Colin Atkinson
Biographic Data
| ID | 3676898 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Colin Atkinson |
| GIVEN NAMES | Colin |
| FAMILY NAME | Atkinson |
| SIGNATURE | ATKINSON C |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of the West of Scotland |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8275-7477 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 21 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1991 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
‘Out here, you live and die by your reputation’
This paper examines the video game Star Wars: Outlaws (2024), exploring its portrayal of organised crime and associated forms of capital. The game follows Kay Vess, a young street thief seeking a fresh start, whose journey is shaped by an in-game reputation system that enhances gameplay immersion and deepens narrative complexity. Analysing data from 53 dedicated gameplay sessions, this paper explores Kay’s transition from emergence and survival t…
Walking sensorially through the landscapes of a galaxy far, far away
The Star Wars series Andor (2022 - 25) represented a return to the practical filmmaking approach and political roots of the early period of the franchise. Sensitised by Phiona Stanley's autoethnographic account of 'walking home' in Scotland (Stanley, 2020) this paper uses sensobiographic walking methods to explore two locations in the Scottish Highlands that were used to provide a physical stage and visual backdrop for three episodes of Andor . W…
There is more than one sort of prison, Captain’
In this paper we emphasise how science fiction, as a projection of the possible, can forewarn of dystopic dangers in emergent and future penal regimes. In this popular criminology we explore three archetypes of the prison as they have appeared across the Star Wars franchise: the panoptic prison; the labour camp; and the smart prison. The panoptic prison of the Galactic Republic invokes reflective nostalgia; prompting critical discussion of the de…
Still an ‘invisible crime’? Exploring developments in the awareness and control of human trafficking in Scotland
In 2010 Korin Lebov published her article ‘Human trafficking in Scotland’, a state-of-the-field piece that reported on the nature and extent of human trafficking and the challenges in tackling this issue. Several important developments have occurred in the period since, including new enforcement measures, the first prosecutions and convictions for human trafficking in Scottish courts, the establishment of a dedicated policing unit within Scotland…
Security politics and techno-securitisation in Star Wars
The Star Wars franchise – and in particular the ‘in-universe’ period from the Fall of the Jedi to the Reign of the Empire – represents germane ground for the critical analysis of security in both everyday life and extraordinary circumstances. Although beginning with the films of the ‘prequel trilogy’ (1999, 2002, 2005) this period has most recently been covered in the animated television series Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021 –). Deepening the con…
Football fans are not thugs’
The recent history of the policing of Scottish football has been tempestuous. The enactment of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 subjected those attending regulated football matches to a range of new forms of control, and mobilised significant fan resistance that resulted in the Act’s eventual repeal in 2018. By this time, however, significant damage had been inflicted upon fan-police relations…
Leaving ‘home?’ Belonging, break-up and becoming in the police family
This article considers the impact of police merger processes on officers and staff. The Railway Policing (Scotland) Act 2017 legislated that the Scottish functions and personnel of the British Transport Police (BTP) would be integrated into Scotland’s national police force. The journey towards this destination, however, has been protracted, problematic and now appears to be indefinitely postponed. Demonstrating the limits of the ‘police family’, …
Pitched! Informants and the covert policing of football fans in Scotland
This paper offers a new perspective on the policing of football fans by exploring the recruitment and use of ‘informants’, or ‘Covert Human Intelligence Sources’ (CHIS), in this area of police practice. Drawing upon semi-structured interviews with both football fans and police officers in Scotland we foreground fan experiences against a backdrop where intensive police surveillance has become a routine feature of football events. In particular, ou…
Now that you mention it, museums probably are a target
This article explores counter-terrorism security practices at museums in the United Kingdom (UK), locations that terrorists have targeted through both propaganda and operational activity. Drawing upon research that re-interprets the museum within the ‘single narrative’ of global jihadist terrorism, an outlook that justifies and legitimises the targeting of socio-cultural sites from instrumental and symbolic perspectives, this article highlights t…
Researching a Risky Business? The Use of Freedom of Information to Explore Counterterrorism Security at Museums in the United Kingdom
