Dr Moses Agaawena Amagnya

Moses Agaawena Amagnya is a Senior Lecturer in Criminal Justice and Programme Leader for Criminal Investigation and Policing Studies at De Montfort University in Leicester, United Kingdom. He holds a PhD in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Griffith University in Australia. Prior to completing his PhD, Moses had completed a Master of Philosophy degree in Criminology from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Law and Sociology from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana. Moses also holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Higher and Professional Education from Staffordshire University in the United Kingdom.

Within the past few years, Moses has worked as a university lecturer, an associate lecturer, and a university research assistant. During this period, he has provided lectures and coordinated and convened large undergraduate and postgraduate programs in policing, criminology, and sociology. Moses has also been a banker. He has successfully attracted different scholarships, grants, recognition and awards in the United Kingdom, Ghana, and Australia; including the prestigious British Commonwealth Scholarships and Australian Postgraduate Awards.

Moses’ research interests include corruption and accountability, policing, criminal prosecution by police officers, procedural justice, legitimacy, disproportionality in criminal justice systems and/or institutions, and counterterrorism. Specifically, his current research has been exploring corruption in criminal justice systems and institutions, which can go a long way to influence compliance and/or ensure equitable delivery of justice in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 16: Promoting just, peaceful and inclusive societies.

Institute for Research in Criminology and Community and Social Justice
Centre for Law, Justice and Society

Journal Articles

• Akinlabi, O. M., Amagnya, M. A., & Bello, P. O. (2025). Assessing legal socialisation in a youth sample: Procedural justice, legitimacy, and popular discontent in Nigeria. Crime, Law and Social Change, 83(21). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-025-10205-w
• Amagnya, M. A., & Karstedt, S. (2025). A matter of facts: Officers’ belief systems about corruption in Ghana’s police and criminal justice system. International Criminology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43576-025-00156-6
• Amagnya, M. A. (2024). Mapping corruption hotspots in Ghana’s criminal justice system and processes. Africa Journal of Crime and Justice, 2(1), 1-23. doi.org/10.47348/AJCJ/2023/a1
• Amagnya, M. A., Akinlabi, O. M., & Bello, P. O. (2024). Police officers’ assessments of factors that contribute to police corruption in Ghana. Policing: An International Journal, 48(1), 98-117. doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-04-2024-0061
• Amagnya, M. A. (2024). Rural-urban dynamics of police corruption: Views of Ghanaian police officers. International Criminology, 4(2), 207-221. doi.org/10.1007/s43576-024-00130-8
• Amagnya, M. A. (2024). The relationship between the media and corruption: Perspectives of Ghanaian justice and anti-corruption officials. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 44(7/8), 689-705. doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-02-2024-0082.
• Amagnya, M. A. (2024). The Whiteman and gifts: Underlying concepts influencing Ghanaian officials’ explanation of corruption. Criminology and Criminal Justice. doi.org/10.1177/17488958241239789.
• Amagnya, M. A. (2024). Akinlabi, O. M.: Police-Citizen Relations in Nigeria—Procedural Justice, Legitimacy, and Law-Abiding Behaviour, Springer, 2022, 251 pp., ISBN: 978-3-030-92918-3. International Criminology, 4(1), 120-122. doi.org/10.1007/s43576-024-00112-w.
• Akuu, J. A., & Amagnya, M. A. (2023). Community-based management of acute malnutrition: Implementation quality, and staff and user satisfaction with services. Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, 18(5), 988-996. doi.org/10.1016/j.jtumed.2023.02.002.
• Amagnya, M. A. (2022). Police officers’ support for corruption: Examining the impact of police culture. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, 46(1), 84-99. doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-06-2022-0085.
• Amagnya, M. A. (2022). The unintended consequences of anti-corruption measures: Regulating judicial conduct in Ghana. Crime, Law, and Social Change, 79, 153-174. doi.org/10.1007/s10611-022-10039-w.
• Amagnya, M. A. (2022). Due process in police-led prosecutions: Views of Ghanaian police prosecutors. International Journal of Police Science and Management, 24(4), 369-381. doi.org/10.1177/14613557221089562.
• Amagnya, M. A. (2019). Factors affecting education in the Builsa District of Northern Ghana. Africa Education Review, 17(2), 104-121. doi.org/10.1080/18146627.2018.1530571.
• Tankebe, J., Boakye, K. B., & Amagnya, M. A. (2019). Traffic violations and cooperative intentions among drivers: The role of corruption and fairness. Policing and Society, 30(9), 1081-1096. doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2019.1636795.

