British Society of Criminology Newsletter · British Society of Criminology Newsletter Number 68, ... Research at the Home Office & Ministry ... As my predecessor Tim Newburn said

British Society of Criminology Newsletter

Number 68, Summer ’11

ISSN 1759-8354

Inside

Insider Art - Charlotte Bilby

Research at the Home Office & Ministry of Justice

Announcement of the BSC Outstanding Achievement Award

Launch of new BSC women & crime network

Launch of new BSC police network

News from the society’s various sub-committees and networks

Editors

Andrew Millie

Charlotte Harris

Mike Hough

British Society

of Criminology 2-6 Cannon Street

London

EC4M 6YH

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.britsoccrim.org

Reg. Charity No. 1073145

© 2011 BSC

Insider Art Exhibition at the BSC Conference, Northumbria University 2011

Contents

Editor‟s Note 1

A letter from our outgoing President - Mike Hough 2

A letter from our incoming President - Loraine Gelsthorpe 3

Features

Crime and justice research at the Home Office & Ministry of Justice 5

Amanda White, Robert Street & Teresa Williams

Insider Art: An exhibition of offender artwork at the BSC Conference, Northumbria University 8

Charlotte Bilby

Society News

Announcement of the BSC Outstanding Achievement Award to Professor Robert Reiner 11

Launch of the BSC Women, Crime and Criminal Justice Network - Anthea Hucklesby 12

The BSC AGM 12

Launch of the BSC Policing Network - Mike Rowe 13

BSC Youth Criminology/Youth Justice Network (YC/YJN) News - Barry Goldson 14

BSC Crime & Justice Statistics Network News 14

The Academy of Social Sciences and the BSC: Making the Case for Social Sciences - Crime 15

BSC Postgraduate Committee News 15

Publications News: “Papers from the British Criminology Conference” 16

BSC Regional News

Launch of the BSC Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Group

- Emma Wincup and Stephen Farrall 17

News from the Welsh Branch of the BSC - John Minkes 18

British Society of Criminology Newsletter, No. 68, Summer 2011

1

Editor’s note Andrew Millie

As I write this the programme for the July 2011 BSC Conference at Northumbria University has just

been published. As usual there is an impressive range of topics covered and some particularly

interesting plenary and author-meets-critic sessions. The topic this year is “economies and insecurities

of crime and justice” - a particularly pertinent topic when, like the rest of the public sector, the

criminal justice system is experiencing a financial squeeze.

The financial squeeze has also clearly had an impact on universities, and budgets for conference

participation are not necessarily as generous as before. This is a problem when there are now so many

criminology conferences to choose from. If you had the stomach for it, you could be at the Irish

Criminology Conference (21-23 June), then onto the York Deviancy Conference (29 June to 1 July),

and then straight onto the BSC (3-6 July); then make sure you have enough pennies left for the

European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control at Chambéry (3-7 September), closely

followed by the ESC Conference in Vilnius (21-24 September)! Then, of course, for those with bigger

pockets, there‟s the World Congress in Japan in August, the ANZSOC in September, the ASC in

Washington in November, etc., etc.

It seems that some thought is needed over the timing, frequency and cost of some of these conferences.

Also, if so many criminological papers are being presented each year, what happens to them

afterwards? It would be beneficial if more found their way into publication. Of course, if you are

presenting a paper at the BSC this year then I would encourage you to submit your paper to the

Society‟s online journal, “Papers from the British Criminology Conference” - of more later in this

Newsletter.

For reasons that are not always clear, each year‟s BSC conference tends to produce thematic strengths

independent of the official conference theme. This year it would be possible to go through the entire

conference and see little else than sessions on sex and prostitution. Or alternatively you could focus

almost entirely on policing research. I would recommend opting for variety.

In this Newsletter we have a contribution from the Home Office and Ministry of Justice on current

crime and justice research. We also have an article by Charlotte Bilby on prisoner art and the

experience of curating an exhibition of their work for the Northumbria conference. The winner of the

BSC Outstanding Achievement Award is also announced - this year deservedly going to Professor

Robert Reiner, who will be presented with the award at the opening plenary of the conference in July.

This Newsletter is the last with Mike Hough as President of the Society. Along with everyone else, I

would like to thank him for the time and effort he has put into the Society since taking over from Tim

Newburn. He leaves the Presidency with the Society in good shape. Finally, I welcome Loraine

Gelsthorpe as our new President!

