Ian Cummins

Biography

I qualified as a probation officer and also subsequently as a mental health social worker and ASW. The broad themes in my research - policing and mental health, poverty, race and mental health, the failure of community care policies and the impact of manageralism can be traced back to that period. In the area of social theory, I am influenced by the work of Scull, Foucault Bourdieu and Wacquant. I am seeking to apply the insights from Simon's Governing through Crime to the development of mental health services. I qualified as a probation officer and also subsequently as a mental health social worker and ASW. The broad themes in my research - policing and mental health, poverty, race and mental health, the failure of community care policies and the impact of manageralism can be traced back to that period. In the area of social theory, I am influenced by the work of Scull, Foucault Bourdieu and Wacquant. I am seeking to apply the insights from Simon's Governing through Crime to the development of mental health services.

Research Interest

My main research interests are in mental health issues in the CJS. I am currently working on a history of the policy of community care. I have completed a recent book examining social work, poverty and neo-liberalism.