What does it mean to police the night — and how does race shape who gets in, who gets excluded, and who decides? In this episode, Dr. Omar Phoenix Khan speaks with Dr. Nikhaela Wicks, Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Kent, about her ethnographic research on the night-time economy in the South of England.
Based on a year of fieldwork with police officers, nightclub door staff, and others working in nightlife, Dr. Wicks shows how racial boundaries are drawn and enforced in spaces that are supposed to be about leisure and celebration. From discriminatory door policies to the paradox of Black consumers being both “wanted” for their cultural presence and “unwanted” as perceived risks, her research unpacks how racism plays out in subtle and not-so-subtle ways after dark.
The discussion also turns to criminology as a discipline, where Dr. Wicks argues that race and racism are still treated as “blind spots.” She reflects on the whiteness of criminology teaching and curricula, and shares how students and educators are pushing for a more inclusive and critical future.
This conversation will interest anyone curious about nightlife, policing, race, or the future of criminology itself.
Read Dr. Wicks’ work here:
Wicks, N. (2022). “You Wanna Come to the ‘Urban’ Night Tomorrow… It’s the Wrong Night Tonight”: Black Consumers as both “wanted” and “unwanted” in the night time economy. Conflict and Society, 8, 20–37. https://doi.org/10.3167/arcs.2022.080102
Wicks, N. (2023). “Why is my Criminology Curriculum Still so White? ‘Race’ and racism as ‘Blind Spots’ in UK Criminology Teaching and Student Recommendations for the Future”. Journal of Criminal Justice Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511253.2022.2158205
Dr. Wicks’ 1st book, 'Policing Race and Nightlife' is out in May 2026, available here: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/policing-race-in-the-night-time-economy
Music by Shez Manzoor
