The UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences has elected the Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre Co-Director Professor Adam Crawford to its prestigious Fellowship.
17 July 2026
Professor Crawford, who is Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice at the University of Leeds and holds the Chair in Policing and Social Justice at York Law School, has been elected as an ‘Interstitial’ Fellow, which straddles two of the Academy’s disciplinary sections: Law; and Sociology, Demography, and Social Statistics. The election recognises his outstanding contributions to interdisciplinary research, socio-legal studies, and criminology.
This award comes just a week after Professor Crawford received the British Society of Criminology’s Outstanding Achievement Award.
Throughout his distinguished career spanning four decades, he has secured over £24 million in research funding and established key collaborations between academia and public services, including serving as a member of the UK’s Police Science Council and founding the N8 Policing Research Partnership.
On receiving the news of the Fellowship, Professor Crawford said: “I am delighted to be elected a Fellow of the British Academy and truly honoured to join so many distinguished UK and international scholars, as someone who cares passionately about harnessing the contribution of the humanities, law and social sciences to address contemporary societal challenges.
“I am especially pleased that my election as an Interstitial Fellow straddling both ‘Sociology, Demography, and Social Statistics’ and ‘Law’ brings further recognition to the intersections of social theory, socio-legal studies and criminology, as well as the possibilities for interdisciplinary knowledge production to address the harms of crime and injustice.”
The British Academy Fellowship comprises over 1,800 world-leading scholars from the UK and overseas.
Professor Susan J. Smith PBA, President of the British Academy, said:
“I am delighted to welcome our newest Fellows to the British Academy. Each has made an outstanding contribution to their field, and together they reflect the remarkable breadth and depth of scholarship across our disciplines.
“At a time when society is grappling with radical uncertainty in the face of technological, economic and environmental change, the humanities and social sciences have never been more important. Insights from economics, geography and political studies help us navigate geopolitical tensions, while literature, history and philosophy – to name a few of the disciplines the Academy represents – fuel our creative industries and help people to better understand themselves and each other.
“Our new fellows join a community of scholars with unparalleled expertise, dedicated to advancing research, fostering collaboration across disciplines and demonstrating the value of the humanities and social sciences. I am proud to give my warmest congratulations to them all on their election today.”