’; training ex-offenders in research methods and the UK Drug Policy Committee funded, ‘Barriers to Employment for (Ex)-Problematic Drug Users’.
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Books (authored/edited/special issues)
Seddon, T., Williams, L., Ralphs, R. (2012) Tough Choices. OUP Oxford.
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Chapters in books
Wilson, A., Ralphs, R. (2023) 'Drug Dealing With Amphetamines: From Over the Counter to Subcultural Thefts, Three Phases of Supply.' Understanding Drug Dealing and Illicit Drug Markets: National and International perspectives. pp. 51-72.
Smithson, H.L., Ralphs, R. (2015) 'European Responses to Gangs.' The handbook of gangs. Wiley-Blackwell,
Aldridge, J., Medina, J., Ralphs, R. (2013) 'Dangers and problems of doing 'gang' research in the UK..'
Aldridge, J., Medina-Ariz, J., Ralphs, R. (2012) 'Counting gangs: Conceptual and validity problems with the Eurogang definition.' Youth Gangs in International Perspective: Results from the Eurogang Program of Research. pp. 35-51.
Aldridge, J., Ralphs, R., Medina, J. (2011) 'Collateral damage: Territory and policing in an English gang city.' Youth in Crisis?: 'Gangs', Territoriality and Violence. pp. 72-88.
Aldridge, J., Ralphs, R., Medina, J. (2011) 'Collateral damage: territory and policing in an English gang city.'
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Media
Ralphs, R., Knight, M., Sutcliffe, O.B. (2023) MetCast Podcast: Substance Use Trends in Greater Manchester.
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Reports
Ralphs, R., Linnell, M., Sutcliffe, O.B. (2023) Greater Manchester: Testing and Research on Emergent and New Drugs (GM TRENDS): 2022 monitoring cycle full report. Manchester Metropolitan University.
Ralphs, R., Linnell, M., Sutcliffe, O.B. (2023) Adult Trend Focus: substances associated with chemsex. Manchester Metropolitan University.
Webb, L., Dance, C., Wright, S., Ralphs, R. (2022) Alcohol Care Teams: summary of a review for Manchester. Manchester Metropolitan University.
Ralphs, R., Linnell, M., Sutcliffe, O.B. (2021) Greater Manchester: Testing and Research on Emergent and New Drugs (GM TRENDS): 2021 monitoring cycle full report. Manchester Metropolitan University.
Webb, L., Dance, C., Wright, S., Ralphs, R. (2021) Manchester Alcohol Care Team Consultation and Evaluation Report.
Ralphs, R., Gray, P. (2019) Responding to Drug Related Litter, Public Drug Use and the Changing Profile of Injecting Drug Users: Developing the Response. Manchester Metropolitan University.
Ralphs, R., Gray, P.M., Norton, A. (2017) New Psychoactive Substance Use in Manchester: Prevalence, Nature, Challenges and Responses. Manchester Metropolitan University.
Spencer, J., Deakin, J., Seddon, T., Ralphs, R., Boyle, J. (2008) Getting problem drug users (back) into employment: part two. The UK Drug Policy Commission.
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Journal articles
Hope, V., Walker Bond, V., Boardley, I., Smith, J., Campbaell, J., Bates, G., Ralphs, R., Van Hout, M.C., McVeigh, J. (2023) 'Anabolic androgenic steroid use population size estimation: a first stage study utilising a Delphi exercise.' Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy,
O'Leary, C., Ralphs, R., Stevenson, J., Smith, A., Harrison, J., Kiss, Z. (2022) 'PROTOCOL: The effectiveness of abstinence‐based and harm reduction‐based interventions in reducing problematic substance use in adults who are experiencing severe and multiple disadvantage homelessness: a systematic review and meta‐analysis.' Campbell Systematic Reviews, 18(3) pp. e1246-e1246.
Bates, G., Ralphs, R., Bond, V.W., Boardley, I., Hope, V., Van Hout, M.C., McVeigh, J. (2022) 'Systems mapping to understand complexity in the association between image and performance enhancing drugs (IPEDs) and harm.' International Journal of Drug Policy, 107pp. 103801-103801.
McVeigh, J., Hearne, E., Boardley, I., Bates, G., Hope, V., Ralphs, R., Van Hout, M.C. (2021) 'Generating evidence on the use of Image and performance enhancing drugs in the UK: Results from a scoping review and expert consultation by the Anabolic Steroid UK network.' Harm Reduction Journal, 18(107) pp. 1-12.
Gilbert, N., Costello, A., Ellison, J.R., Khan, U., Knight, M., Linnell, M.J., Ralphs, R., Mewis, R.E., Sutcliffe, O.B. (2021) 'Synthesis, characterisation, detection and quantification of a novel hexyl-substituted synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist: (S)-N-(1-amino-3,3-dimethyl-1-oxobutan-2-yl)-1-hexyl-1H-indazole-3-carboxamide (ADB-HINACA).' Forensic Chemistry, 26pp. 100354-100354.
Ralphs, R., Gray, P., Sutcliffe, O.B. (2021) 'The impact of the 2016 Psychoactive Substances Act on synthetic cannabinoid use within the homeless population: markets, content and user harms.' International Journal of Drug Policy, 97pp. 103305-103305.