This article reflects on the value and limitations of the use of Freedom of Information (FOI) in the collection of data on counterterrorism policies and practices at museums in the United Kingdom (UK). In doing so, this article re-interprets the museum within the "single narrative" of global jihadist terrorism before using FOI to uncover counterterrorism security measures at museums in the UK. We particularly signpost the importance of the role o…
Lights, camera, provocation? Exploring experiences of surveillance in the policing of Scottish football
Based primarily on research into the policing of football fans in Scotland following the implementation of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Act (Scotland) Act 2012 this paper examines the interplay of police techniques and surveillance technologies in the policing of Scottish football. There has been relatively little academic attention directed towards the Act, so the question of why and how this flagship legisl…
Well-kent Faces’
This article focuses on the policing of adult persistent offenders and its implications for desistance. It integrates the findings from two qualitative studies undertaken in Scotland on the experiences of those considered 'persistent offenders' and the police. The article's contribution lies in its close analysis of how adult persistent offenders and the police interact, examining factors before, during and after their encounter. We show that the…
Where were you while we were getting high policing? The consequences of co-location for broader partnership working in tackling organised crime and terrorism
The Scottish Crime Campus (SCC) represents a significant financial and political investment in policing organised crime and terrorism in Scotland. The ethos of physically co-locating high-policing agencies and promoting partnership working has been central to the SCC; however, the consequences for those agencies and actors not permanently based here have hitherto been overlooked. Based on mixed methods research this study considers the range of ‘…
Western foreign fighters
Western foreign fighters: the threat to homeland and international security." Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, 10(1), pp. 87–88
The threat from within
Review of The Threat from Within: Recognizing Al Qaeda-Inspired Radicalization and Terrorism in the West, by Phil Gurski, London, Rowman & Littlefield, 2016
Tracing the discourses of terrorism
No abstract available
Police culture
No abstract available
The anthropology of security
In a post-Cold War world of political unease and economic crisis, processes of securitisation are transforming nation-states, their citizens and non-citizens in profound ways. The book shows how contemporary Europe is now home to a vast security industry which uses biometric identification systems, CCTV and quasi-military techniques to police migrants and disadvantaged neighbourhoods. This is the first collection of anthropological studies of sec…
Subordinating Women
In Chaste, Silent and Obedient, Suzanne Hull lists 163 English books written for women (by both sexes) published between 1475 and 1640. Of the eighteen books she classifies as devotional, the second (chronologically) is Thomas Bentley's The Monument of Matrones (1582), an immense book-over 1500 quarto pages-containing prayers and meditations for a variety of occasions, extracts from the Bible, and brief lives of biblical and other model women. Hu…
Football fans are not thugs’
The recent history of the policing of Scottish football has been tempestuous. The enactment of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 subjected those attending regulated football matches to a range of new forms of control, and mobilised significant fan resistance that resulted in the Act’s eventual repeal in 2018. By this time, however, significant damage had been inflicted upon fan-police relations…
Pitched! Informants and the covert policing of football fans in Scotland
This paper offers a new perspective on the policing of football fans by exploring the recruitment and use of ‘informants’, or ‘Covert Human Intelligence Sources’ (CHIS), in this area of police practice. Drawing upon semi-structured interviews with both football fans and police officers in Scotland we foreground fan experiences against a backdrop where intensive police surveillance has become a routine feature of football events. In particular, ou…
Well-kent Faces’
This article focuses on the policing of adult persistent offenders and its implications for desistance. It integrates the findings from two qualitative studies undertaken in Scotland on the experiences of those considered 'persistent offenders' and the police. The article's contribution lies in its close analysis of how adult persistent offenders and the police interact, examining factors before, during and after their encounter. We show that the…
Police culture
No abstract available
Leaving ‘home?’ Belonging, break-up and becoming in the police family
This article considers the impact of police merger processes on officers and staff. The Railway Policing (Scotland) Act 2017 legislated that the Scottish functions and personnel of the British Transport Police (BTP) would be integrated into Scotland’s national police force. The journey towards this destination, however, has been protracted, problematic and now appears to be indefinitely postponed. Demonstrating the limits of the ‘police family’, …
