Visitor Information

Clifford Shearing is the Chair of Criminology and Director of the Centre of Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town. He also hold the South African National Research Foundation Chair in Security and Justice. He obtained a Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Toronto in 1977. Clifford is a well-established and internationally recognised scholar in the field of policing and security. His research and writing has focused on the development of theoretical understandings that can be used to enhance the quality of security and justice governance. A particular focus of his work has been contributing to the development of institutions and processes that enhance the ability of poor collectivities to both direct and add value to their security and justice. He is currently developing research on environmental security in association with the Africa Centre for Climate and Earth System Science (ACCESS) and the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research at the University of Bergen.

Clifford has made many contributions to policy development for security strategy. The most recent is as a member of the Implementation Oversight Committee for the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). He was also a member of the JCF Strategic Review Panel from 2007 – 2008. Previous policy contributions include developing policing strategy with the Canadian Law Commission, the Patten Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland and as a member of the Goldstone Commission playing a role in developing the strategy for policing South Africa's first democratic elections. He has published numerous accredited journal articles and book chapters and his most recent book (with Jennifer Wood) is Imagining Security (Willan 2006). Two forthcoming books are Ayling, J., Grabosky, P. & Shearing, C. Lengthening the Arm of the Law: Enhancing Police Resources in the 21st Century and with Michael Kempa Policing - Conceptualisations and Practices of Security.