Bevis McNeil

Bevis' current research, found in the criminology textbook Mental Health, Crime and the Impact of Criminal Justice on the Vulnerable (McNeil et al, 2024, Palgrave Macmillan), which he spearheaded and co-authored with John Gregson, Maria De Angelis and Anthony Drummond, addresses a variety of key issues surrounding mental health and the criminalization of certain individuals, groups and communities by the Criminal Justice System and the impact this can have on their mental health. It challenges the assumption that people with mental health problems are in some way a risk or danger to society (and themselves) and therefore have a greater propensity for committing crimes, when in reality they are more likely to become the victims of crime. His research argues that the misguided correlations drawn between mental health and crime, as perpetuated by the media, policy makers, clinicians, agents and agencies of the criminal justice system, and ultimately the public, lead to the criminalization of the vulnerable. Furthermore, the criminalization, stigmatization, stereotyping, labelling and discrimination endured by people with mental health problems has a devastating effect on their mental health and well-being, and has negative consequences for society as a whole. Specific areas of research interest include: the complex relationship between mental health, crime and stigma; Foucault's critique of the disciplinary prison environment and the global crisis of deteriorating mental health in prisoners; and the innovations and challenges of the prison and probation services, including the socially progressive Nordic approach to imprisonment.

Bevis' research is also interested in existential philosophy, and in his monograph Nietzsche and Eternal Recurrence (McNeil 2020, Palgrave MacMillan) he attempts to answer some of the fundamental existential questions, such as: What does it mean to be an authentic human being? Why do human beings suffer, often meaninglessly? Does a life imbued with meaning and purpose lead to fulfilling life? Why is our relationship with our temporality such a perplexing one? How do we cultivate the creative, artistic and intellectual capabilities of ourselves, and to what end? Bevis' research in this area has led him to explore related areas and themes, such as: Virtue Ethics; Moral Philosophy; Green Criminology; and the epistemological and ontological threat of AI to the authentic human self.