He obtained a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of British Columbia (1998) and was previously visiting professor at the Centre of Criminology, University of Toronto (2006). In addition to sanctuary, his research interests include immigration and refugee policies, surveillance practices and urban governance and security arrangements. He recently published the book Sanctuary, Sovereignty, Sacrifice: Canadian Sanctuary Incidents, Power and Law (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2006) based on intensive empirical research and is currently co-editing a collection called Eyes Everywhere (with David Lyon and Aaron Doyle) on the global growth of camera surveillance.