Connect
About
Richard conducts socio-legal and doctrinal research at the intersection of criminal justice, human rights and public law. He teaches Criminal Justice and Sentencing, Criminal Law and Public Law. Richard’s monograph, Policing Human Rights (OUP, 2021) was joint runner up of the Inner Temple Book Prize – New Author’s Prize, and shortlisted for the Peter Birks Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship and the Hart-SLSA Book Prize for Early Career Academics. His article ‘Righting the Police’ was winner of the British Society of Criminology’s Brian William Prize and his article ‘When Police Kill in the Line of Duty’ was cited with approval by the UK Supreme Court in R(W80) 2023 UKSC 24 (at [85]).
Richard is qualified as a barrister in England and Wales (non-practicing) and a member of Lincoln’s Inn, where he was a Lord Denning Scholar. He is a graduate of the University of Bristol (LLB) and University of Oxford (MSc, DPhil – New College). Previously, Richard was a Fellow at LSE (2017-9) and a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, University of Oxford (2019-20). He was a visiting fellow at the University of New South Wales and Managing Editor of the Oxford Human Rights Hub Blog.
Administrative support: Law.Reception@lse.ac.uk
Research
Projects and Publications
Teaching
Engagement and impact
Reports
- The Northern Ireland Peace Monitoring Report, No. 6, ‘Dimension Two: Safety and Security’(with J. Topping), Community Relations Council (2024).
- ‘Comments on the Human Rights Committee’s Revised Draft General Comment No. 37 on Article 21(Right of Peaceful Assembly) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights’ with Gunatilleke, G., Lazarus, L., Butler, O., Atrey, S., Theil, S. and Samantani, S. (Oxford, Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, 2020).
- ‘Unauthorised Disclosure of Protected State Information and ‘Whistleblower’ Protections: An Overview of the Law in Five Countries’ (2017) in Protection of Official Data: A Consultation Paper- Appendix A, Law Commission.
- Making and Breaking Barriers: Assessing the value of mounted police units in the UK: Summary report(with C Giacomantonio, B Bradford and Davies M) (Santa Monica, CA, RAND Corporation, 2014)
- The Key Drivers of Public Confidence in Northern Ireland (with J Topping and J Byrne) (Belfast, Northern Ireland Policing Board, 2014).
- The Influence of Politicians, Community Leaders and the Media on Confidence in the Police in Northern Ireland (with J Topping and J Byrne) (Belfast, Northern Ireland Policing Board, 2014).
Online publications
- ‘Counting Cumulative Impact: More Public Order Law Additions’, U.K. Const. L. Blog (22nd October 2025)
- ‘lliberal Britain: The latest amendments to the protest provisions of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill’Verfassungsblog,29.12.21.
- Global Perspectives on Human Rights, 3rd edn, (with S Areff and V Miyandazi) (Oxford, Oxford Human Rights Hub, 2016) (printed by Hart Publishing).
- Global Perspectives on Human Rights, 2nd edn, (with L Hilly) (Oxford, Oxford Human Rights Hub, 2015) (printed by Oxford University Press).
- ‘High Court in Belfast Finds the Northern Irish Executive Failed its Statutory Duty to Adopt a ‘Strategy’ to Tackle Poverty Based on ‘Objective Need’’ Oxford Human Rights Hub Blog 28/08/15.
- 'The Oxford Centre of Criminology’s Thames Valley Police Seminar 2015'Oxford Centre for Criminology Blog, 30/09/15.
- ‘Thinking about "Re-thinking Police Legitimacy"’ Oxford Centre for Criminology Blog, 24/03/15.
- ‘Northern Ireland’s Human Rights Commission Granted Leave for Judicial Review to Challenge the Country’s Near-Blanket Ban on Abortion’Oxford Human Rights Hub Blog, 09/02/15.
- ‘Nonsense on Stilts? Tommy the Chimp’s Legal Battle for ‘Non-Human Person Rights’ in the New York Courts' Oxford Human Rights Hub Blog15/01/15 andCentre for Criminology Blog 21/01/15.
- ‘Trusting your 'neighbour': Police horses and friendly officers in the search for police legitimacy' Oxford Centre for Criminology Blog, 27/11/14.