Meeting with UL Law Doctoral Candidate

I met with William "Liam" Feeney at UL Law School. Liam is a Barrister and retired Garda member. Last November, I was appointed as an external reviewer for the dissertation process for Mr. Feeney. In December, I participated in the Viva Voce for Mr. Feeney.

Similar to a proposal defense in the United States, this meeting was attended by members of his doctoral committee, Dr. Shane Kilcommins, Dr. Ger Coffey, and Dr. Eimear Spain, UL Law.

What I found different in Ireland, compared to the U.S. was the role of the external reviewer. I was provided a copy of the proposal entitled: The Changing of the Guard: Transformation of An Garda Síochána between 1980 to the Present. I sought to contact the student to provide feedback but was advised not to. I was informed that the role of the external reviewer was to serve as a sort of prosecutor, while the student and committee members worked to defend the submitted research. The research focused on the application of a work by David Garland entitled The Culture of Control: Crime and Social Order in Contemporary Society (2001).

In my view, it was important that Mr. Feeney include commentary on two important reports related to policing. In the US, the 2015 Report from the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing and in Ireland, the 2018 Report on the Future of Policing in Ireland. Mr. Feeney was also guided to explore the work of Tom Tyler on Procedural Justice and

Liam is awaiting final decision on his submission and hope to have his Ph.D. awarded on late-August.

I was pleased to finally meet Liam in person, and share thoughts and experiences. It was a rewarding experience to witness the distinct differences between the dissertation process in Ireland, as compared to the US.

#UniversityofLimerickLawSchool #TheCultureofControl #DavidGarland