Andrew Millie, University of Glasgow, June 2011


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A letter from our Outgoing President Mike Hough, ICPR, Birkbeck College, University of London

This is my final President‟s Letter, as I shall be handing over to Loraine Gelsthorpe in a fortnight‟s

time. As my predecessor Tim Newburn said in an equivalent letter in 2008, being President of a

learned society is both an honour and a challenge. It would be disingenuous to pretend that I shall miss

all of the challenges!

Over the last three years, the Society has continued along the trajectory of improvement and reform

that was well under way before I took over as President. The new committee structure has worked

well, and the regional groups and specialist networks have continued to grow in number and scale. The

work of the Executive Committee is brilliantly supported by the Society‟s Executive Director, Dr

Charlotte Harris, and by our Office Administrator, Mandy Ross. We now have an accurate and

complete list of members - all paying by direct debit, which has reduced enormously the burden on

Society staff, and we are grateful to members for their help in managing this transition.

Some of the Executive Committee‟s work happens below the radar of many members. I am thinking in

particular of work on the forthcoming Research Excellence Framework. A REF sub-group has lobbied

HEFCE and others to recognise the salience and significance of criminology in three sub-panels -

sociology, law and social policy & social work. We encouraged the appointment of criminologists on

these sub-panels, and we are very grateful to those who agreed to be nominated by us as sub-panel

members. We were pleased with the outcome, too, with a much better representation of criminology

than in the earlier RAE panels. Let us hope that criminology reaps its due rewards from the REF in

2014.

One of the things that I have tried to do in my presidency is to improve the interface between academic

criminology and criminal policy. As I put it (rather portentously) in an earlier President‟s Letter, “A

criminology that fails to see the scope and need for ethical policy work is doomed, as is policy

research that turns its back on theory.” I have tried to foster a more pluralistic, less doctrinaire - and

consensual - understanding of the range of evidence that should properly be admitted into the policy

arena. I have also tried to improve the quality of three-way engagement between the Society and the

funding councils and government departments.

I am delighted to hand over to such an able successor as Loraine, and I am sure that the Society will

move from strength to strength. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my colleagues on the

Society‟s Executive Committee, as well as Charlotte and Mandy, for their help, support and good

natured collegiality.

Mike Hough, June 2011


3

A letter from our Incoming President Loraine Gelsthorpe, Cambridge Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge

It is on occasions like this when I am reminded of George Bernard Shaw‟s 27 page letter to a friend,

with a PS to say „Very sorry, just no time to write a postcard‟. But the invitation was to write such a

postcard...

I have had a long association with the British Society of Criminology, having first become involved

when I was a postgraduate student. I was very glad to be involved because it gave me a broad

perspective on criminology and I was able to engage with people whose work I had read. I have served

on a number of committees since the late 1980s and most recently have chaired the Ethics Committee.

Notwithstanding the creation of a European Society of Criminology and the annual exodus of many

colleagues to the American Society of Criminology conference, I think that membership of British

Society of Criminology offers a unique opportunity to engage with local and national scholars, policy-

makers and practitioners.

There have been significant developments in the BSC over the years - from the creation of a branch

structure to the move from a biennial to a yearly conference and the creation of specialist networks.

And more recently, there have been huge efforts to put the Society on a more secure and professional

footing. I am hugely grateful to my immediate predecessor Mike Hough, and to Charlotte Harris

(Executive Director) and Mandy Ross (as Office Administrator) as well as to successive members of

the Executive Committee for this. But criminology and the BSC itself face new challenges in a context

of having to further demonstrate the value of the social sciences in political and policy circles. It is also

a difficult climate in terms of job prospects. Moreover there are new challenges to get our

criminological messages over to policy-makers and practitioners. I shall hope to build on the good

work of my predecessors in this.

I shall look forward to meeting old and new friends at the BSC conference in Newcastle. In particular,

I shall hope to learn of new ideas for the future direction of the Society. My own sense is that

following success in relation to the representation of criminology within the REF panels, the BSC

needs to develop vision, visibility and voice in other ways too, so as to facilitate the impact of our

collective work and thinking.

Loraine Gelsthorpe, June 2011


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5

Crime and Justice Research at the Home

Office and Ministry of Justice

Amanda White, Home Office Science: Crime & Policing Analysis

Robert Street Home Office Crime Drugs & Alcohol Research, and Teresa Williams Ministry of Justice Analytical Services

The Home Office and the Ministry of Justice are the two government departments whose work

is most closely associated with the interests of the British Society of Criminology. The two

departments work closely together on a range of issues, and many of you work with both departments.

We are very grateful, therefore, for this chance to produce this joint article on the state of play of

research within our departments.

