Lecturer in Social Statistics&Demography
Sociology, Social Policy & Criminology Colin Bell Building, 3T28
Ben Matthews is a Lecturer in Social Statistics and Demography at the University of Stirling. His background is in criminology and he has researched a range of topics related to crime and inequality using administrative and survey data, using a combination of statistical modelling and data visualization. Ben’s work has a particular focus in understanding the changing profile of crime over time, and how this is reflected in the shifting demographics of victims of crime and people who are convicted in court.
Ben is Co-Investigator on the FORTH2O Local Policy Innovation Partnership (https://forth2o.ac.uk/) and co-Lead of the project’s Data Lab work package and was Co-Investigator on the Policing the Pandemic research project (https://www.law.ed.ac.uk/research/research-projects/policing-the-pandemic). Ben previously held positions as Research Fellow in Criminology on the Understanding Inequalities project (https://www.understanding-inequalities.ac.uk/) and a Research Associate in Data Analysis and Statistics at the Scottish Centre for Administrative Data Research (https://www.scadr.ac.uk/). He completed his PhD in Law at the University of Edinburgh in 2017.
Faculty of Social Sciences Delegated Authority from General University Ethics Panel
Taught Postgraduate Divisional Chief Examiner (Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology)
Permanently Progressing Phase 3: Adolescence and early adulthood
PI: Dr Helen Whincup
Funded by: The Nuffield Foundation and Donors (UK)
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Permanently Progressing? Phase Two: Middle Childhood
PI: Dr Helen Whincup
Funded by: The Nuffield Foundation and Donors (UK)
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Article
Matthews B, Playford C, McGhee J, Mitchell F & Dibben C (2026) Understanding changing patterns of placement type stability in the first two years of placement for looked after children in Scotland: A sequence analysis. Children and Youth Services Review, 180, Art. No.: 108680. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108680
Article
McCarthy M, McLaws S, Allard T, de Andrade D & Matthews B (2025) Examining the Role of Police-Led Diversion in the Youth Crime Decline in Australia: A Macro-Level Longitudinal Analysis. Victims and Offenders. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2025.2536313
Article
Gorton V, McVie S, Matthews B & Murray K (2025) Investigating the association between health vulnerabilities and police enforcement during the Covid-19 pandemic: A novel study using linked administrative data in Scotland. Journal of Criminology. https://doi.org/10.1177/26338076241304446
Article
Murray K, McVie S, Matthews B & Gorton V (2024) From Parking Tickets to the Pandemic: Fixed Penalty Notices, Inequity and the Regulation of Everyday Behaviours. The British Journal of Criminology, 64 (6). https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azae016
Book Chapter
A crime drop for whom? Conceptualising and measuring change in victimization inequality
Matthews B & McVie S (2024) A crime drop for whom? Conceptualising and measuring change in victimization inequality. In: Farrall S & McVie S (eds.) Handbook on Crime and Inequality. Elgar Handbooks on Inequality. Edward Elgar Publishing. https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/handbook-on-crime-and-inequality-9781800883598.html
Project Report
Permanently Progressing? Building secure futures for children: Phase 2 Middle Childhood
Whincup H, Cusworth L, Grant M, Jacobs P, Hooper J, Critchley A, Hennessy A & Matthews B (2024) Permanently Progressing? Building secure futures for children: Phase 2 Middle Childhood. Nuffield Foundation. Stirling: University of Stirling. https://permanentlyprogressing.stir.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/PP-Phase-2-Final-Report-Web-Sept-2024.docx
Project Report
Public Perceptions on the use of Technology in the Criminal Justice System
Millen A, Aurora V, Sidebottom K, Matthews B & Mycroft L (2024) Public Perceptions on the use of Technology in the Criminal Justice System. Crucible.
Book Chapter
The changing role of data in crime, criminal justice and criminology
Matthews B & McVie S (2023) The changing role of data in crime, criminal justice and criminology. In: Liebling A, Maruna S & McAra L (eds.) Oxford Handbook of Criminology. 7 ed. Oxford Handbook of Criminology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://global.oup.com/ukhe/product/the-oxford-handbook-of-criminology-9780198860914?cc=gb&lang=en&
Consultancy Report
McVie S, Murray K, Gorton V & Matthews B (2023) Policing the Pandemic in England and Wales: Police use of Fixed Penalty Notices from 27 March 2020 to 31 May 2021. National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC). Edinburgh.
Article
Understanding digital drug markets through the geography of postal drug deliveries in Scotland
Matthews B, Collier B, McVie S & Dibben C (2023) Understanding digital drug markets through the geography of postal drug deliveries in Scotland. European Journal of Criminology, 20 (1), pp. 99-121. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370821997323
Article
Matthews B, McVie S, Thompson C & Stewart A (2022) From Childhood System Contact to Adult Criminal Conviction: Investigating Intersectional Inequalities using Queensland Administrative Data. Journal of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40865-022-00204-z
Understanding Crime Data Trends (CRMU9CT) | Quantitative Research Methods (ASRP104) | Using Big Data in Social Research (SSSP007)
