Dr Mohammed Rahman
Dr Mohammed Rahman is a Senior Lecturer at Birmingham City University. His work has reached global audiences through publications, which include three books, several book chapters, and numerous peer-reviewed articles.
In 2025, he was awarded a BA Leverhulme Small Grants, serving as the Principal Investigator for a 24 month study on the intersection between terrorism and organised crime in Birmingham, UK.
In 2021/22, Mohammed was awarded the I AM BCU Researcher of the Year award.
Alongside his academic work, he maintains a wide portfolio of professional roles. Currently, he is a Network Expert Member for the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and an Advisory Panel Member for the Office of the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner.
Regularly, Mohammed disseminates his research through national and international media outlets. Previously, he has provided expert commentary for Amazon Prime, BBC, CBS, Channel 5, ITV, Times Magazine, and The Times.
Areas of Expertise
- Crime-terror nexus
- Organised crime
- Qualitative criminological research
- Social inequalities
- Urban gangs
- Youth violence
Qualifications
- Ph.D Philosophy (2014 – 2017)
- MEd Academic Practice in Higher Education
- MA Criminology
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- PgCert Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
- PgCert Research Methods
- BSc (Hons) Forensic Computing
Memberships
- Academic Fellow: DoctorateHub
- Centre for Human Rights: Birmingham City University
- Crime & Society: Birmingham City University
- Criminal Justice Centre for Advocacy, Research, and Education: Regina, Canada
Teaching
- BA Criminology
- BA Sociology and Criminology
- BSc (Hons) Psychology with Criminology
- MA Criminology
Research
Mohammed is currently working on three research projects simultaneously:
- British South-Asian organised crime: A multi-site qualitative enquiry that explores the historical, contemporary and evolving nature of serious organised crime committed by British South-Asians.
- Crime-terror nexus: A 24 month study that investigates the interplay between terrorism and organised crime in Birmingham, UK.
- Policing mis/disinformation: An overseas collaboration that explores the nature and extent of how mis/disinformation affects Muslim communities and the impact it has on broader social implications.
Postgraduate Supervision
Mohammed currently supervises the following PhD students:
- Craig Pinkney: Internet Beef: Making sense of Social Media, Gangs and Youth Violence Within West Midlands, England. (Director of Studies)
- Rio Waldock: The forgotten prisoners: The impacts off IPP sentencing on people in custody and upon release through recall provisions. (Supervisor)
He welcomes PhD proposals that focus on serious violence, criminal exploitation and organised crime.
Publications
Books
Rahman, M. & Deuchar, R. (2024) Ethics in Criminological Research. London: Routledge.
Kewley, S., Pemberton, S., & Rahman, M. (2021) Preventing Sexual Harm: Towards a Positive Criminology. London: Routledge.
Rahman, M. (2019) Homicide and Organised Crime: Ethnographic Narratives of Violence in the Criminal Underworld. London: Palgrave.
Book chapters
Faheem, A. & Rahman, M. (2024) “Never let anyone tell you that you’re not good enough”: Using Intersectionality to Reflect on Inequality in British Academia. In: A, Mahmud & M, Islam. Uncovering Islamophobia in Higher Education. London: Palgrave.
Rahman, M. (2019) Outlaw Biker Clubs: A case study exploration of collective violence. In: C, Ireland, M, Lewis, J, Ireland & A. Lopez. International Handbook on Collective Violence. London: Routledge.
Rahman, M. (2019) The price of life: The average cost of a contract killing in the UK is £15,180 In: A. Lynes and J. Treadwell. 50 Facts of Criminology. Bristol: Policy Press.
Rahman, M. (2016) The Media Impact of Online Islamophobia: An Analysis of the Woolwich Murder, In: I. Awan, (eds) Islamophobia in Cyberspace: Hate Crimes Go Viral, London: Routledge.
Journal articles
Rahman, M. (In production) A Criminological Voyage: Using the car as a place of work and technology for street level ethnographic research.
Rahman, M. & Abdulkader, M. (2022) Living Rough: The vulnerabilities of rough sleepers in Birmingham, UK, Abuse: An International Journal.
