Welcome to the British Society of Criminology
BSC Presidential Message
A new academic year has dawned unlike one any of us have experienced before. The challenges facing us all right now demand imagination, innovation and good humour, and as a Society I know we have volumes of all three, so best wishes to you all for the coming year.
Of course, our events and activities face some of these same challenges. Many of you will be aware (with the support of Emerald Publishing and members of the BSC Executive) we ran a number of successful events in lieu of the annual conference in July 2020. You will all also be aware that many learned societies have already expressed their intention to run online events for 2021. This is by way of advanced notification that the BSC will also be running a virtual conference in summer 2021.
There many gains to be had in committing to a virtual event with the right platform and the right speakers, and together with the right kind of support, virtual events can be satisfying and rewarding. They are increasingly an essential part of our toolkit in exploring fresh ideas, revisiting old ones, and generally connecting with each other even if we might be in our own homes/offices. Importantly they can also be fun!
Right now the BSC Executive is exploring the right platform and partners for the delivery of the conference and whilst there will be some cost involved in organising and delivering this, the different format will ensure that this is likely to be the most inclusive conference the BSC has run. Bring your own coffee!
So the conference will be going ahead in the summer. Calls for papers/posters/videos will go out early in the New Year and in this format we shall surely reach local and global audiences worthy of the work done under the auspices of the British Society of Criminology. I hope you’re ready for it!
Sandra Walklate, BSC President
The British Society of Criminology aims to further the interests and knowledge of both academic and professional people who are engaged in any aspect of work or teaching, research or public education about crime, criminal behaviour and the criminal justice systems in the United Kingdom. The Society has been in existence for nearly 60 years and has a wide-ranging membership based here and overseas.
Global Injustice – Beyond the Conference 2020
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we were forced to cancel our 2020 conference which would have been hosted by The University of Liverpool. This decision meant delegates missed the chance to network with their peers and present their research. In recognition of these lost opportunities we offered some alternative ways of engaging. Follow the link to the landing page for link to events, podcasts, video and more.
The BSC Annual Conference 2019 was in Lincoln. An innovation at the conference was a series of vodcasts which were were recorded to capture the voices of the delegates. Watch the whole series here.
Latest article
Effective participation in criminal proceedings: principle and practice, by Jessica Jacobson, Professor of Criminal Justice at the Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research. Here she discusses the impact of COVID on developing and implementing a principled approach to supporting participation within court settings. Also available as part of this blog is a free download of her associated book which was recently published by Bristol University Press.
BSC Blog of the Year Award – 2020
Who will win the ‘Blog of the Year Award 2020’ for the best article published on our Blog during this calendar year?
https://thebscblog.wordpress.com/
If you want to submit an article for the blog, please contact us on info@britsoccrim.org
Please explore our site to find information about the Society and its regional and network activities, links to other events, calls for papers, research (including, QAA benchmarks, ethical statement and websites of potential use to criminologists), and a jobs board of current vacancies in criminology.
Membership
If you are interested in becoming a member, you can apply from the Membership page. Membership includes a personal subscription to the Society’s official journal Criminology & Criminal Justice and, for most categories of membership, subscription to The British Journal of Criminology.
BSC Members Book Draw
October 2020
This month the book draw is for a copy of: A History of the Assessment of Sex Offenders, by D. Richard Laws.
Our thanks go to Emerald Publishing. To enter the book prize draw, please email info@britsoccrim.org with ‘Prize Draw: October’ in the subject line. The closing date is October 31, 2020. The draw will be made November 2, 2020. All entries are checked as being BSC members and then drawn randomly. We only contact the winner directly. Notice of the winner will be made in the BSC bulletin, the website and on Twitter.
September 2020
This month’s book draw was for a copy of: The Criminal Law’s Person, edited by Claes Lernestedt and Matt Matravers. Our thanks go to Hart Publishing. The winner was BSC member Stephen Parrott.
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