Tahir Abass

Profile

I’m a 1+3 ESRC funded PhD student at the University of Leeds, in the final year of my PhD programme. I am also a member of the Centre for Law and Social Justice and the Centre for Criminal Justice Studies (at the University of Leeds). My research interests include race, ethnicity and crime, social justice, youth justice and qualitative research methods.

Besides conducting my research, I am a Teaching Assistant on the Youth Crime and Justice module on the BA Criminal Justice and Criminology programme. Previously I have also taught on the Crime, Inequality and Social Issues module on the same programme. 

I am one of the PGR representatives for the Socio-Legal Studies Association.

Prior to starting my PhD, I have worked with vulnerable groups in various roles, for different third sector organisations. This has involved working with people who are leaving prison and supporting their reintegration into communities. I have also worked as a Family Support Worker and have supported families from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities who have been adversely affected by drug and alcohol abuse.

Research interests

My PhD research is focusing on the harms of imprisonment on Pakistani families in the UK. Prisoners’ families have gained growing recognition over the course of the last decade in both policy and academia. It is understood that these families can face social, emotional, practical and financial difficulties as a consequence of imprisonment. However, families from minority ethnic communities are largely absent from the discourse in this field, and I aim to address some of these issues through my research.

Qualifications

• MA Criminal Justice and Criminology
• MSc by Research (Social Science)
• BSc (Hons) Sociology and Criminology

Research groups and institutes

• Centre for Law and Social Justice