Kotzé, J., Antonopoulos, G.A. & Rahman, M. (2022) The Processes, Logics and Economies of Violence in Organised Crime, Trends in Organized Crime.
Rahman, M. & Abdulkader, M. (2021) ‘Some of them look at you like as if you’re a piece of dirt on their shoe’: The Stigma of Being a Rough Sleeper. Academia Letters, Article 2175.
Rahman, M., McLean, R., Deuchar, R., & Densley, J. (2020) Who are the enforcers? The motives and methods of muscle for hire in West Scotland and the West Midlands. Trends in Organized Crime. Springer.
Rahman, M. & Lynes, A. (2018) Ride to Die: Understanding Masculine Honour and Collective Identity in the Motorcycle Underworld. Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice.
Rahman, M. (2016) Understanding Organised Crime in Birmingham: A Case Study of the 2003 New Year Shootings. British Society of Criminology.
Awan, I. & Rahman, M. (2016) Portrayal of Muslims Following the Murders of Lee Rigby in Woolwich and Mohammed Saleem in Birmingham: A Content Analysis of UK Newspapers, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Routledge.
Brookes, M., Wilson, D., Yardley, E., Rahman, M., & Rowe, S. (2015) Faceless: High-profile murders and public recognition, Crime Media Culture, Sage.
Wilson, D. & Rahman, M. (2015) Becoming a Hitman, Howard Journal for Criminal Justice, Wiley Publications.
Media Work
Regularly, Mohammed disseminates his research through national and international media outlets. Previously, he has provided expert commentary for Amazon Prime, BBC, CBS, Channel 5, ITV, The Magazine, and The Times.
Below are some of his selected media outputs:
Ahmed, A. (2022) CPS will now be able to use drill music videos as evidence in UK courts [Commentary piece]. Available at: https://mixmag.net/read/drill-music-videos-evidence-court-uk-affiliation-criminal-charges-news
Balloo, S. (2022) Reality of homelessness as gangs and sex traffickers prey on rough sleepers [Research based]. Available at: https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/revealed-vicious-cycle-homelessness-citys-23678622
BBC (2019) Explosion fraudsters committed 'white collar' mass murder [Commentary piece]. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-46758939
BBC Sounds (2018) The Doorstep Murder. Featured in episodes 2 and 3 Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p067wdql
Brady, D. (2018) Government money to tackle organised crime ‘insufficient’ [Commentary piece]. Available at: https://www.publicfinance.co.uk/news/2018/11/government-money-tackle-organised-crime-insufficient
Dathan, M. (2024) Prevent scheme fails to tackle terrorism funded by organised crime. [Research based] Available at: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/prevent-scheme-fails-to-tackle-terrorism-funded-by-organised-crime-26fq9v2wd
Gall, C. (2018) Ex-gang members speak out on Birmingham gun crime [Commentary piece]. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-43570280
Garcia, F. (2021) The Bartender Who Became Britain's One and Only Female Contract Killer [Commentary piece]. Available at: https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkbqpg/the-bartender-who-became-britains-one-and-only-female-contract-killer
Garcia, F. (2021) The Unsolved Mystery of the Putney Pusher [Commentary piece]. Available at: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/putney-pusher-london-cctv
Herbert, T. (2018) Here are the UK’s most notorious unsolved murders [Commentary piece]. Available at: https://metro.co.uk/2018/01/01/here-are-the-uks-most-notorious-unsolved-murders-7169373/
McAlinden, M. (2018) BBC News: The Doorstep Murder. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/the_doorstep_murder_alistair_wilson
Rahman, M (2020) The enforcer: the myth and reality of organised crime’s hard man. Available at: https://theconversation.com/the-enforcer-the-myth-and-reality-of-organised-crimes-hard-man-143778
TIME (2015) Researchers Unlock the Secret Behind Successful Hitmen [Research based]. Available at: https://time.com/3891986/assassin-hitman-qualities-traits-research/
Walker, J. (2022) Targeted by criminals and abused by the public: Birmingham rough sleepers talk about life on the street [Research based]. Available at: https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/targeted-criminals-abused-public-birmingham-23678307