The demand for research and analytical evidence remains strong as we draw on the substantial

evidence base on crime and justice to inform the Coalition Government‟s policy agenda; consider the

analytical implications of greater transparency and more local accountability; and start to think about

the data and evidence we and others will need to review what has been achieved. Reviewing and

summarising existing evidence has been a central feature of our work in the past year. A particularly

prominent example, was the synthesis of evidence which MoJ analysts produced in support of the

sentencing and rehabilitation Green Paper, published in December 2010. The evidence report can be

found at www.justice.gov.uk/consultations/consultation-040311.htm.

One implication of needing to deliver within tighter resources is that our departments are applying a

more flexible approach to managing their resources. In practice, this means that, although we have

clearly published priorities and commitments in our published Departmental Business Plans, our

requirements for externally commissioned research are being developed and refreshed on a continuous

basis. We continue to commission and fund work externally, and conduct research and analysis in-

house. Examples of recently commissioned research include:

Case-file analysis study (commissioned by MoJ with HO advisory input) being undertaken by

TNS-BMRB to undertake a case-file analysis of offences that were initially investigated as serious

sexual and serious violent offences to look at the factors affecting decision-making processes and

justice outcomes

A rapid evidence review (commissioned by the HO) of the impact of increases in alcohol price on

crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour to inform decisions on changes to the price of alcohol.

Another change within the Home Office is the launch of a single “Home Office Science” organisation,

consisting of the social research groups in various parts of the Home Office together with the

economists and statisticians, and also the physical and biological scientists mainly located in the Home

Office‟s Centre for Applied Science and Technology (formerly Home Office Scientific Development

Branch.). Over the medium term, in the areas of interest to the British Society of Criminology, it is

hoped that this will make it easier to build on potential synergies across disciplinary boundaries, and

also with other areas of Home Office activity.


6

We are conscious of the need to provide as much advance notice as possible of forthcoming research

projects and are looking at ways of doing this. In the meantime, our published Departmental Business

Plans provide the themes for our research priorities:

For the Home Office there is strong continued interest in policing, drugs, and organised crime,

among other topics;

And the Ministry of Justice is focusing on the efficiency and effectiveness of the criminal justice

system and reforming how MoJ delivers its services – as well as work in support of the non-

criminal aspects of MoJ policy.

We are always keen to hear about research you may be undertaking that fits with these themes and

know that it isn‟t always easy to find the right person in a department to alert. The MoJ has set up a

dedicated research „in-box‟ ([email protected]) for this purpose, but you can also contact the

Chief Researcher in each department direct and they will pass on queries to the relevant lead - Amanda

White at the Home Office and Teresa Williams at the Ministry of Justice.

As well as responding to immediate evidence needs, both departments are actively thinking about

longer term evidence requirements over the full spending review period and beyond. Some key themes

include:

Developing our capability in data linking has been a priority and we have done some successful

experimental work to link datasets across the Criminal Justice System with each other. We have

also linked the MoJ prisoner cohort survey data with the Police National Computer to explore

patterns of reoffending.

The seeming popularity with the public of crime maps produced by the HO has highlighted a need

for us to think more about how data can be presented to wider audiences, in ways that combine

simplicity and accessibility of presentation with preserving the integrity of data and its analysis.

The implications of the government‟s intention that public services - including in criminal justice -

are formulated and delivered on a more local basis, with greater public engagement and

accountability and fewer central targets and mandates. This seems likely to result in a different and

more diverse world of policy and practice, potentially with significant local variation and

innovation in how things are done. There will be more locally initiated and delivered interventions,

their likely smaller scale posing methodological challenges particularly for assessing impact, but

also presenting some interesting opportunities for comparing and contrasting different approaches.

Alongside this, we are exploring ways of trying to collaborate in more concrete ways with

organisations like the British Society of Criminology, the ESRC, and the Nuffield Foundation, and

have recently met with those bodies to discuss a range of ways in which this collaboration might

work in practice - for example by exploring more collaborative approaches to procurement (within

the constraints of procurement law); ensuring that government departments can access the

emerging ideas and thinking from a wider range of external players; and working together to

ensure our collective investments complement rather than duplicate. We are particularly interested

in exploring the range of current and new methodological approaches that can best be applied to

the new context in which criminological research will be undertaken.

