Dr Alexandra Cox
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Email
alexandra.cox@essex.ac.uk -
Telephone
+44 (0) 1206 873039
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Location
6.326, Colchester Campus
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Academic support hours
Wednesdays 11am-1pm by appointment.
Profile
Biography
Alexandra came to the University of Essex after serving as an Assistant Professor at the State University of New York at New Paltz in their Department of Sociology. Prior to getting her Ph.D., she worked in the fields of criminal justice and drug policy reform for a number of years, at the American Civil LIberties Union's Drug Law Reform project, the Drug Policy Alliance's Office of Legal Affairs (in California) and then at the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, a community-based public defender office in New York City. She has continued to practice as a sentencing mitigation specialist, representing primarily young people charged as adults. Through that work, she has served on the boards of several organizations, including the New York State Defenders Association, Drama Club (which provides theater programming to incarcerated youth), Reentry Columbia, and Literacy for Incarcerated Teens. She was awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship to support her doctoral work and served as a Soros Justice Advocacy fellow, focusing on the role that frontline workers play in resisting decarceration. In 2017, she was a research fellow at Yale Law School, working on a study about the role of frontline workers in New York's criminal justice system. Alexandra's book, Trapped in a Vice: the Consequences of Confinement for Young People, explores the consequences of a juvenile justice system that is aimed at promoting change in the lives of young people, yet ultimately relies upon tools and strategies that enmesh them in a system that they struggle to move beyond. The system, rather than the crimes themselves, is the vice. It also acts as a vise in the lives of young people, pushing young people to change through the use of intensive interventions and services, but also pulling them away from meaningful opportunities for growth and development. The book explores the lives of the young people and adults in New York's justice system, revealing the ways that they struggle to manage the expectations of that system; these stories from the ground level of the justice system reveal the complex exchange of policy and practice. The book won the American Society of Criminology's Critical Criminology book award. Alexandra's newest book is a handbook on youth imprisonment, co-edited with Professor Laura Abrams of UCLA, and published by Palgrave Macmillan.
Qualifications
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BA, American Studies, Yale University, 2001
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M.Phil, Criminological Research, University of Cambridge, 2007 (First Class Degree)
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Ph.D., Criminology, University of Cambridge, 2012
Appointments
University of Essex
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Director, Death Penalty Sentencing Mitigation Clinic, Law, University of Essex (1/10/2018 - present)
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Director of Education, Sociology, University of Essex (15/8/2022 - present)
Research and professional activities
Research interests
Youth justice
Racism, crime and punishment
Penal ethics
Mercy and equitable discretion
Arts and imprisonment
'Street level' bureaucrats and the criminal justice system
Current research
Mercy and the Exercise of Justice with Reginald Dwayne Betts -A qualitative study examining the role that mercy plays in the lives of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people.
A Community Study of Procedural Justice and Criminal Justice System Legitimacy with Tom Tyler, Tracey Meares, Megan Quattlebaum, Rachel Johnston, Monica Bell, and Thomas O'Brien - This project examines community-level perceptions of procedural justice—as applied not just to policing, but to the criminal justice system at large—and measures the effects of those perceptions on a range of outcomes. A second component of the project examines perceptions of procedural justice among workers in various jobs the criminal justice system, and examines how their views impact upon the legitimacy of the system as a whole.