Book Chapters

• Amagnya, M. A. (2024). ‘Corruption in Ghana’s justice system in the eyes of police officers’ In Stamatakis, N, (Ed.) ‘Global trends in law enforcement – Theory and practice’. London: IntechOpen (pp. 69-90). doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.1003026.
• Amagnya, M. A. (2023). ‘Challenges of police prosecutions in the Global South: Perspectives of police prosecutors in Ghana’ In Watson, D., Amin, S., Wallace, W. C., Akinlabi, O.M., & Ruiz-Vasquez, J. C. (Eds.) ‘Policing the Global South: Colonial legacies, pluralities, partnerships, and reform’. Abingdon: Routledge (pp. 194-210).
• Amagnya, M. A. (2023). ‘Patterns and prevalence of corruption in Ghana’s criminal justice system: Voices from within’ In Akinlabi, O.M. (Ed.) ‘Policing and the rule of law in Sub-Saharan Africa’. Abingdon: Routledge (pp. 9–30).
• Amagnya, M. A. & Akinlabi O. M. (2023). ‘Can we truly find a solution to Ghana’s corruption problem? Assessing the fight against corruption and the effectiveness of the Office of the Special Prosecutor’ In Akinlabi, O.M. (Ed.) ‘Policing and the rule of law in Sub-Saharan Africa’. Abingdon: Routledge (pp. 70–88).
• Mashumba, L., Amagnya, M. A., & Akinlabi, O. M. (2023). ‘“Very organised and hard for us to detect”: Challenges of policing male sex work in Botswana’ In Akinlabi, O.M. (Ed.) ‘Policing and the rule of law in Sub-Saharan Africa’. Abingdon: Routledge (pp. 91–109).

Academic Conference and Workshop Presentations

• Amagnya, M. A. (2024). Police officers’ perceptions and assessment of corruption in the Ghana Police Service. Paper presented at the British Society of Criminology (BSC) Conference, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK, July 10-12.
• Amagnya, M. A. (2023). Police officers’ support for corruption: An exploration of Ghanaian police officers’ views. Paper presented at the British Society of Criminology (BSC) Conference, University of Central Lancaster, Preston, UK, June 28-30.
• Amagnya, M. A. (2022). Unintended consequences of anti-corruption measures in Ghana: Regulating judicial conduct. Paper presented at the Centre for Crime, Justice and Security Launch, The Catalyst Building, Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent, UK, April 6.
• Amagnya, M. A. (2019). Causes of criminal justice corruption in Ghana: An exploration of multiple stakeholders’ perspectives. Paper presented at the 75th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology (ASC), Marriot Marquis, San Francisco, USA, November 13-16.
• Amagnya, M. A. (2018). Corruption in the criminal justice system of Ghana: Perspectives of criminal justice officials. Paper presented at the 31st Annual Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology (ANZSOC) Conference, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, December 4-7.
• Amagnya, M. A. (2018). Corruption in a criminal justice system of a developing democracy: Perspectives of Ghanaian criminal justice officials. 2018 Griffith University Three Minutes Thesis Competition Heat (Arts Education and Law) and Finals, July 31 and September 13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk6WnV_2CeM
• Amagnya, M. A. (2017). Criminal prosecution in Ghana's justice system: The role of police prosecutors. Paper presented at the Criminological and Victimological Society of Southern Africa (CRIMSA) Biennial Conference, Indaba Hotel Spa and Conference Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa, August 2-4.
• Amagnya M. A. (2011). Understanding police prosecutions in Ghana: Perspectives of police prosecutors. Paper presented at the Institute of Criminology Cross-Cultural Workshop on Crime and Violence, University of Cambridge, June 15.
• Other Research Output (Thesis/Dissertation)
• Amagnya, M. A. (2022). Supporting first-generation higher education students in an online teaching and learning environment: Views of lecturers and other staff. Dissertation (PgCert), Staffordshire University, UK.
• Amagnya, M. A. (2020). Understanding criminal justice corruption in Ghana: Voices from Within. Thesis (PhD), Griffith University, Australia. https://doi.org/10.25904/1912/3954.
• Amagnya, M. A. (2011). An assessment of the criminal justice system of Ghana: Perspectives of police prosecutors. Dissertation (MPhil), University of Cambridge, UK.
• Amagnya, M. A. (2005). Factors affecting education in the Builsa District of the Upper East Region: A case study of Chuchuliga. Dissertation (BA with Honours), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana.