More generally we aim to strengthen our engagement with the external research community. One of

the key challenges for government researchers has always been to try and feed in the insights from the

wider world of research, in such a way that meshes with the particular policy and political demands of


7

government business. To this end, the Home Office‟s Chief Scientific Advisor, and the Director-

General of the Home Office‟s Crime & Policing policy group, have recently written to a number of

leading criminologists, asking if we might call upon their expertise to assist the department, if and

when the need arises. The response has been very positive. MoJ is similarly actively considering ways

in which it can harness external advice and thinking, building on the existing expert groups it has in

some of its policy subject areas.

We hope to broaden our level of engagement as the year develops. In the meantime, we look forward

to discussing our research agenda and related topics further in a roundtable session at this July‟s

British Society of Criminology Conference in Newcastle.

BSC Conference 2011, 3-6 July Roundtable discussion: Future Directions in Criminological Research

11.15 – 12.30 Tuesday 5th July

Participants will outline and discuss the key research priorities and issues

for the next 3-4 years, with a focus on how to develop capabilities and

collaboration between academics, policy-makers and funding bodies during

a period of reduced resources.

The roundtable discussion will include contributions from Teresa Williams,

Ministry of Justice Analytical Services, Robert Street and Amanda White,

Home Office Crime & Policing Analysis, and Mike Hough, British Society

of Criminology


8

Insider Art: An exhibition of offender artwork at the BSC Conference, Northumbria University

Charlotte Bilby Northumbria University

Each year the organisers of the BSC conference try to pull something new out of the

bag; whether it‟s an after-dinner speaker telling tales of bombing around the countryside, visiting

prisons, watching Tower Bridge open up for a boat load of criminologists to float down the Thames, or

listening to a Welsh male voice choir. This year, the team at Northumbria University are holding an art

exhibition with pieces primarily coming from prisoners housed in the North East‟s institutions. The

exhibition is affecting, beautiful and, sometimes, challenging. Gallery North, one of the University‟s

two exhibition spaces, is showing watercolours, charcoal, oils, textile art and sculptures that have all

been produced by offenders who are currently serving sentences.

Work produced by artists who are not considered to be part of mainstream artistic communities is

termed „outsider‟ art. The work is sometimes naïve and often craft based. This label is something that

can certainly be applied to the work in this exhibition, and the contradiction between being „inside‟

and producing „outsider‟ art is particularly intriguing for us. Some of the pieces illustrate sociologies

of imprisonment; this is especially true of the collection of white paper bird cages made by men from

HMP Grendon under the guidance of artist in residence Lorna Giezot. But it is also clear that the

creative processes are just as important as the topic for the artists. Expressing yourself in a creative

way, whether that‟s through painting, playing a musical instrument or taking part in drama, is part of

what it is to be human. If we aim to punish people humanely, then it‟s important that creative activities

are part of life in prisons.

Many of the art staff who worked with the artists

commented that taking part in art classes helps develop

coping and social skills, which are important in the

government‟s criminal justice „rehabilitation revolution‟

agenda. Rather than focussing on the negative creativity

that might be considered part of offending behaviour, this

exhibition outlines the positive creativity and effective

novelty that can be drawn upon in a regulated

environment. Understanding the role and impact of

enrichment activities (a shorthand for all of those

initiatives and endeavours that can be considered artistic,

creative or spiritual) within the criminal justice system is a

relatively under-researched area, but is something that is

within BSC members‟ areas of understanding and

expertise.

Curating an art exhibition is another thing entirely. As criminologists who have been involved in

prison research for a number of years, Louise Ridley and I thought that we knew how we might start to

go about getting in touch with those with responsibility for artistic activities in prisons. But, as


9

Rideout, an organisation which specialises in creative practice in the CJS, have discovered, making

sure that you get the right contact is not always easy.

We met with the Deputy Director Custody for

NOMS in the North East, who was encouraging

and said that he would support our work. And

after quite a lot of discussion, we went to HMP

Frankland to talk to the head of learning and

skills. He had heard about the possibility of the

exhibition and wanted to make sure that we

started the process before he retired! We walked

around the art rooms, met the staff from the

main prison and the Westgate Unit and some of

the prisoners who were taking part in classes.

The excitement from the staff and prisoners was

incredibly cheering.

The enthusiasm was contagious and both Louise and I would talk to anyone who would listen - and

often those who wouldn‟t listen - about what was going to happen in Gallery North. It was through one

of these discussions that Laura Caulfied at Birmingham City University, told us of the project that was

taking place at HMP Grendon, and she volunteered their work for the exhibition too. So by early

spring we had got promises of art from a number of prisons and promises of space, time, help and

support from our colleagues at Gallery North.