Conferences and presentations
Power over vs. Power with: What youth workers' experiences reveal about the promise and challenges of enacting equitable youth-adult relationships in juvenile facilities
18th Biennial Conference of the Society for Community Research and Action, 22/6/2021
Roundable session: “Histories of the Carceral State in the United States: Progress, Problems, and Controversies”
Law and Society Association annual conference, Washington D.C., United States, 30/5/2019
Author meets critic session for ‘Trapped in a Vice’
Law and Society Association annual conference, Washington D.C., United States, 30/5/2019
Roundtable on Mass Supervision
American Society of Criminology conference, American Society of Criminology, Atlanta, United States, 16/11/2018
Author meets critic session for 'Trapped in a Vice' with Avi Brisman, Geoff Ward, Jo Phoenix and Carla Shedd
American Society of Criminology, American Society of Criminology, Atlanta, United States, 14/11/2018
Trapped in a Vice: The Consequences of Confinement for Young People
Invited presentation, University of Cambridge Institute of Criminology speaker series, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2/11/2018
Resistance to Juvenile Justice Reform: The Role of Frontline Workers
American Sociological Association conference, Philadelphia, United States, 13/8/2018
Challenging the Paradigm of Accuracy in Machine Learning
Society for the Study of Social Problems, Philadelphia, United States, 12/8/2018
A Critical Exploration of Youth Justice Reforms in the 21st Century
Society for the Study of Social Problems conference, Philadelphia, United States, 10/8/2018
Questions of Self-Determination and Liberty in Juvenile Institutions
Invited presentation, Society of Captives Anniversary conference, Leicester, United Kingdom, 27/6/2018
An American View on Contemporary Youth Justice
American Society of Criminology annual conference, American Society of Criminology annual conference, Philadelphia, United States, 17/11/2017
Social Science Research and the Criminal Case
American Society of Criminology annual conference, Philadelphia, United States, 16/11/2017
Teaching and supervision
Current teaching responsibilities
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Critical Debates in Childhood and Childhood Studies (PA943)
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Childhood Innocence and Deviance (SC311)
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Crime, Policy and Social Justice (SC382)
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Work-Based Learning: Sociology (SC390)
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Crisis of the American Idea (CS261)
Current supervision
Previous supervision
Degree subject: Government
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 14/7/2022
Publications
Journal articles (15)
Ofori, A. and Cox, A., Young People’s Engagement in Youth Justice Practices. Probation Quarterly. 22, 54-59
Cox, A., (2022). The Legitimation Strategies of ‘Progressive’ Prosecutors. Social and Legal Studies: an international journal. 31 (5), 657-678
Cox, AL., (2022). Book Review: Presumed Criminal: Black Youth and the Justice System in Postwar New York by Carl Suddler. Punishment & Society, 146247452210767-146247452210767
Cox, A., (2021). Social Movements in Juvenile Prisons: An Investigation. Social Justice. 47 (1-2)
Cox, A., (2021). The New Economy and Youth Justice. Youth Justice. 21 (1), 107-126
Cox, A. and Betts, RD., (2021). Mercy Towards Decarceration: Examining the Legal Constraints on Early Release from Prison. Incarceration. 2 (1), 1-14
Cox, A., (2021). The Sociological Landscape of Youth Confinement. Sociology Compass. 15 (12)
Cox, A., (2020). The Language of Incarceration. Incarceration. 1 (1), 263266632094085-263266632094085
Cox, A., (2019). Challenging the Logics of Reformism and Humanism in Juvenile Justice Rhetoric. Critical Criminology. 27 (4), 543-558
Sankofa, J., Cox, A., Fader, JJ., Inderbitzin, M., Abrams, LS. and Nurse, AM., (2018). Juvenile Corrections in the Era of Reform: A Meta-Synthesis of Qualitative Studies. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology. 62 (7), 1763-1786
Cox, AL., (2018). Juvenile Facility Staff Contestations of Change. Youth Justice. 18 (3), 248-264
Cox, A., (2015). Fresh air funds and functional families: The enduring politics of race, family and place in juvenile justice reform. Theoretical Criminology. 19 (4), 554-570
Cox, AL., (2014). Responsible submission: The racialized consequences of neoliberal juvenile justice practices. Social Justice. 41 (4), 23-39
Cox, AL., (2013). New visions of social control? Young people's perceptions of community penalties. Journal of Youth Studies. 16 (1), 135-150
Cox, AL., (2011). Doing the programme or doing me? The pains of youth imprisonment. Punishment & Society. 13 (5), 592-610