• Corruption and accountability,
• Policing and social control, especially in the Global South
• Criminal prosecution by police officers,
• Procedural justice,
• Legitimacy of criminal justice systems and/or institutions,
• Disproportionality in criminal justice systems and/or institutions
• Trust and Confidence in Criminal Justice Systems
• Under-representation of ethnic minorities in criminal justice institutions
• Counter terrorism

• Policing
• Criminology
• Sociology
• Multi-Agency Working
• Research Methods

• PhD (Criminology and Criminal Justice)
• MPhil (Criminology)
• Postgraduate Certificate (Higher and Professional Education)
• Bachelor of Arts with Honours (Law and Sociology) 

Multi-Agency Working and International Perspectives; Research Methods, Research and Ethics, PCDA and DHEP modules, Criminology Skills, Statistics for Social Research, Doing Criminology, Sociology of Crime, Understanding Social Problems, Homicide, Crime Analysis and Investigation, Situational Crime Prevention and Security Management, and Law, Government and Policy 

2024 to Date: Fellow (United Nations SDG Hub)
De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom

2024 to Date: Associate Member (Social Sciences Research and Innovation Institute)
De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom

2023 to Date: Member (British Society of Criminology)

2022 to Date: Fellow (Teaching, Learning and Assessing)
Staff and Educational Development Association, United Kingdom

2022 to Date: Fellow (Higher Education Academy)
Advanced Higher Education Academy, York, United Kingdom

2020 to Date: Fellow (Keele Policing Academic Collaboration)
Keele University, Newcastle, United Kingdom

2017 to Date: Fellow (African Institute for Crime, Policy and Governance Research)

• Amagnya, M. A. (2024). Police officers’ perceptions and assessment of corruption in the Ghana Police Service. Paper presented at the British Society of Criminology (BSC) Conference, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK, July 10-12.
• Amagnya, M. A. (2023). Police officers’ support for corruption: An exploration of Ghanaian police officers’ views. Paper presented at the British Society of Criminology (BSC) Conference, University of Central Lancaster, Preston, UK, June 28-30.
• Amagnya, M. A. (2022). Unintended consequences of anti-corruption measures in Ghana: Regulating judicial conduct. Paper presented at the Centre for Crime, Justice and Security Launch, The Catalyst Building, Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent, UK, April 6.
• Amagnya, M. A. (2019). Causes of criminal justice corruption in Ghana: An exploration of multiple stakeholders’ perspectives. Paper presented at the 75th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology (ASC), Marriot Marquis, San Francisco, USA, November 13-16.
• Amagnya, M. A. (2018). Corruption in the criminal justice system of Ghana: Perspectives of criminal justice officials. Paper presented at the 31st Annual Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology (ANZSOC) Conference, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, December 4-7.
• Amagnya, M. A. (2018). Corruption in a criminal justice system of a developing democracy: Perspectives of Ghanaian criminal justice officials. 2018 Griffith University Three Minutes Thesis Competition Heat (Arts Education and Law) and Finals, July 31 and September 13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk6WnV_2CeM
• Amagnya, M. A. (2017). Criminal prosecution in Ghana's justice system: The role of police prosecutors. Paper presented at the Criminological and Victimological Society of Southern Africa (CRIMSA) Biennial Conference, Indaba Hotel Spa and Conference Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa, August 2-4.
• Amagnya M. A. (2011). Understanding police prosecutions in Ghana: Perspectives of police prosecutors. Paper presented at the Institute of Criminology Cross-Cultural Workshop on Crime and Violence, University of Cambridge, June 15.

2024: Prepared a country expert report (Botswana) on Human Trafficking for the Immigration and Asylum Chamber (First Tier Tribunal) contracted by Broudie Jackson Canter 

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8852-820X