Featured Blog Post
Interview with Rosella Selmini
The Oral History Project interviews Rossela Selmini
Recent Blog Posts
Latest Regular Issue
Recent Issues
2023 / 1 Issue
2022 / 2 Issue
Working Group Report - European Working Group on Organisational Crime
EUROC’s last report was in early 2019 and despite the impact COVID caused in a variety of spheres, the EUROC working group did not lose its dynamics and its board continued working hard in maintaining its presence and activities in Europe and elsewhere.
Presidential Message
This year, finally we will have a real, ‘physical’ ESC conference!! If things stay as they are, we will not have to wear face-masks, we can sit together, we will flock from meeting room to meeting room. We will be able to have a beer, wine or other drink in the sultry Andalusian evenings, with friends, colleagues that we haven’t seen for much too long. The fact that this year we do not look at a two-dimensional screens and talk into cyberspace, but see each other three-dimensionally is by itself cause for joy.
ESC Executive Secretariat Annual Report 2021
In 2021, the European Society of Criminology (ESC) had 543 members, and 461 of them took place in the 21th Annual Meeting of the ESC, organized online from 8 to 10 September with the collaboration of the ESC Working Groups. Four different awards were presented during the conference. Loraine Gelsthorpe received the 2021 European Criminology Award; Janna Verbruggen, Arjan Blokland, Amanda L Robinson and Christopher D Maxwell received the European Journal of Criminology Best Article of the Year 2020 Award; Anita Lavorgna received the 2021 ESC Early Career Award; and Fergus McNeill received the 2021 ESC Book Award. Through an electronic voting, the ESC members appointed Klaus Boers as President-Elect, Barbora Hola as At-large Board member, and Uberto Gatti as Auditor. At the end of the conference, Catrien Bijleveld took office as President of the ESC, replacing Aleksandras Dobryninas until the end of the next conference.
Candidate for ESC President: Josep M. Tamarit Sumalla
I strongly believe that the ESC can play a key role stimulating and supporting researchers in all the areas of Criminology and that’s why I would feel highly honored if my colleagues gave me the opportunity to take part in this exciting common project in the front row. The Annual European Criminology Conference and the European Journal of Criminology are successful achievements that must be carefully supported, without missing the promising advances of the working groups. Beyond them, we all will need to define new challenges in order to strengthen career development, capacitation and research in those European countries in which greater difficulties are detected, due to the war, the weaknesses of democratic institutions or a low economic development. Young researchers and professionals should see in the ESC a supporting and strong resource to elaborate their projects and ambitions, thus contributing to a better future for our countries.
Canddiate for At-Large Board Membership: Ineke Haen Marshall
As a person with citizenship in the Netherlands (where I grew up) as well as in the US (where I have lived and worked since), I always have been keenly interested in the often puzzling, but always interesting tensions, contradictions and agreements between Europe (writ large) and the USA. In an essay I wrote more than 20 years ago I speculated about the similarities and differences between ‘European criminology’ and the American criminological enterprise. 1 Writing that essay was truly a pleasure, since it gave me an opportunity to critically assess my lived experiences as a US-based criminologist fully immersed in the ‘American way’ of doing criminology, against the context of my ongoing involvement in different European-based projects and experiences. Since I wrote that essay more than two decades ago a lot has changed in our discipline, not in small part due to the leadership of the European Society of Criminology in advancing the growth of methodological and theoretical knowledge through bringing scholars together from across Europe and beyond, producing a high-quality journal, organizing diverse and intellectually stimulating annual meetings, instituting awards, and sponsoring a large number of working groups. What has remained unchanged, however, is the mission of the ESC as a normative project (as past ESC-president Lesley McAra has reminded us2) which – I dare to say - distinguishes the ESC from its big sister organization ASC. I do appreciate being nominated as a candidate for this position and – if elected – I will do my very best to contribute to the continued success of the ESC as a key factor in enhancing the social impact of criminology, in Europe and beyond.
Candidate for At-Large Board Membership: Theoni Spathi
My name is Theoni Spathi and I am a criminologist/researcher, holding two bachelor degrees, one from the Department of Economics of the Athens University of Economics and Business (BA in Business Economics and Finance, 2006) where I entered with a honorary fellowship for ranking 1st in University entrance exams in the field of Economics, among all other student-applicants, and another one from the Law Faculty of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (BA in Law, 2011), where I managed to complete my studies at a period of three years. I continued my studies at a graduate level in the field of Criminology, having received two Masters of Science, one from University College London (MSc in Crime Science, 2012) and another one from the University of Leicester (MSc in Forensic Science and Criminal Justice, 2015).
Working Group Report - ESC Working Group of Juvenile Justice
Not unlike many other ESC Working Groups, Covid 19 has served to slow - but not to stop - our activities over the period 2019-22.