Books (3)
Cox, A. and Abrams, LS., (2021). The Palgrave International Handbook of Youth Imprisonment. Palgrave Macmillan. 3030687589. 9783030687588
Carrabine, E., Cox, P., Cox, A., Crowhurst, I., Di Ronco, A., Fussey, P., Sergi, A., South, N., Thiel, D. and Turton, J., (2020). Criminology. A Sociological Introduction (Fourth edition). Routledge
Cox, AL., (2018). Trapped in a vice: The consequences of confinement for young people. Rutgers University Press. 0813575656. 978-0813570464
Book chapters (7)
Cox, A., (2021). Juvenile Facility Staff: Research, Policy, and Practice. In: The Palgrave International Handbook of Youth Imprisonment. Editors: Cox, A. and Abrams, LS., . Palgrave. 243- 264. 978-3-030-68758-8
Cox, AL. and Betts, RD., (2020). Mercy-oriented reentry and reintegration: Lessons from Policy and Practice. In: Moving Beyond Recidivism: Expanding Approaches to Research on Prisoner Reentry and Reintegration. Editors: Leverentz, A., Chen, EY. and Christian, J., . NYU Press. 9781479853885
Cox, AL. and Egozy, O., (2017). Youth Facilities and Violence: An Overview. In: The Wiley Handbook on Violence and Aggression. Editors: Sturmey, P., . Wiley. 1- 11. 978-1-119-05755-0
Cox, AL., (2016). Fetishizing the will in juvenile justice policy and practice. In: The Routledge Handbook of Criminal Justice Ethics. Editors: Jacobs, J. and Jackson, J., . Routledge. 301- 314. 9780415708654
Cox, A. and Gelsthorpe, L., (2016). Creative Encounters: Whatever Happened to the Arts in Prisons?. In: The Arts of Imprisonment: Control, Resistance and Empowerment. 257- 275. 9780754675860
Cox, AL., (2014). Brain Science and Juvenile Justice. In: Juvenile Justice Sourcebook: Past Present and Future. Editors: Roberts, AR., Church II, WT. and Springer, D., . Oxford University Press. 123- 148. 978-0199324613
Cox, AL., (2012). Anchoring identity: the construction of responsibility for and by young offenders in the US. In: Critical geographies of childhood and youth: Contemporary policy and practice. The Policy Press. 199- 199. 1847428452. 9781847428455
Reports and Papers (7)
Cox, A., Ofori, A., Jolaoso, B., Robin-D’Cruz, C. and Whitehead, S., (2021). Equal diversion? Racial disproportionality in youth diversion
Cox, A., Johnston, R., Gripp, C., O'Brien, T. and Sarnoff, C., (2019). A Study of Procedural Justice and Criminal Justice System Legitimacy
Cox, A., Custer, B. and Stacey, C., (2018). University Admissions and Criminal Records: Lessons Learned and Next Steps
Cox, AL., (2013). Juvenile Facility Staff Responses to Organizational Change
Cox, AL. and Gelsthorpe, L., (2012). Creative Encounters: Whatever Happened to the Arts in Prisons?
Cox, AL. and Gelsthorpe, L., (2008). Beats and Bars, Music in Prisons: An Evaluation
Uelmen, G., Abrahamson, DN., Appel, JK., Cox, AL. and Tylor, WA., (2002). Substance abuse and crime prevention act of 2000: Progress report
Other (12)
Cox, AL., (2021).Book review: Ben Crewe, Susie Hulley and Serena Wright, Life Imprisonment from Young Adulthood: Adaptation, Identity and Time. Theoretical Criminology. 25(1),SAGE Publications
Cox, AL., (2019).Homeward: Life in the Year After Prison. The British Journal of Criminology. 59(3),Oxford University Press (OUP)
Cox, A., (2019).Relationships matter: addressing worker conditions in care homes,The Howard League
Cox, AL., (2018).Book review of Patrick Lopez-Aguado, Stick Together and Come Back Home, University of California Press: Oakland, CA. Theoretical Criminology. 23(3),SAGE Publications
Cox, AL., (2018).Everyday Desistance: The Transition to Adulthood among Formerly Incarcerated Youth L. Abrams and D. Terry. New Brunswick, NJ.: Rutgers University Press. (2017) 237pp. ISBN 978-0-8135-7446-2. Howard Journal of Crime and Justice. 57(4),Wiley
Cox, AL., (2017).On the Durability of Carceral Logics: A Review of Three New Works. Critical Criminology. 25(3),Springer Netherlands
Cox, AL., (2014).Laura S. Abrams and Ben Anderson-Nathe, Compassionate Confinement: A Year in the Life of Unit C. Qualitative Social Work. 13(1),SAGE Publications
Cox, AL., (2012).Young people's responses to juvenile justice interventions,University of Cambridge
Cox, AL., (2009).Deep Inside by M. Willmott. The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice. 48(2),Wiley Online Library
Cox, AL., (2009).Review of Irish Children and Teenagers in a Changing World: The National Write Here, Write Now Project,Sociological Research Online
Cox, A., (2009).Irish Children and Teenagers in a Changing World: The National Write Here, Write Now Project. SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH ONLINE. 14(2-3)
Cox, AL., (2008).WEB Du Bois on Crime and Justice by SL Gabbidon. The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice. 47(3),Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Contact
Academic support hours:
Wednesdays 11am-1pm by appointment.