Violence in the border supply chain: short term detention and deportation in the UK

BIM Seminar Series. Guest speaker: Mary BOSWORTH, University of Oxford

Abstract:
In this paper Mary Bosworth will reflect on the nature and scale of violence in the ‘immigration detainee escorting system’. Drawing on a four year empirical research project she will explore the training in and documentation of use of force as well as how it is used. While actual instances of violence were rare in the research period, its possibility was always anticipated. Making sense of this duality, is challenging, and forms the basis of this paper.

Bio:
Mary Bosworth is founder and Co-Director of Border Criminologies, an interdisciplinary research group focusing on the intersections between criminal justice and border control. In addition to being Professor of Criminology, she is a Fellow of St Cross College. Prof. Bosworth conducts research on the experiences of staff and incarcerated people in prisons and immigration detention centres and about the processes of deportation. Her research is international and comparative and has included work conducted in Britain, France, Greece, the US and Australia. It has been funded by the European Research Council, the Leverhulme Trust, the British Academy, the ESRC, the Nuffield Foundation, the Australian Research Council, and the John Fell Fund. Further details about some of these projects can be found on the Border Criminology website. Mary is a member of the editorial boards of Theoretical Criminology, Incarceration, Punishment & Society, and the International Journal of Migration and Border Studies.

Registration required: https://forms.office.com/e/n6v6EwHsnc?origin=lprLink

Wednesday, March 25th, 2026, from12:00 to 2:00 pm
REPI - Université libre de Bruxelles
Campus du Solbosch – IEE (Spaak Room)
39 Avenue Franklin Roosevelt
1050 Bruxelles
BIM - REPI - Recherche et Etudes en Politique Internationale