Working Group Report - ESC Working Group on Atrocity Crimes and Transitional Justicew
In the years 2020-2022, working group activities were naturally limited by the global pandemic. The ECACTJ group members, however, enthusiastically participated in the two online conferences hosted by the ESC during the COVID pandemic.
Working Group Report - European Historical Criminology Working Group
Before the pandemic hit we had begun planning the regular activities of the working group. We held a member survey to map their opinions of the hoped activities of the working group. The main takeaways were a regular newsletter with a publication list and a regular event for historical criminologists with moving institution responsibility. However, the pandemic effectively grinded our new activities to a halt so we are back at the drawing board.
Working Group Report - ESC Working Group on Immigration, Crime, and Citizenship
Scholarly explorations on the interlinking of immigration, crime, and punishment, elaborated from a wide variety of disciplinary perspectives, have proliferated across Europe in recent years. They have portrayed the marked diversity of human mobility phenomena in the old continent, as well as the varied ways in which they interact with crime phenomena and are tackled by punitive strategies. In this framework, despite (or thanks to) the possibility of organizing only on-line academic activities during this last two years, the Working Group (WG) on Immigration, Crime, and Citizenship has consolidated a flourishing academic community, being a critical site for academic collaboration.
Is Spain a socially exclusionary country for criminal offenders?
Social exclusion as an effect of criminal policy has not been questioned in academic debates, although they mostly focus on punitiveness as an essential feature of contemporary criminal policy. However, the use of this guiding criterion in the study of comparative criminal policy shows a set of theoretical and methodological flaws (Díez-Ripollés, 2011 and 2013).
2021 / 3 Issue
ESC Early Career Award Acceptance Speech
To be awarded the ESC Early Career Award has been a true honour, not only for the academic recognition of my work, but also because this award came at a time when I was wondering (and, at times, wandering) about how to position my work within criminology, with some of my more recent research projects and publications evolving into interdisciplinary scholarship and finding a ‘home’ within and beyond criminology – and with some struggles, as they were at times considered by reviewers to be too in between disciplines. As such, there is a sense of relief in being reminded that I belong to my primary academic community, the one that has welcomed me since the early days of my PhD studies.
COVID-19, Crime and Law Enforcement
As I am writing this piece, COVID-19 cases are again on the rise. While the past week saw approximately three million newly reported cases globally, two thirds of these were in Europe. Governments respond differently, some impose lockdowns, some attempt to shield the non-vaccinated, some are announcing new measures if trends are not bucked soon.
Professor Loraine Gelsthorpe
Professor Loraine Gelsthorpe has been a member of the ESC since 2002 and initiated the ESC Working Group on Gender, Crime and Justice in 2010. She has co-chaired that Group ever since, organising panels at each ESC annual conference and mentoring early career colleagues, throughout each year, tirelessly providing support and feedback on their work and strengthening cooperation and networks among European scholars. The esteem in which her scholarship and leadership is held, was evidenced through her election as President of the British Society of Criminology (2011-2015).
Call for Applications - Newsletter Editor
The ESC invites applications for a new editor of Criminology in Europe, the Newsletter of the ESC, to begin in January 2023.
EUROC Working Group Report
The Corruption risk, risk of Corruption? Distinguishing criteria between petty and high-ranking corruption project workshop—on online platform—was held on 22–23 March.1 The kick-off meeting analyzed the definition, forms, measuring, actors, and language of corruption. The workshop brought together experts from Portugal, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Poland to support and promote the successful implementation of the project with their expertise. The professional presentations showed the issues related to corruption, the unanswered questions, as well as the hopeful issues for the successful implementation of these projects. The lectures were followed by a long and vivid discourse.
2021 / 2 Issue
Candidate for ESC President: Klaus Boers
My research interests are still in life-course criminology, integrative theoretical models, economic crime, social control and attitudes toward crime and sanctioning. My understanding of criminological work is analytical, undertaking theory-guided empirical investigations. Since I attended an ESC meeting for the first time (in Krakow in 2005), the annual meetings and the broad spectrum of working groups with its vivid discussions have marked for me the most important forum of criminological discourse.
Candidate for At-Large Board Membership: Marie Torstensson Levander
I am honored to be nominated for the role as At-large board member of the European Society of Criminology and, if elected, I would consider it a great privilege to serve the European criminology community.