Researching a Risky Business? The Use of Freedom of Information to Explore Counterterrorism Security at Museums in the United Kingdom
This article reflects on the value and limitations of the use of Freedom of Information (FOI) in the collection of data on counterterrorism policies and practices at museums in the United Kingdom (UK). In doing so, this article re-interprets the museum within the "single narrative" of global jihadist terrorism before using FOI to uncover counterterrorism security measures at museums in the UK. We particularly signpost the importance of the role o…
Security politics and techno-securitisation in Star Wars
The Star Wars franchise – and in particular the ‘in-universe’ period from the Fall of the Jedi to the Reign of the Empire – represents germane ground for the critical analysis of security in both everyday life and extraordinary circumstances. Although beginning with the films of the ‘prequel trilogy’ (1999, 2002, 2005) this period has most recently been covered in the animated television series Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021 –). Deepening the con…
Now that you mention it, museums probably are a target
This article explores counter-terrorism security practices at museums in the United Kingdom (UK), locations that terrorists have targeted through both propaganda and operational activity. Drawing upon research that re-interprets the museum within the ‘single narrative’ of global jihadist terrorism, an outlook that justifies and legitimises the targeting of socio-cultural sites from instrumental and symbolic perspectives, this article highlights t…
Where were you while we were getting high policing? The consequences of co-location for broader partnership working in tackling organised crime and terrorism
The Scottish Crime Campus (SCC) represents a significant financial and political investment in policing organised crime and terrorism in Scotland. The ethos of physically co-locating high-policing agencies and promoting partnership working has been central to the SCC; however, the consequences for those agencies and actors not permanently based here have hitherto been overlooked. Based on mixed methods research this study considers the range of ‘…
Subordinating Women
In Chaste, Silent and Obedient, Suzanne Hull lists 163 English books written for women (by both sexes) published between 1475 and 1640. Of the eighteen books she classifies as devotional, the second (chronologically) is Thomas Bentley's The Monument of Matrones (1582), an immense book-over 1500 quarto pages-containing prayers and meditations for a variety of occasions, extracts from the Bible, and brief lives of biblical and other model women. Hu…
Tracing the discourses of terrorism
No abstract available
Police culture
No abstract available
The anthropology of security
In a post-Cold War world of political unease and economic crisis, processes of securitisation are transforming nation-states, their citizens and non-citizens in profound ways. The book shows how contemporary Europe is now home to a vast security industry which uses biometric identification systems, CCTV and quasi-military techniques to police migrants and disadvantaged neighbourhoods. This is the first collection of anthropological studies of sec…
The threat from within
Review of The Threat from Within: Recognizing Al Qaeda-Inspired Radicalization and Terrorism in the West, by Phil Gurski, London, Rowman & Littlefield, 2016
Western foreign fighters
Western foreign fighters: the threat to homeland and international security." Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, 10(1), pp. 87–88
Where were you while we were getting high policing? The consequences of co-location for broader partnership working in tackling organised crime and terrorism
The Scottish Crime Campus (SCC) represents a significant financial and political investment in policing organised crime and terrorism in Scotland. The ethos of physically co-locating high-policing agencies and promoting partnership working has been central to the SCC; however, the consequences for those agencies and actors not permanently based here have hitherto been overlooked. Based on mixed methods research this study considers the range of ‘…
Researching a Risky Business? The Use of Freedom of Information to Explore Counterterrorism Security at Museums in the United Kingdom
This article reflects on the value and limitations of the use of Freedom of Information (FOI) in the collection of data on counterterrorism policies and practices at museums in the United Kingdom (UK). In doing so, this article re-interprets the museum within the "single narrative" of global jihadist terrorism before using FOI to uncover counterterrorism security measures at museums in the UK. We particularly signpost the importance of the role o…
Lights, camera, provocation? Exploring experiences of surveillance in the policing of Scottish football
Based primarily on research into the policing of football fans in Scotland following the implementation of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Act (Scotland) Act 2012 this paper examines the interplay of police techniques and surveillance technologies in the policing of Scottish football. There has been relatively little academic attention directed towards the Act, so the question of why and how this flagship legisl…
