University of Gothenburg
University of Gothenburg
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  4. Cecilia Hansen Löfstrand

Cecilia Hansen Löfstrand

Senior Lecturer

Department of Sociology and Work
Science
Telephone
+46 31-786 47 66
Mail
cecilia.lofstrand@socav.gu.se
Visiting address
Skanstorget 18
41122 Göteborg
Room number
G112
Postal address
Box 720
405 30 Göteborg

About Cecilia Hansen Löfstrand

Cecilia Hansen Löfstrand is associate professor of sociology. She received her PhD in sociology from the University of Gothenburg in 2005 with the dissertation The Politics of Homelessness - Local Policy and Practice (which was published by Égalité publishing house) and has been an associate professor of sociology since 2011. She has co-edited a couple of scientific anthologies, a special issue of a journal, and published a large number of scientific articles. She was director of postgraduate education at the Department of Sociology and Work Science for just over four years in 2018-2022.

Hansen Löfstrand's existing and ongoing research has two orientations. She conducts research on different forms of policing. This includes the the police authority's camera surveillance and criminal justice investigations, the private security industry's provision of policing and non-profit (civic) participation in policing. She also conducts research about the margins of welfare society. This includes both the work performance of employees and experiences of service users. Overall, her research is characterized by an interest in power, governance, social control, policing, legitimacy, the rule of law and legal certainty.

Ongoing research projects

Hansen Löfstrand leads the research project From police investigation to court verdict: mass video surveillance for criminal justice purposes (funded by the Swedish Research Council 2023-2026) This project provides knowledge about when and how recordings from surveillance cameras is used by Swedish police and courts to solve crimes. Based on observations of investigative work and interviews with police, prosecutors, lawyers, and judges, as well as observations of trials and analysis of verdicts, we produce knowledge about when and how recordings from surveillance cameras are used and made useful in the legal process. More information is available here: From Police Investigation to Court Verdict: Mass Video Surveillance for Criminal Justice Purposes | University of Gothenburg (gu.se)

Hansen Löfstrand works in the research project Video surveillance recordings and artificial intelligence in criminal investigations (funded by the Swedish Research Council 2023-2026). This project provides knowledge on how the increased use of surveillance camera recordings – together with artificial intelligence (AI) to process recordings – affects the capacity of the police to investigate and solve crimes and how the material produced is used and turned into evidence by crime investigators. In the project, we conduct observations of and interviews with investigators and image analysts employed within the police authority at local, regional, and national level. More information is available here: Video surveillance recordings and artificial intelligence in crime investigation | University of Gothenburg (gu.se)

Recently finished research projects

Hansen Löfstrand lead the research project Body-worn cameras: implications for the work environment of security guards (funded by AFA Insurance). In this project, Hansen Löfstrand and Christel Backman examined the use of body-worn cameras in the surveillance industry from a work environment perspective to contribute with knowledge about how employees perceive and use the cameras, how it affects their work environment and how companies and the industry regulate and manage camera use. More information: Body-worn cameras: implications for the work environment of private security officers | University of Gothenburg (gu.se)

Hansen Löfstrand has recently (2019-2021) participated in the project Geographies of home-based service interactions at the margins of welfare in Finland and Sweden (funded by the Academy of Finland and led by Professor Kirsi Juhila, University of Tampere, Finland). Hansen Löfstrand was responsible for the Swedish sub-study and for supervising a post-doc (Doris Lydahl). The project contribute with knowledge about implications of social contructions of place in home-based services targeting people in the margins of welfare, how employees and clients orient towards each other, and tensions between public/private, support/surveillance and inclusion/exclusion. More information: Geographies of home-based service interactions at the margins of welfare in Finland and Sweden | Tampere universities (tuni.fi)

Teaching

Hansen Löfstrand teaches courses in criminology, sociology and social psychology and has extensive experience of teaching qualitative methods. She is currently responsible for and teaches a course in qualitative analysis and conceptualization for doctoral students. Furthermore, she has extensive experience of supervision at all levels, including in postgraduate education.