Executive Secretary Annual Report 2020
In 2020, the European Society of Criminology (ESC) had 1036 members, and 582 of them took part in the 20th Annual Meeting of the ESC, organised online on 10 and 11 September in collaboration with the ESC Working Groups. Six different awards were presented during the conference. Michael Hough received the 2020 European Criminology Award; Rok Hacin received the 2020 ESC Young Criminologist Award; Steve van de Weijer, Rutger Leukfeldt, and Wim Bernasco received the European Journal of Criminology Best Article of the Year 2019 Award; Wim Hardyns received the 2020 ESC Early Career Award; Martin Killias and David J. Smith received the 2020 Distinguished Services to the ESC Award; and Dirk van Zyl Smit and Catherine Appleton received the 2020 ESC Book Award. Through an electronic vote, the ESC members appointed Catrien Bijleveld as President-Elect, Fernando Miró-Llinares as At-Large Board Member, and Daniel Fink as Auditor. At the end of the conference, Aleksandras Dobryninas took office as President of the ESC, replacing Lesley McAra until the end of the next conference.
Obituary: Martti Lehti
The Finnish criminologist Martti Lehti passed away on 18 April 2021, after a short illness, at the age of 58.
Obituary: Thomas Mathiesen
Thomas Mathiesen, a key figure in the development of criminology and sociology of law, passed away this summer.
Presidential Message: Criminological knowledge: between academic truths, political interests and popular feelings
COVID-19 is still the most turbulent issue in the life of our societies, and one can easily predict the growing number of criminological research projects and publications connected with pandemic themes. Soon, we can expect new exciting data on the crime trends during the pandemic and post-pandemic periods, as well as new theoretical insights on crime in new bio- and infotechnological societies. However, I would like to take the current pandemic situation as a counterpoint for a slightly different theme – the nature and role of criminological knowledge in society.
2021 / 1 Issue
Mike Hough
Criminology of the Damned Questions
While the pandemic threat and lockdown policy have a lot of negative consequences and make our life unpredictable, unsafe, vulnerable and upset, in the current situation one can observe at least some positive impact – the compulsory isolation became not only a reliable remedy against the spread of disease but also a proper stimulus for philosophical inquiries and existential reflections.
ESC Newsletter Renewed
After careful deliberations, the ESC Board has decided last year to abandon the print version of the Newsletter. The decision offered the opportunity to have a fresh look at the Newsletter. Here is what has changed.
Executive Secretary Annual Report 2019
In 2019, the European Society of Criminology (ESC) reached new all-time records in terms of membership and participants to its annual conference. The number of members reached 1386, and 1433 criminologists attended the 19th Annual Meeting of the ESC, which took place in Ghent, Belgium, from 18 to 21 September 2019. During the conference, Tapio Lappi-Seppälä received the 2019 European Criminology Award, Kjersti Lohne the 2019 ESC Young Criminologist Award, and Maria Libak Pedersen the European Journal of Criminology Best Article of the Year 2018 Award. Six fellowships to attend the conference were awarded to young criminologists from Eastern Europe. The General Assembly elected Aleksandras Dobryninas as President-Elect, Olga Petintseva as At-large Board member, and Uberto Gatti as Auditor. The day following the General Assembly, Lesley McAra took office as President of the ESC, replacing Tom Vander Beken until the end of the next conference.
On Accepting the 2020 ESC Criminology Award
What I would like to do is to reflect on the changes that have occurred in the policy environment for criminal justice over the last 25 years. It is a game of two halves – I’ll start with an angry rant about the retreat from rationality and liberal values in countries seduced by right wing populism. After half time, I shall sketch out what I see as viable responses to this for criminologists keen to help shape policy. Inevitably, I will talk about the justice system I know best, covering England and Wales, but my analysis is, I hope, applicable more broadly across Europe.
2020 / 2 Issue
Criminology in a Time of Pandemic
This is my last Presidential message at the end of what has proved a tumultuous year. The global pandemic has impacted almost every facet of our lives, and is likely to have far reaching consequences for education and research. In this message I am going to offer some reflections on the past twenty years of the ESC, and the challenges which the global pandemic currently poses for theory and method within criminology. The message will conclude with some thoughts about the implications of these challenges for the future of criminology as both an applied and theoretically informed field of enquiry.
Candidate for At-Large Board Membership: Fernando Miro
Given the proposal made for my nomination, and with the essential spirit of learning much more about criminology in Europe and to contribute my experience to what is required, I have decided to accept and apply to become a member of the ESC Board. If I am elected, I will work hard to promote the essential work of the ESC and to continue to advance towards their goals.
Candidate for ESC President: Catrien Bijleveld
I am a firm believer in and supporter of European criminology, and consider it a great and important achievement that we have this society and our European journal that is so widely read and highly ranked. The European conferences have grown immensely, not only quantitatively but also qualitatively, and are now at least as varied and interesting as the conferences we flock to across the pond, such as the ASC. It is very important that the European society is inclusive for all Europe, and for junior as well as senior researchers, and for that it is vital that young researchers assume prominent roles and tasks in our society and the journal, and that the society’s conferences are well accessible for researchers from less affluent European countries.’
2019 / 1 Issue