Richard Hoskins
author and criminologist
Richard Hoskins (born 1964) is an author and criminologist, with expertise in African ritual crime.
Early life
Hoskins was born in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, in February 1964, and educated at Uppingham School, at Bedford School, and at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, before a Special Short Service Commission in 3rd Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment. At the age of twenty-one Hoskins travelled to Africa intending a gap year, but stayed from 1986 until 1992.
Upon returning to Britain, Hoskins enrolled at Oxford University to read theology and took a double First, before completing a PhD at King's College London. Hoskins went on to be a senior lecturer at Bath Spa University, and a senior research fellow at King's College London. He has taught religious studies at Shebbear College in Devon.
Expert witness
Whilst working at Bath Spa University, Hoskins was called upon by the Metropolitan Police Service to work as an expert witness in the Torso in the Thames case. He has since been called as an expert witness in over a hundred criminal cases, including numerous high-profile murders, such as those of Victoria Climbié, Jodi Jones and the Eric Bikubi and Magalie Bamu case. Hoskins has been called upon to provide commentary on these cases and the related field by numerous press organisations. He is an expert on African religions.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q16195594. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1964, 1986 and 1992.
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This entry incorporates text from “Richard Hoskins” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.