Dr Amy Stevens

Department of Sociological Studies

Research Associate

amy.stevens@sheffield.ac.uk

The Wave

Full contact details

Dr Amy Stevens
Department of Sociological Studies
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
Sheffield
S10 2AH

Profile

Amy joined the Department of Sociological Studies in September 2023 as a Research Associate with a Leverhulme Trust funded project which focuses on citizen-led policing activities and the formation of citizen ‘watch-groups’ who detect and intervene in illegal activities. Prior to joining the department, Amy was a Lecturer in Criminology at the University of West London, and a Senior Research Officer at the University of Essex where she worked as part of the ESRC funded Human Rights, Big Data and Technology project.

Amy holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Essex (2021) which focused on the diverse opposition to changes in the law governing state surveillance activities in the UK. She also holds an MA in Sociological Research from the University of Essex and a BA (hons) in Applied Psychology and Sociology from the University of Brighton.

Research interests: Amy’s research interests are broadly focused on the use and development of surveillance technologies and their governance. This includes the use of data and new technologies for investigating and detecting crime, the human rights and social justice issues which surround them, and understanding resistance and opposition to their use. Her recent collaborative work investigated the surveillance of activists and human rights defenders around the world and the potential ‘chilling effect’ which this has on both individual rights and wider democratic processes across various jurisdictions. She has also published work on the opposition to expansions in state surveillance in the UK and has a particular interest in the development of AI technology for use in law enforcement and its impact on individual and collective rights.

Publications

Books

Stevens A (2024) Resisting State Surveillance in the Digital Age: Precarious Coalitions, Contested Knowledge, and Diverse Opposition to Mass-Surveillance in the UK.

Journal articles

Stevens A, Fussey P, Murray D, Hove K & Saki O (2023) ‘I started seeing shadows everywhere’: The diverse chilling effects of surveillance in Zimbabwe. Big Data & Society, 10(1), 205395172311586-205395172311586.
Stevens A & Allen-Robertson J (2021) Encrypting human rights: The intertwining of resistant voices in the UK state surveillance debate. Big Data & Society, 8(1), 205395172098530-205395172098530.
Murray D, Fussey P, Hove K, Wakabi W, Kimumwe P, Saki O & Stevens A () The Chilling Effects of Surveillance and Human Rights: Insights from Qualitative Research in Uganda and Zimbabwe. Journal of Human Rights Practice.

Professional activities and memberships: Steering Committee Member: British Criminology Society - Policing Network