Dr Amal Ali

Dr Amal Ali is a quantitative criminologist studying racialised policing in England and Wales. Her research examines how organisational practices and officer decision-making shape how police powers are distributed and used, with a particular focus on stop and search, use of force and strip searches. She investigates how ethnic/racial inequalities are produced across successive stages of police encounters and the implications of these practices for those subjected to them.

Amal is particularly interested in methodological approaches that allow these issues to be answered credibly. She draws on large-scale administrative police datasets and statistical techniques. Her current research applies social network analysis to explore how working relationships between officers may influence the use of force. She is also working on a collaborative Youth Endowment Fund-funded project examining the short- and long-term effects of police stops during adolescence, at both individual and neighbourhood level, on young people's mental health and involvement in crime.

Amal holds a PhD in Social Research Methods from the London School of Economics and Political Science and an MA in Human Rights from University College London. Before joining the University of Reading, she was a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Quantitative Criminology at the University of Manchester, and previously held a visiting research appointment at Yale University, working with the Center for Policing Equity research lab.

Her research has been published in Crime Science, the British Journal of Criminology, and Criminology & Criminal Justice. Beyond academia, Amal co-authored the first super-complaint concerning Section 60 stop and search powers. This prompted a joint investigation by HMICFRS, the Independent Office for Police Conduct and the College of Policing, contributing to national recommendations and changes in community scrutiny of stop and search.