Gray, P., Ralphs, R. (2021) 'Harm reduction or a catalyst for new harms? The impact of smoke-free prison policy on prisoners and the prison regime.' Prison Service Journal, (254) pp. 39-45.
McVeigh, J., Salinas-Edwards, M., Ralphs, R. (2020) 'A Sentinel Population: the public health benefits of monitoring enhanced body builders.' International Journal of Drug Policy, 95pp. 102890-102890.
Gray, P., Ralphs, R., Williams, L. (2020) 'The use of synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) within the homeless population: motivations, harms and the implications for developing an appropriate response.' Addiction Research and Theory, 29(1) pp. 1-10.
Salinas, M., Floodgate, W., Ralphs, R. (2019) 'Polydrug use and polydrug markets amongst image and performance enhancing drug users: Implications for harm reduction interventions and drug policy.' International Journal of Drug Policy, 67pp. 43-51.
Fraser, A., Ralphs, R., Smithson, H. (2018) 'European Youth Gang Policy in Comparative Context.' Children and Society, 32(2) pp. 156-165.
Ralphs, R., Gray, P.M. (2017) 'New psychoactive substances: new service provider challenges.' Drugs: Education, Prevention, and Policy, 25(4) pp. 301-312.
Gray, P.M., Ralphs, R. (2017) 'Confidentiality and cultural competence? The realities of engaging young British Pakistanis and Bangladeshis into substance use services.' Drugs: Education, Prevention, and Policy, 26(2) pp. 133-139.
Ralphs, R., Williams, L., Askew, R., Norton, A. (2017) 'Adding Spice to the Porridge: The development of a synthetic cannabinoid market in an English prison..' The International Journal of Drug Policy, 40pp. 57-69.
Williams, L., Ralphs, R., Gray, P.M. (2016) 'The Normalisation of Cannabis Use Among Bangladeshi and Pakistani Youth: A New Frontier for the Normalisation Thesis?.' Substance Use and Misuse, 52(4) pp. 413-421.
Smithson, H., Ralphs, R. (2016) 'Youth in the UK: 99 problems but the gang ain't one?.' Safer Communities, 15(1) pp. 11-23.
Smithson, H., Ralphs, R., Williams, P. (2013) 'Used and abused the problematic usage of gang terminology in the united kingdom and its implications for ethnic minority youth.' British Journal of Criminology, 53(1) pp. 113-128.
Medina, J., Ralphs, R., Aldridge, J. (2012) 'Hidden Behind the Gunfire: Young Women's Experiences of Gang-Related Violence.' Violence Against Women, 18(6) pp. 653-661.
Medina, J., Ralphs, R., Aldridge, J. (2010) 'Mentoring Siblings of Gang Members: A Template for Reaching Families of Gang Members?.' Children & Society, 26(1) pp. 14-24.
Aldridge, J., Medina, J., Ralphs, R. (2010) 'The problem of proliferation: guidelines for improving the security of qualitative data in a digital age.' Research ethics review, 6(1) pp. 3-9.
Aldridge, J., Shute, J., Ralphs, R., Medina, J. (2009) 'Blame the Parents? Challenges for Parent‐Focused Programmes for Families of Gang‐Involved Young People.' Children & Society, 25(5) pp. 371-381.
Ralphs, R., Medina, J., Aldridge, J. (2009) 'Who needs enemies with friends like these? The importance of place for young people living in known gang areas.' Journal of Youth Studies, 12(5)
Seddon, T., Ralphs, R., Williams, L. (2008) 'Risk, Security and The 'Criminalization' of British Drug Policy.' British Journal of Criminology, 48(6) pp. 818-834.
Ralphs, R., Seddon, T., Williams, L. (2008) 'Missing link.' Druglink, 23(2) pp. 8-9.
Aldridge, J., Medina, J., Ralphs, R. (2008) 'Gang research in the UK: is it too dangerous?.' Social Science Teacher, 38(1) pp. 12-16.
Pollock, G., Antcliff, V.A. (2002) 'Work Orders: Analysing Employment Histories Using Sequence Data.' International Journal of Social Research Methodology Theory and Practice, 5(2) pp. 91-105.
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Non-peer reviewed articles / reviews
Hope, V., Walker Bond, V., Boardley, I., Smith, J., John, C., Geoff, B., Marie Claire, V.H., McVeigh, J. (2023) Anabolic Androgenic Steroid Use Population Size Estimation: A First Stage Study utilising a Delphi Exercise.
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Conference papers
McVeigh, J., Salinas-Edwards, M., Ralphs, R. (2020) 'A sentinel population: the public health benefits of monitoring enhanced body builders.' In 7th International conference on novel psychoactive substances. Online, 18/11/2020 - 19/11/2020.
Press and media
Media appearances or involvement
His knowledge and experience of gangs means that he is also regularly in demand for media interviews and comment on developing gang policy, violent incidents (e.g. the 2011 English riots and the 2011 coalition’s gang strategy). Rob contributes to local, national and international media discussions on gangs. His views have been sought by crime documentary teams (e.g. Discovery) SKY news, ITV, the BBC, the Guardian, The Independent and news agencies in Denmark, Germany and Australia where he has conducted various TV, radio, magazine and newspaper interviews.