Anton Roberts

I am a social policy researcher and lecturer at the Policy Evaluation and Research Unit (PERU) here at MMU - working mostly in the area of criminology, on projects involving youth crime, offending, mental health in the prison system, and explore secondary harms in frontline professions. My PhD looked into hypermasculinity i.e. extreme gender presentations in different populations such as the military, far-right groups and the prison estate, with a particular focus on rough sleeping. The main thread to my work centres around male violence - unpacking the complex sociological drivers of those behaviours and presentations.

My latest publications include:

Bannister J, Monsuru, A. & Roberts, A. (2026).
The Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit 2019 – 2023: A system change evaluation.

Roberts, A. (2026). ‘The UK spends millions on services for people experiencing homelessness. Housing them could make more economic sense’. The Conversation.
Available at: https://quantum-pulse.news/the-uk-spends-millions-on-services-for-people-experiencing-homelessness-housing-them-could-make-more-economic-sense-272569%3C/p%3E

Roberts, A. and Waugh, C. (2026) ‘“Not Everything is an RCT”: A zemiological analysis of researcher social harms’,
Critical Criminology. Available at:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10612-025-09868-7 (Accessed: 8 January 2026).

Wong, K. Kinsella, R. Roberts, A, Pollitt, S. Gasper, C. Spruce, D. (2025) 'The Back on Track Cafe: Foodways, co-production, and affective community Space', in Parson, J and Wong, K (eds) The Role of Food in Resettlement and Rehabilitation.London. Routledge.

Massey, J. and Roberts, A. (2025). ‘Homelessness as State harm: a critical policy review’. Journal of Justice Power and Resistance. pp. 1-18. 

Szifris, K. Roberts, A. Maruna, S. Fox, C. (2025). Exploring the theoretical foundations of cognitive behavioural therapy in the criminal justice system. Howard Journal of Crime and Justice.

O'Leary, Coren, Roberts and Armitage. (2025). The effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for reducing problematic substance use, mental ill health, and housing instability in people experiencing homelessness in high income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Campbell Systematic Review. 

Roberts, A. (2024). Meeting the Challenge of Complex Need in the Homelessness Sector. Service Guide in Collaboration with Lifeshare.

Roberts, A. Stranger Things (2024). The Psychgeist of Pop Culture. Play Story Press

Smith A, Roberts A, Krzemieniewska‐Nandwani K, et al. (2024). Revisiting the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioural therapy for reducing reoffending in the criminal justice system: Campbell Systematic Reviews.

Wong K, Larner S, Bailey G, Osman S, Roberts A, Meadow, L. (2024). Exploring the Production and Utilisation of Pre-sentence Reports (PSRs) in the Youth Justice System. Ipsos UK.