Bitna Kim
My name is Bitna Kim. It is always an honor and a privilege to serve the European Society of Criminology (ESC) in any capacity, but I am humbled to be nominated as a candidate for the At-Large Representative of the Society.
My education and professional career are split between my native South Korea and the United States. I earned my BA and MA in psychology at Chungbuk National University in South Korea and completed a Ph.D. in criminal justice at the College of Criminal Justice, Sam Houston State University in Texas, USA. Currently, I am a professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice and Co-Director of Center for Research in Criminology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (USA), where I have been teaching since 2008.
My research interests and activities cover a broad range of criminological topics, including 1) international/comparative issues in crime and criminal justice; 2) evidence-based policies/programs using a systematic review and meta-analysis approach; 3) multi-agency partnerships; and, 4) women and crime. My work has appeared in such diverse outlets as Deviant Behavior; Crime and Delinquency; Criminal Justice and Behavior; International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology; International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice; Asian Journal of Criminology; Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management; Policing & Society; Police Quarterly; Federal Probation; Prison Journal; Journal of Applied Security Research; Security Journal; Criminal Justice Policy Review; Journal of Crime and Justice; Journal of Criminal Justice; Journal of Criminal Justice Education; Feminist Criminology; Women & Criminal Justice; Violence and Victims; and Trauma, Violence & Abuse.
Much of my work in recent decades has involved multinational collaborations and comparative and cross-national subjects. One of my recent research streams includes an international project, ‘A systematic review and meta-analysis of income inequality and crime in European countries’, which was funded by the Korean Institute of Criminology (KIC). I have also published cross-national comparative studies, including ‘Internationality of women specialty journals: Content analysis and survey of editors’ in Asian Journal of Criminology (2018), ‘Comparative/International research on juvenile justice issues’ in Journal of Criminal Justice Education (2015), and ‘Research on women and crime: Exploring a global context between ASC and ESC annual meeting presentations’ in Feminist Criminology (2014). With my colleague, I also published results from one comparative international research project in the Society’s Newsletter, ‘An examination of international or comparative studies under the ages of the ESC’ (ESC Newsletter, 2011).
I serve as an advisor and evaluator on boards and commissions of various research funding bodies at an international level. In 2017, I was officially approved as an expert in the Crime & Justice Research Alliance (CJRA). I have presented as an expert at several international workshops and seminars across the USA, China, Thailand, Taiwan, and Korea. For example, I have given talks at the American Probation and Parole Association (2016), the Korean Association for Infant Mental Health (2015), the Korean Police Studies Association (2019), the National Crisis and Emergency Research Institute (2019), Korean Association for Crisis and Emergency Management (2018), and Thailand Institute of Justice (2018).
I have also taught internationally, including visiting posts at the Zhejiang Police College, China (2016), at Chungbuk National University, South Korea (2017), and in the Department of Police Administration at Dongguk University (2014). My graduate course International/Comparative Criminal Justice was introduced in The Criminologist, the official newsletter of the American Society of Criminology (ASC). In 2018, I was honoured for my work with the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) Outstanding Mentor Award.
My recent leadership experience in an international context includes service as Trustee-at-Large for the ACJS (2015-2018), Executive Counselor for the Division of International Crime of the ASC (2017-2019), Executive Director of the Korean Society of Criminology in America (2018-2019), and Chair for the International Division of the Korean Association for Crisis and Emergency Management (2019). I have served on several journal editorial boards, such as Criminal Justice Policy Review, International Criminology, Journal of Criminal Justice Education, Women and Criminal Justice, and Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice.
I have been an ESC member and active participant in our annual meeting since 2010.
The ESC has been an unparalleled source of collaboration, intellectual exchange, mentoring, and professional growth for me. I would be very delighted to ‘give back’ to the ESC by serving on the Executive Board. I believe a diversity of experience, backgrounds, and perspectives makes the ESC and discipline stronger, and it is critical that a global perspective be reflected in the Executive Board of the ESC. I have a demonstrated deep commitment to diversity and inclusivity. This is evident in my scholarship and my leadership activities.
If elected, I would continue the work of my predecessors in broadening participation within criminology and the ESC as an organisation, in highlighting diverse perspectives, in ensuring that we create a wide range of opportunities for engaging international scholars, graduate students and junior faculty, and in advocating for the greater inclusion of women and minorities. It is both comforting and exhilarating to know that I will do this work in collaboration with the rest of the ESC Board to continue and accelerate ESC’s upward trajectory.
I understand the hard work and dedication that are necessary to serve as an At-Large Representative, and I am fully prepared to give my time and energy to the ESC. I would appreciate the opportunity to represent you as the At-Large Representative. I thank you in advance for your consideration and your support.