Professor of Criminology & Social Work at the University of Glasgow. Prior to becoming an academic in 1998, Fergus worked for a number of years in residential drug rehabilitation and as a criminal justice social worker. His research interests and publications have addressed a range of criminal justice issues including sentencing, community sanctions, ex-offender reintegration and youth justice. His previous books include 'Reducing Reoffending: Social Work and Community Justice in Scotland' (with Bill Whyte, published by Willan, 2007) and ‘Youth Offending and Youth Justice’ (with Monica Barry, published by Jessica Kingsley, 2009). He is currently co-editing (with Peter Raynor and Chris Trotter) a major international collection on ‘Offender Supervision: New Directions in Theory, Research and Practice’ which is due for publication by Willan in late 2010.