One of the most moving elements in the process of getting the exhibition together was a visit to

Gallery North by the art teachers from HMP Frankland. They came along one Tuesday afternoon just

before Easter to look at the empty gallery, to take photographs of the space to show the prisoners, and

talked about what the possibility of having work on display meant to the men they were working with.

We were joined by the gallery director and one of the technicians, and they proceeded to chat about

space and light, then moved onto discussions of framing and labelling, while throwing in comments

about whose work would look good in which positions. They all turned to us and asked about what the

theme would be. We didn‟t have a theme. The Koestler Trust has a theme every year – Jeremy

Paxman‟s chosen them for the 2011 exhibition is „help‟. We hadn‟t thought of one and didn‟t realise it

was the done thing. It was about this time that I rather grandiosely started to think of it all like the

Royal Academy‟s Summer Exhibition, where people submit whatever work they want. This was,

unsurprisingly, greeted with pursed lips and raised eyebrows.

The work chosen for the exhibition tells stories of art history

classes, learning how to work on portraits and still life

compositions, as well as the images of anger and repression of the

prison environment. There are a number of pieces that show the

impact of war and military destruction. Not all of the art submitted

could be displayed in the gallery, but the work has all been

photographed and during the conference it will be displayed on

screens throughout the venue.

This adventure into art curating has affected so many people; Louise and I have learnt some of the

techniques of choosing, displaying and disagreeing about work; our colleagues from the gallery have

learnt about the role of arts in prisons and the prison art staff have worked with the prisoners towards a

different goal. Each time we have spoken to a prison contact they have expressed the prisoners‟ delight


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at having their work in a gallery. The exhibition comments cards will be sent back into the prisons to

demonstrate the impact that this has had on visitors.

This exhibition may have simply started as an innovative element to the BSC conference, but will

develop into a close research and practice collaboration between the regional prisons and the

University on enrichment activities. This can only mean more exhibitions in the future.

Insider Art Exhibition

04 July 2011 - 21 July 2011

Insider Art exhibition, an exhibition of art work from prisoners, is part of the

annual conference of the British Society of Criminology, and will be

showing from 4 to 21 July 2011.

Gallery North

Squires Building

Sandyford Road

Northumbria University

Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST.

Tel: 0191 2273105

http://gn.northumbria.ac.uk/gn/exhibitions/insider_art/


11

Announcement of the BSC Outstanding Achievement Award to Professor Robert Reiner

Professor Robert Reiner is this year‟s British Society of

Criminology Outstanding Achievement Award winner. Since 1991,

Robert Reiner has been Professor of Criminology in the Law

Department, London School of Economics. He was formerly Reader in

Criminology at Bristol University and at Brunel University.

His first book, The Blue-Coated Worker (Cambridge University Press,

1978), addressed police unionization and occupational identity during

the 1970s. Robert then went on to focus on the highest-ranking British

police officers in his seminal empirical study, Chief Constables (Oxford

University Press, 1991).

Robert‟s best known work is perhaps The Politics of the Police, now in its fourth edition. His analysis

of the birth and legitimization of policing in the socioeconomic and political turmoil at the turn of the

nineteenth century has proved an indispensable guide for generations of students and researchers.

Robert‟s other books include Law and Order: An Honest Citizen’s Guide to Crime and Control (Polity

Press 2007); Policing, Popular Culture and Political Economy: Towards a Social Democratic

Criminology (Ashgate Pioneers in Contemporary Criminology Series 2011), and (as editor) (with M.

Cross) Beyond Law and Order (Macmillan, 1991), (with S. Spencer) Accountable Policing (Institute

for Public Policy Research, 1993), Policing (Dartmouth, 1996) and (with Mike Maguire and Rod

Morgan) The Oxford Handbook of Criminology (Oxford University Press, now in its 4th edition,

2007).

He has published over 100 papers on criminological topics in journals and books. In their nomination,

Robert‟s nominators - Simon Winlow of the University of York and Steve Hall, Teesside University -

praised Robert‟s long and hugely productive career. In particular:

“... we believe his contribution to criminology, and to the BSC, fully deserves this recognition.

Robert has for many years been one of the most informed and critical commentators of crime

and criminal justice. Much of his published work has addressed policing and the politics of

crime control, but he is by no means a narrow specialist. His work has spanned many

associated fields, and he has consistently displayed a willingness to engage in public debates

about crime and policing, while at the same time engaging in more abstract theoretical

discussions with his peers and continuing to communicate his passion for criminology to those

new to the field”.

