A warm CrimSL welcome to Dr. Patrick Watson, Assistant Professor, CLTA, who begins his 2-year role here at CrimSL on August 1, 2023!
Patrick completed his PhD at the University of Manchester (UK) in 2010, where he conducted an ethnographic field study of municipal politicians and civil servants. He was awarded a SSHRC Post Doctoral Fellowship in 2011 at the University of Waterloo, and has since worked at Waterloo, McMaster, and Laurier, as well as holding an international research fellowship at Liverpool University.
He currently researches practices of civilian police oversight and evaluations of police violence. His recently concluded SSHRC Insight Grant studied the use of video evidence in criminal trials for police officers charged in on-duty shooting incidents, and he is finishing a book on the subject. This research led into his two ongoing SSHRC funded projects, a Partnership Development Grant (2021-2024) Charting the 'Reasonable Officer' and the Open Research Area grant (2022-2025) Visions of Policing. He incorporates insights and sensibilities from ethnomethodology and science and technology studies in his research, and is happy to work with students with an interest in political or police/police oversight procedures and work routines.
Patrick is a happy Torontonian, having spent his early childhood in the city. He moved back to Toronto in 2011 after spending the previous five years in Manchester and London England. He does his best to work Toronto into his research, having published on press scrums at Queen's Park, John Tory's decision to not demolish the easternmost section of the Gardiner Expressway, and on the criminal trial of Constable James Forcillo of Toronto Police for the murder of Sammy Yatim. He lives in the west end with his wife and two daughters.