Dr Richard Hester

PhD; MSc; BSc

Senior Lecturer in Criminology School of Social Sciences

rhester@brookes.ac.uk

Role

I am a former police officer with Thames Valley Police, where my main area of work was within football policing and public events. I have worked in Higher Education since 2016, and I lecture on Criminology courses at Oxford Brookes University and I am Employability Lead within the Criminology team. I actively research on football, public order policing and sports based crime prevention.

Teaching and supervision

Courses

Criminology (BSc (Hons))

Modules taught

CRIM4002 Criminal Justice in Action
CRIM5007 Criminology Work Based Learning
CRIM5006 Public Criminology
CRIM6002 Policing, Security and Society
CRIM6013 Sports Criminology

My specialist areas of teaching relate to policing and sports criminology.

Research

My PhD examined the legal aspects of cost recovery for football policing in England and Wales. I have previously researched issues connected with youth football violence and football banning orders, and I collaborate with football clubs and police forces on my research.

Publications

Hester R, Evidence-based review of Thames Valley Police tactical bicycle deployments in public order policing
Police Practice and Research [online first] (2025) ISSN: 1561-4263 eISSN: 1477-271X Evidence-based review of Thames Valley Police tactical bicycle deployments in public order policing Open Access version on RADAR
Hester R, “Stewards Are Worth a Bit More Than Minimum Wage”: Plural Policing of Football Matches in England and Wales
European Journal of Policing Studies 8 (2025) ISSN: 2034-760X eISSN: 2295-3523 “Stewards Are Worth a Bit More Than Minimum Wage”: Plural Policing of Football Matches in England and Wales Open Access version on RADAR
Hester R, "They stand there looking really bored and pissed off": analysing efficient police resourcing at football matches in England and Wales
Policing and Society 34 (9) (2024) pp.949-960 ISSN: 1043-9463 eISSN: 1477-2728 "They stand there looking really bored and pissed off": analysing efficient police resourcing at football matches in England and Wales Open Access version on RADAR
Hester Richard, Hobson Jonathan, Jones Demelza, “If we're wrong, take us to court”: An analysis of special police services (SPS) arrangements for the policing of football in England and Wales
International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice 76 (2024) ISSN: 1756-0616 eISSN: 1876-763X “If we're wrong, take us to court”: An analysis of special police services (SPS) arrangements for the policing of football in England and Wales Open Access version on RADAR
Hester R, Hobson J, The true cost of policing football in England & Wales: freedom of information data from 2015-2019
Police Practice and Research 24 (4) (2023) pp.461-474 ISSN: 1561-4263 eISSN: 1477-271X
Hobson J, Payne B, Bangura K, Hester R, ‘Spaces’ for restorative development: international case studies on restorative services
Contemporary Justice Review 25 (2) (2022) pp.143-162 ISSN: 1028-2580 eISSN: 1477-2248
Hester R, Assessing the UK Football Policing Unit Funding of Football Banning Orders in Times of Policing Austerity
Policing: a Journal of Policy and Practice 15 (2) (2021) pp.1188-1201 ISSN: 1752-4512 eISSN: 1752-4520
Hester R, Pamment N, "It’s become fashionable": Practitioner perspectives on football hooliganism involving young people
International Journal of Police Science & Management 22 (4) (2020) pp.366-377 ISSN: 1461-3557 eISSN: 1478-1603

Hobson J, Payne B, Hester R, Restorative Practices Knowledge Exchange 02-04 April, 2019: Post Conference Report ,
(2019)

James J, Hester R, Stop and Search Powers in England & Wales: The Commissioner, The Home Secretary, The Media and The Public
in Johnston, Ed; Marsh, Sophie (ed.), Contemporary Issues in Global Criminal Justice, Rowman & Littlefield (2022) ISBN: 9781793637338 eISBN: 9781793637345

Hester R, The German tactic English police need to control football fans ,
(2024)
Hester R, Who should pay for the policing of football? Evidence-based progressive change for Special Police Service football policing in England and Wales ,
(2023)
Hester, Richard, “They stand there looking really bored and p***ed off”: analysing efficient police resourcing at football matches in England and Wales,
(2023)
Hester R, A slippery subject: European eel trafficking in criminology teaching,
(2023)
Hester R, The impact of austerity measures on the resourcing of football policing and applications for football banning orders in England & Wales,
(2022)
Hester, Richard, A solution to pitch invasions at football matches: social crime prevention, not “more policing” ,
(2022)
Hester R, Hobson J, The true cost of policing football in England & Wales: Freedom of Information data from 2015-2019,
(2022)
Hester R, Pamment N, A slippery subject: European eel trafficking in criminology teaching ,
(2022)
Hester R, The true cost of policing football in England & Wales: Freedom of Information data from 2015-2019,
(2022)
Hester R, The true cost of policing football in England & Wales: Freedom of Information data from 2015-2019,
(2022)
Hester R, "It's become fashionable": Practitioner perspectives on football hooliganism involving young people.,
(2020)
Hobson J, Payne B, Hester R, Findings from the Restorative Practices Knowledge Exchange,
(2019)
Hester R, CNN Live Interview: Maccabi Tel Aviv fans banned from Europa League match at Villa Park ,

Professional information

Memberships of professional bodies

British Society of Criminology
European Society of Criminology
Advance HE Fellowship

Conferences

Selected conferences: European Society of Criminology - Malaga, Spain, September 2022 Policing and Society - Akureyri, Iceland, October 2022 European Society of Criminology - Florence, Italy, September 2023