He was President of the British Society of Criminology from 1993-6; Director of the LSE Mannheim

Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice 1995-8, 2009-2011; and Convenor of the LSE Law

Department 2001-4. Mike Hough, President of the British Society of Criminology, said: “Robert richly

deserves this award for his services to criminology as a discipline as well as his hugely influential

academic work, extending over his whole working life. I have always admired both the quality of his

scholarship and the warm and generous way he deals with his criminological colleagues”.


12

Launch of the BSC Women, Crime and Criminal Justice Network

The Women‟s Network of the BSC will be formally launched at the BSC Conference in July.

Membership of the network is open to anyone interested in making women visible in the criminal

justice system and within the discipline of Criminology (you do not need to be a member of the BSC).

The network has been established to:

Provide a forum for debate about issues relating to women, crime and criminal justice nationally

and internationally;

Facilitate and promote theory development and research into women, crime and criminal justice;

Engage with policy-makers and practitioners in order to inform decision-making and practice

within governmental and non-governmental organisations;

Raise awareness of issues relating to women amongst members of the British Society of

Criminology;

Encourage networking between academics, researchers, practitioners and students; and

Facilitate career advancement amongst its members.

The launch event is taking place on Tuesday 5th July at 4pm. Frances Heidensohn will be speaking on

the topic of „Women and Penal Policy: Has Feminism made a Difference?‟. The lecture will be

followed by a business meeting. Afternoon tea will be served.

Anyone interested in joining should sign up to the JISC mail list at:

www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=WCCJ.

We would like to hear from anyone interested in becoming involved with running the network. Please

contact: Anthea Hucklesby ([email protected]) with offers of help and ideas to take the

Network forward.

Anthea Hucklesby, University of Leeds

The BSC AGM

The 2011 BSC AGM will take place during the annual conference at Northumbria University on

Tuesday 5 July, 12.30-13.30 (City Campus East 024). This will be followed by a wine reception.

The Annual General Meeting is open to all members of the Society, however short or long a time ago

you joined. It is your chance to get more involved in the Society and see how it runs. The results of the

election for new Officers of the Society will be announced. Your attendance at the AGM will also save

money - it is a legal requirement that it is conducted and we have to have a certain number of members

present to make decisions about the Society and to sign off our accounts. If we don‟t get enough

members attending then we would have to hold another AGM soon after, possibly organizing a one-off

meeting which would obviously cost money that could be better spent elsewhere.


13

Launch of the BSC Policing Network

The Policing Network is a specialist network constituted under the auspices of the BSC. The Network

aims to open communication and facilitate critical reflection and exchange within and between the

academic, policy and practice communities nationally and internationally.

Academic interest in policing has expanded in terms of the volume of scholarly and policy work.

Additionally, this expansion has been informed by a broader conceptualisation of policing as a process

of governance and regulation that encompasses agencies across and beyond the criminal justice

system. The work of the Policing Network reflects these developments and provides a forum for

scholars, policy-makers and practitioners to exchange and debate contemporary issues.

Terms of Reference The core aims of the Network are to:

• Advance understanding of policing studies; and

• Provide an arena for information exchange, critical analysis and debate across the research, policy

and practice communities - nationally and internationally.

To achieve these aims the Network will engage in activities that include:

• Organising and hosting conferences, seminars and symposia;

• Disseminating information through its JISCmail list and via scholarly publications; and

• Responding to policy consultations and/or requests for information.

Launch The Policing Network will be launched at the BSC conference hosted by Northumbria University

(9.30, Tuesday 5 July, room 0.13). It is intended that formal ratification by the BSC Executive

Committee will follow.

For further information contact: Dr Mike Rowe, Department of Social Sciences, Northumbria

University, Newcastle, NE1 8ST, [email protected]

Mike Rowe, Northumbria University


14

BSC Youth Criminology/Youth Justice Network (YC/YJN) News

A successful two-day conference was held at the University of Plymouth on 2-3 June 2011. The

conference was organised by Plymouth Law School in collaboration with the Youth

Criminology/Youth Justice Network and the South West Branch of the BSC. Addressing the contested

and controversial question of „Youth Custody and Human Rights‟, keynote speakers included:

Dr Tim Bateman (University of Bedfordshire);

Professor Barry Goldson (University of Liverpool);

Nick Hardwick (HM Chief Inspector of Prisons);

Professor Kathryn Hollingsworth (University of Newcastle);

Dr Ursula Kilkelly (University College Cork);

Professor Rod Morgan (University of Bristol) and

Professor John Pitts (University of Bedforshire).

