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Dr John Topping

Lecturer

School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work (SSESW)

Dr John Topping is criminologist and an internationally recognised expert in policing, including police reform and accountability, along with stop and search powers.

Dr Topping is a criminologist at the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, and also a fellow at the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice, specialising in the area of policing.  

Dr Topping has worked on a variety of research, consultancy and advisory roles with all the statutory policing institutions in Northern Ireland. In addition, he has also acted as an Independent member of the Belfast Policing and Community Safety Partnership.

Dr Topping has published widely and contributed to international conferences in the area of policing, with particular focus on police stop and search powers, community policing, police reform, public order policing and paramilitarism.

Current research includes his role as scientific officer on an EU-funded COST grant exploring police stop and search practices across Europe; and is PI on a British Academy-funded Newton Advanced Fellowship project with UNIFESP, Brazil examining public order policing.

At present, he is the Chairperson of Community Restorative Justice Ireland (CRJI) – the leading community-based restorative justice organisation on the island of Ireland.

He also sits on the Executive Committee of the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ).

Fields
Criminology Policing
Areas of Expertise

Policing, police reform, stop and search, post-conflict policing

Media Experience

Extensive experience of media engagement with broadcast media, as well as print media contributions and opinion pieces.

Notable coverage

Associated Research Centres / Projects

Dr John Topping
Contact Information

For more information or to book an interview, email comms.office@qub.ac.uk 

@drjohntopping

Academic Profile
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