 Born in Woolwich, he gained his BSc in sociology, London School of Economics in 1969; PhD in juvenile delinquency and secondary education, University of Durham, 1974 and has been Visiting Professor of public policy at the University of North London since 1995.He taught at University of Warwick then as Head of Department of applied social studies at Polytechnic of North London.He taught, researched and wrote about inner city social policy and community development.