The conference brought together the academic, policy and practice communities who engaged in lively

discussion and debate throughout. Special thanks are due to Dr Patricia Gray and her colleagues at the

University of Plymouth for their excellent organization and welcoming hospitality.

Expressions of interest for hosting further YC/YJN events should be directed to Professor Barry

Goldson at [email protected].

Barry Goldson, University of Liverpool

BSC Crime & Justice Statistics Network News

A very successful conference of the Crime & Justice Statistics Network was held on 1 June at the

Home Office. Speakers were:

Rachel Walmsley, Ministry of Justice

Nigel Hawkes, Straight Statistics

Bill Hebenton, School of Law, University of Manchester

Trevor Steeples, Sentencing Council

Rob Owen, CEO, St Giles Trust

Chief Superintendent Karen Daber, Cambridgeshire Constabulary

Professor P-O Wikström, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge

Iain Bell, Ministry of Justice


15

The Academy of Social Sciences and the BSC:

Making the Case for Social Sciences - Crime

The BSC has been working for the last few months with the Academy of Social Sciences to produce a

criminology version of the AcSS‟s successful „Making the Case‟ series of booklets. The „Making the

Case‟ series is designed to showcase the policy impact of social science research. Previous editions

have focused on Wellbeing, Ageing and Sustainability, the Environment and Climate Change.

‘Making the Case - Crime’ was launched on June 29 to a packed audience of politicians, policy

officials and academics at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills conference centre at

Westminster, with an introduction by Lord McNally, Minister of State for Justice and Deputy Leader

of the House of Lords. The publication and launch of „Making the Case - Crime‟ were supported by

the British Psychological Society and SAGE publishers. The booklet will be available on both the

AcSS (www.acss.org.uk/publication.htm) and BSC websites (www.britsoccrim.org) shortly.

Contributors to the booklet included David Farrington, Jeremy Coid, Shadd Maruna, Fergus McNeill,

Stephen Reicher, Clifford Stott, John Drury, Fiona Brookman, Mike Levi, Peter Squires, Mike Hough,

Paul Turnbull, Alex Hirschfield, Andrew Millie, Jessica Jacobson, Martin Innes, Andromachi Tseloni,

Ken Pease, Amanda Robinson, Kevin Haines, Stephen Case, Jane Ireland, Colin Aitken, Graham Pike,

Nicola Brace, Richard Kemp and Tim Valentine.

BSC Postgraduate Committee News

The Postgraduate Committee has been busy with preparations for this year‟s Postgraduate Conference

that takes place before the main BSC conference in July. We have an impressive selection of

contributions from established academics as well as from PhD students. Two sessions worth

highlighting are on „getting published and getting funding‟ and on „careers for criminology graduates‟.

Further developments include plans to introduce a Facebook group ...so watch this space.


16

Publications News: “Papers from the British Criminology Conference”

The British Society of Criminology‟s online journal “Papers from the British

Criminology Conference” has been running since 1995 and is available free

online at:

www.britsoccrim.org/publications.htm#002

If you are presenting a paper at this year‟s conference at Northumbria University

we would gladly welcome submissions to the 2011 edition of the online journal.

Please send to the Editor at: [email protected]

Aims and Scope “Papers from the British Criminology Conference” is a peer-reviewed annual online journal that draws

from the best papers presented at the British Society of Criminology‟s annual conference. The journal

is international in scope, and welcomes contributions from conference participants from across the

globe. Papers can be submitted under the following three categories: 1) Plenary papers; 2) Panel

papers; and 3) Postgraduate papers.

Deadline for 2011 The deadline for submission is two months after the close of this year‟s conference, (Final deadline

Friday 9 September 2011). All submissions are peer-reviewed.

Submission Guidelines

1. Only papers presented at this year’s British Society of Criminology annual conference will be accepted. Please indicate the category of paper (plenary; panel; or postgraduate paper).

2. Papers are written in English and will not have been published already, nor will they be under consideration elsewhere.

3. All papers are reviewed anonymously by at least two referees. 4. Each paper should come with a separate cover sheet containing: the title of the paper; word count;

author's full name; affiliation; email address; institutional address; telephone and fax number; an abstract of 100-150 words; up to 5 key words; and a brief biographical note of 25-50 words.

5. Articles must be submitted electronically to the editor in Microsoft Word (or compatible format), typed in double spacing throughout, and with generous margins on all sides. All pages should be numbered. A maximum of three orders of heading can be used. The maximum length should be 6000 words, including notes and references.

6. Essential notes should be kept to a minimum. These are indicated by superscript numbers in the text, and presented at the end of the text.

