Simon Hallsworth is a Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, London Metropolitan University. He is also the Director of the CSER and holds the Chair in Social Research in the Department of Applied Social Science. He is a sociologist by background educated at the London School for Economics and Leicester University. Simon has written extensively on punishment in modern society, the local politics of crime and community safety and more recently violent street worlds. His research interests include street violence, weapon use, and the development of the security state.