The University of Sheffield
Management School

Dr. Ryan A. Davenport

Research Fellow
Room: 208
Phone: 0114 22 23384
Fax: 0114 22 23348
email: r.davenport@sheffield.ac.uk

Ryan joined the Management School in July 2011 after completing ESRC funded doctoral studies in (socio-spatial) criminology at the School of Law, University of Sheffield.

His qualifications include; BA (Hons) History and Criminology, Sheffield Hallam University 2005; MA International Criminology, The University of Sheffield 2006; Ph.D. Criminology, The University of Sheffield 2010.

Ryan's doctoral studies involved a secondary analysis of the (2004/05) British Crime Survey (BCS) that investigated the nature, extent and concentration of incivilities (antisocial behaviour / ASB) across England and Wales. Criminologists and criminal justice agencies have traditionally ignored behaviours typically considered antisocial as trivial matters unlike conduct readily prohibited by the criminal law. This is despite the growing number of debates concerning incivility in both social and political spheres and recent research illustrating the importance of incivilities to local communities. While successive waves of American scholars have focused on the aetiologies of disorder, more recent British academic concerns have assessed how best to tackle this lack of order. Neither of these approaches seeks to measure incivilities. There has also existed a lasting emphasis on individuals´ perceptions of disorder which are not necessarily representative of the level of actual disorder. (Although, as research has shown, perceptions have their own consequences). This preoccupation with perceived disorder is largely a result of methodological difficulties when attempting to capture individuals´ experiences of ASB, meaning that we know very little about repeat experience of disorder. Ryan has paid significant attention to a largely unused measure of experience of antisocial behaviour obtained from the British Crime Survey, which it was argued represented one of only two significant methodologies in existence. From this indicator of observed incivility, measures of repeat exposure to ASB were constructed that emphasized the intrinsically repetitive nature of incivilities.

Although repeat victimization by crime type has received significant academic attention, Ryan has considered the role of incivilities within the sphere of `repeat victimization.' His research demonstrates that while large proportions of residents in England and Wales remain free from criminal victimization (even in the highest crime areas) repeat experience of ASB is widespread. It is argued that the repetitive nature of incivilities ensures that ASB is very much the quintessential `repeat victimization.' His thesis also has direct relation to the field of urban sociology and a series of masterly US works on the subject of disorder. Statistical modelling in later chapters continues with such themes described above as well as noting the importance of `collective efficacy,´ the complex relationship between observed and perceived disorder and their impact on criminal victimization (a variant of the `broken windows´ hypothesis), quality of life measures and fear of crime. Ryan suggests that incivilities, far from being trivial, have a greater impact on local social order than crime.

Ryan has previously worked for the Sheffield Hallam University, Centre for Law, Criminology and Criminal Justice providing dissertation supervision to students on the MA International Criminal Justice.

He is also a member of the `Centre for Criminological Research,' research cluster in the School of Law.

Research Interests

Ryan's research interests include:

Research Grants

Current Research

Currently, Ryan is employed as a Research Fellow to work on the EPSRC funded (EP/H007237/1) `voice your view´ project (www.voiceyourview.com). Here, he works with Professor Jane Binner where their primary task concerns evaluation of the VYV scheme with a special emphasis being placed on crime and disorder.

Teaching

Conference Presentations

The Concentration of Incivilities in England and Wales'. The IX Conference of the European Society of Criminology, Friday 11 September 2009. Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Other Professional Roles