7. Lengthy quotations should be kept to a minimum. If over 40 words these should be indented, with shorter quotes kept within the body of the text indicated by single quotation marks. Where possible, the page number for each quote should be indicated.

8. Tables and Figures should be clearly presented and labelled. Sources and explanatory notes should be included if appropriate. Poor quality artwork will be rejected.

9. Papers should be carefully checked for errors before submission; plus authors are responsible for the accuracy of quotations and references, and for obtaining permissions and copyright clearances if appropriate.

10. The Harvard-style referencing system is used within the text - for example, (Hughes, 2007) - with an alphabetical “References” list at the end (typed and double-spaced)

mailto:[email protected]


17

BSC Regional News

Launch of the BSC Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Group

On 11th

May 2011, approximately 30 academics and PhD students from 10 institutions attended the

inaugural meeting of the British Society of Criminology Yorkshire and Humberside Group. Hosted by

the School of Law at the University of Leeds - in the newly constructed Liberty Building, those

attending had the opportunity to listen to six papers on topics as diverse as genocide, true crime fiction

and the rights of suspects. There were also plentiful opportunities for those attending to catch up with

colleagues and meet new ones during coffee breaks and lunch.

Five of the six presentations were based upon research projects. Collectively they reminded the

audience of the interdisciplinary nature of criminology, drawing upon the disciplines of psychology,

sociology and history in particular, and the growing importance of comparative research, either

through conducting research in other jurisdictions or collaborating with academics based overseas.

They also made explicit the potential to conduct methodologically innovative research on crime and its

control. In particular, Victoria Lavis (University of Bradford) and Malcolm Cowburn (Sheffield

Hallam University) explored how they developed a participatory research project with maximum-

security prisoners, combining the technique of „Wall of Wonder‟ and Appreciative Inquiry. Linda

Asquith (University of Huddersfield) reflected upon the use of autobiography to research life after

genocide. The final paper, presented by Melissa Dearey (University of Hull) shared her experiences of

delivering a „True Crime‟ module to students and their engagement with the life writings of prisoners.

She encouraged those attending to embrace students‟ interest in crime stories they so frequently refer

to on their university application forms and compare them to academic writings on crime and

punishment.

The regional group plans to hold two one-day events each year. Those attending were asked to reflect

upon where and when the events should take place, whether there should be specific events for

particular groups such as postgraduate students. They were also asked to consider whether some events

might address learning and teaching issues or whether the regional group should offer respite from the

pressures of delivering ever-popular criminology and criminal justice degrees!

To join the regional group mailing list, please contact Lisa Burns ([email protected]).

Suggestions for future events are most welcome: please contact the co-chairs: Stephen Farrall

([email protected]) or Emma Wincup ([email protected]).

Emma Wincup, University of Leeds and Stephen Farrall, University of Sheffield


18

BSC Regional News

News from the Welsh Branch of the BSC

The Wales Branch of the BSC held seven evening seminars this year at the Universities of Glamorgan,

Cardiff, Swansea and Bangor (unfortunately our annual visit to Newport was cancelled as the speaker

had to withdraw at short notice). Speakers were:

Dr Deb Drake (Open University): The Symbolization of the „Dangerous Other‟ in Maximum-

Security Prisons

Professor Steve Tombs (Liverpool John Moores University): State Complicity in the Production of

Corporate „Crime‟

Professor Anthony Goodman (Middlesex University): Hate Crime

Dr Michael Shiner (LSE): Drugs Tourism and the Political Economy of Pleasure - this event was

combined with a book launch for „Tourism and Crime: Key Themes‟ (Goodfellow Publishing)

edited by David Botterill and Trevor Jones

Professor David Nelken (University of Macerata) and Dr Stewart Field (Cardiff University): Early

Intervention and the Cultures of Youth Justice: A Comparison of Italy and Wales

Professor Willliam Harmening (Chicago School of Professional Psychology): White-Collar Crime

and the Criminal Triad.

John Minkes (Swansea University): The 2005 South Wales E.coli Outbreak: A Case Study in

White-Collar Crime.

All the seminars went well although attendance was lower than in previous years. I‟ve canvassed

views on why this might be and it just seems that members had too many competing claims on their

time.

The book launch at Cardiff and the seminar at Bangor which was held jointly with their Social Science

Seminar series were well attended so the answer may be to try to hold more joint events of this sort in

future.

John Minkes, Swansea University

British Society of Criminology Newsletter · British Society of Criminology Newsletter Number 68, ... Research at the Home Office & Ministry ... As my predecessor Tim Newburn said

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