Sam Hanks

Dr. Sam Hanks is a Lecturer in Criminology at Swansea University's School of Social Sciences. He specializes in researching sex work governance, carceral abolition, and policing practices, with a focus on the Welsh context. Currently, he explores the symbolic power of concepts like protection and vulnerability as tools of social control. He co-directs the Centre for Social Change and runs a prison abolition reading group. His teaching includes criminological theory, research methods, and penal abolitionism modules.

Research interests include socio-criminological theory, multi-agency governance, and the intersection of migration/xenophobia with sex work. His recent work critiques carceral systems and advocates for abolitionist frameworks. Key publications analyze sex work regulation, safeguarding delusions in policing, and vulnerabilities faced by migrant sex workers.

Dr. Hanks supervises PhD candidates exploring topics like immigration control as a revenue regime, intersectionality in sex work, and female sexual deviance in criminal justice contexts. He is actively involved in collaborative research projects addressing domestic abuse and penal policy.