Dr Jesse Wozniak

Associate Professor

School: Humanities and Social Sciences

Jesse has been in the Department of Social Sciences since the summer of 2025, working in the areas of sociology and criminology.

HIs research focuses primarily on policing and social control, with the majority of his published work centering on the reconstruction of the Iraqi police force. Currently he is working on an ambitious project examining over a century of reports on police reform.

Before coming to the UK, he spent 12 years at West Virginia University (US) after receiveing his doctorate at the University of Minnesota in 2012.

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Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

My work lies at the intersection of criminology, political sociology, and critical theory, focusing primarily on (1) the origins and development of policing practices, (2) the role of police training in transforming institutional culture, (3) abolition and alternatives to state security forces, and (4) situating state formation in a broader context of neoliberal globalization and neoimperialism.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Policing Iraq: Legitimacy, Democracy, and Empire in a Developing State: Legitimacy, democracy, and empire in a developing state, Wozniak, J. 9 Mar 2021
A Community Vision on Police Abolition: Lessons on Theorizing from Below, Wozniak, J. 2024, In: Social Justice: A Journal of Crime, Conflict & World Order
Because of the Color of my Skin: Addressing Structural Racism with Police Recruits and Returning Citizens, Wozniak, J., Conti, N. 1 Apr 2026, In: Race and Justice
Iraq’s Neoliberal Reconstruction and the Continued Relevance of the State, Wozniak, J. 2019, In: Sociological Focus

Qualifications