Minutes of the
THE BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
Annual General Meeting
UNIVERSITY OF HUDDERSFIELD
10th July 2008
Members present:
Mike Hough (President & Chair), Tim Newburn (outgoing President), Kate Williams (Executive Secretary), Anne Brunton (Director), Francis Pakes (Treasurer), Chris Lewis (Company Secretary), Mark Simpson (EC), Peter Squires (EC), Andrew Millie (EC), Barry Goldson (EC), Simon Mackenzie (EC), Philip Birch (EC), Mike Levi, Helen Jones, Steve Case, Alex Hirschfield, Qing Ju, Pat Mungoo, Susie Atherton, Nic Groombridge, Stephen Parrott, Michelle Rogerson, Lesley Simmonds, Ben Bradford, Stefan Machura, Pamela Davies, Marisa Silvestri, Mike Maguire, Zoe James, Emma Wincup, Anthea Hucklesby, Tom Ellis, Gayle Letherby, Karen Bullock, Charlotte Bilby.
Ordinary Business:
Apologies for absence
Loraine Gelsthorpe.
Report of the Directors
The Report of the Directors was submitted to the meeting and approved.
President’s Review of 2007/8
The outgoing President reported a successful year, including: last year’s conference at LSE which attracted 460 delegates; a change in the system of administration, with Anne Brunton now being the Director of the Society; and a change of governance of the Society into a Committee system, which was settling in very well after the EGM. He thanked the organisers of this year’s conference at Huddersfield, which was going well. He also emphasised the importance of the progress achieved with the RAE, in that three criminologists were now on the Social Policy panel which, together with representation on the Sociology panel, meant that criminology would likely in future be more solidly recognised by HEFCE.
Treasurer’s Report for Jan 2007 to December 200
Francis Pakes reported that the society was in generally good health. Although the report showed £5000 less than last year, this was due to a year of consolidation. The Society continued to pursue a prudent fiscal policy.
5. Receipt and adoption of Statement of Accounts and Balance Sheet for January 2007 to December 2007 and the Auditor’s report
Agreed by members present.
6. Appointment of auditors
This was to be confirmed. Anne wanted to make sure that the Society was getting the best possible deal for members. As such different options were currently being considered.
7. Elections
The Executive Secretary reported that there were no contested posts and therefore the following people were confirmed as elected:
Executive Committee
Executive Secretary: Kate Williams, Wolverhampton University
Finance & General Purposes Committee Chair: Mike Hough, Kings College, London
Publications Committee Chair: Andrew Millie, Loughborough University
Professional Affairs Committee Chair: Mike Hough, Kings College, London
Postgraduate Committee Chair: Lystra Hagley-Dickinson, Northampton University
Conferences Committee Chair: Mark Simpson, University of Teeside
Ethics Committee Chair: Loraine Gelsthorpe, Cambridge University
Prizes Committee Chair: Simon Mackenzie, University of Glasgow
Public Relations Committee Chair: Peter Squires, University of Brighton
Special Business:
8. Minutes of the last AGM, 19th September 2007
Accepted as an accurate record.
9. Matters arising
The Chair of the Professional Affairs Committee reported that he was committed to improving relations between government research and academia, in order to form an intelligent two way relationship. The Chair of the Public Relations Committee noted the importance of working with the Professional Affairs Committee on this matter.
10. Conference matters
The Chair reported that everything was going well. Last year at LSE had been a great success, Huddersfield was going very well, and next year at Cardiff and Glamorgan was also looking extremely promising. A question regarding the cost of the conference was raised from the floor; to which the Chair of the Conference Committee and the President responded that costs were kept as low as possible. Anne Brunton underlined the point by stating that the costs were comparable to other learned societies and also offered to approach other learned societies if there was one which was able to offer their annual conference for less then the Society currently achieves.
11. BSC office and administration
The Director reported that the introduction of online applications for membership to the Society had resulted in a four fold increase in membership applications last year, which has now dropped to a two fold increase. The Society will be introducing a direct debit system early next year to increase efficiency. The current Society office at City University will be finishing due to cost, with a registered address being used instead. AB will be based at Kings College London and LSE whilst a permanent future address is found.
12. Regional groups and specialist networks
Philip Birch confirmed there was nothing to report.
13. Any other business
a. Nic Groombridge reiterated that the AGM should be more of an ‘Event’. It was agreed that it should also take place nearer to the lunch venue. Gayle Letherby suggested that like the BSA, the BSC might consider awarding prizes at the AGM, or having a speaker afterwards.
b. Stephen Parrott raised the issue of encouraging more conference attendees to join the BSC.
14. Date and venue of the next AGM.
30 June, Cardiff University – time and venue to be confirmed.
It was noted by the President at the start of the meeting that as less than 21 days notice had been given to members of the AGM taking place, this meeting needed to technically be an ordinary meeting. Due to the cost and practical implications of re-arranging another AGM, the President would then seek approval of all members of the Society via email for a waiver of the 21-day rule, meaning that the meeting could therefore be approved as the AGM retrospectively.