David Fonseca

Dr. David Fonseca is a Lecturer in Criminology at the School of Law, University of Sheffield, where he joined in April 2024. His research focuses on criminology, sociology of punishment, and social theory, emphasizing non-Western contexts, particularly Latin America. He has held tenured positions at Brazilian universities (Universidade Federal de Goiás, Universidade Federal do Sul da Bahia) and lectured at Queensland University of Technology in Australia.

• LLM, University of Utrecht (Netherlands)
• LLM, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Brazil)
• PhD in Sociology, New York University (USA)

His work analyzes the emergence of mass incarceration in Brazil, the interconnections between border penality and domestic punishment, and the reconfiguration of social control in Western democracies. He advocates for southern criminology to challenge Euro-American-centric canons.

Recent publications include analyses of Brazil's "crime complex" (2024) and theoretical contributions to global South criminology (2019, 2018). His research trends highlight colonial legacies, crimmigration, and penal governance across diverse jurisdictions.

• Member of editorial boards for International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, Punishment & Society, and Revista Latinoamericana de Criminologia

At Sheffield, he contributes to the Centre for Criminological Research, focusing on postcolonial social control and modernization discontents in criminal justice systems.