Well-kent Faces’
This article focuses on the policing of adult persistent offenders and its implications for desistance. It integrates the findings from two qualitative studies undertaken in Scotland on the experiences of those considered 'persistent offenders' and the police. The article's contribution lies in its close analysis of how adult persistent offenders and the police interact, examining factors before, during and after their encounter. We show that the…
Pitched! Informants and the covert policing of football fans in Scotland
This paper offers a new perspective on the policing of football fans by exploring the recruitment and use of ‘informants’, or ‘Covert Human Intelligence Sources’ (CHIS), in this area of police practice. Drawing upon semi-structured interviews with both football fans and police officers in Scotland we foreground fan experiences against a backdrop where intensive police surveillance has become a routine feature of football events. In particular, ou…
Now that you mention it, museums probably are a target
This article explores counter-terrorism security practices at museums in the United Kingdom (UK), locations that terrorists have targeted through both propaganda and operational activity. Drawing upon research that re-interprets the museum within the ‘single narrative’ of global jihadist terrorism, an outlook that justifies and legitimises the targeting of socio-cultural sites from instrumental and symbolic perspectives, this article highlights t…
Football fans are not thugs’
The recent history of the policing of Scottish football has been tempestuous. The enactment of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 subjected those attending regulated football matches to a range of new forms of control, and mobilised significant fan resistance that resulted in the Act’s eventual repeal in 2018. By this time, however, significant damage had been inflicted upon fan-police relations…
Leaving ‘home?’ Belonging, break-up and becoming in the police family
This article considers the impact of police merger processes on officers and staff. The Railway Policing (Scotland) Act 2017 legislated that the Scottish functions and personnel of the British Transport Police (BTP) would be integrated into Scotland’s national police force. The journey towards this destination, however, has been protracted, problematic and now appears to be indefinitely postponed. Demonstrating the limits of the ‘police family’, …
Still an ‘invisible crime’? Exploring developments in the awareness and control of human trafficking in Scotland
In 2010 Korin Lebov published her article ‘Human trafficking in Scotland’, a state-of-the-field piece that reported on the nature and extent of human trafficking and the challenges in tackling this issue. Several important developments have occurred in the period since, including new enforcement measures, the first prosecutions and convictions for human trafficking in Scottish courts, the establishment of a dedicated policing unit within Scotland…
Security politics and techno-securitisation in Star Wars
The Star Wars franchise – and in particular the ‘in-universe’ period from the Fall of the Jedi to the Reign of the Empire – represents germane ground for the critical analysis of security in both everyday life and extraordinary circumstances. Although beginning with the films of the ‘prequel trilogy’ (1999, 2002, 2005) this period has most recently been covered in the animated television series Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021 –). Deepening the con…
There is more than one sort of prison, Captain’
In this paper we emphasise how science fiction, as a projection of the possible, can forewarn of dystopic dangers in emergent and future penal regimes. In this popular criminology we explore three archetypes of the prison as they have appeared across the Star Wars franchise: the panoptic prison; the labour camp; and the smart prison. The panoptic prison of the Galactic Republic invokes reflective nostalgia; prompting critical discussion of the de…
Walking sensorially through the landscapes of a galaxy far, far away
The Star Wars series Andor (2022 - 25) represented a return to the practical filmmaking approach and political roots of the early period of the franchise. Sensitised by Phiona Stanley's autoethnographic account of 'walking home' in Scotland (Stanley, 2020) this paper uses sensobiographic walking methods to explore two locations in the Scottish Highlands that were used to provide a physical stage and visual backdrop for three episodes of Andor . W…
‘Out here, you live and die by your reputation’
This paper examines the video game Star Wars: Outlaws (2024), exploring its portrayal of organised crime and associated forms of capital. The game follows Kay Vess, a young street thief seeking a fresh start, whose journey is shaped by an in-game reputation system that enhances gameplay immersion and deepens narrative complexity. Analysing data from 53 dedicated gameplay sessions, this paper explores Kay’s transition from emergence and survival t…
Political science (16 works) · Sociology (15 works) · Law (14 works) · Law (12 works) · Criminology (11 works) · Politics (9 works) · Crime Patterns and Interventions (7 works) · Policing Practices and Perceptions (7 works) · Terrorism (7 works) · Computer Science (5 works)