Green Criminology Research Network
Chair: James Heydon jheydon@lincoln.ac.uk
Evidence for the existence of climate change is now irrefutable. The burning of fossil fuels in the past and present has generated unprecedented global temperature increases. The ecological and social consequences of this are already being witnessed, with drought, flooding and storms precipitating crop shortages, patterns of environmental migration and conflict over resources (see IPCC, 2018). At the same time, governments are locked into a global economic system that must, by its very nature, achieve year-on-year growth on a physically finite planet. Engendering a multiplicity of environmental harms and crimes, many of which are unprecedented in scope and scale, the situation is stark and the issues pressing. The need for criminology to cast its attention over these increasing concerns, in a serious and sustained manner, is now greater than ever.
Climate change is, however, just one of many contemporary environmental issues. These have long-since been a focal point for criminologists, but it is only since the mid-1990s that their study has been gathered under the label ‘green criminology’. As a sub-field, its concerns include a wide range of crimes, harms and mechanisms for their control. These include a variety of issues, ranging from wildlife trafficking, animal rights abuses and state-corporate land grabs, through to the victimisation of indigenous peoples, environmental injustices and the consequences wrought by extractives industries. Such a broad remit encompasses anthropocentric, eco-centric and bio-centric positions, from scholarship spanning an assortment of disciplines, including law, sociology, politics and economics, to name a few.
The Green Criminology Research Network offers a means for discussion, critical analysis, and knowledge sharing among diverse and dispersed members of the British Society of Criminology and others.
The Committee
Chair: James Heydon
Steering Group: Tanya Wyatt (Northumbria University); Nigel South (University of Essex); Matthew Hall (University of Lincoln); Angus Nurse (Middlesex University); Harriet Pierpoint (University of South Wales).
The Aims of the Network
As such, its aims are as follows:
- To provide an arena for BSC members and non-members to share information, experience and perspectives on environmental crimes and harms.
- To advance understandings and stimulate debate on environmental issues across the spheres of research, policy and practice.
- To promote the inclusion of environmental issues into criminological teaching and learning strategies, curricula and/or benchmarks.
- To foster opportunities for collaboration and knowledge exchange among interested parties, including researchers, policy makers, civil society organisations and the public, among others.
- To share opportunities for research and scholarly development amongst members, including forming networks for bids and studentships.
To achieve these aims, the Green Criminology Research Network will engage in activities that include:
- Organising and hosting conferences, seminars and symposia; including a panel at the BSC conference
- Disseminating information via email, scholarly publications, social media and other means;
- Responding to policy consultations and/or requests for information;
- Engaging in tendering and funding bids;
- Collaborating with members of the International Green Criminology Working Group and other networks of relevance.
Critical Directions in Green Criminology: Criminological perspectives on environmental crises
April 2, 2019
Room 202, Mast House, Shepherd’s Wharf, 24 Sutton Road, Plymouth PL4 0HJ
This conference aims to kick start a new discussion in criminology – one that engages thoughtfully, but vigorously, with the ways in which the discipline can be brought to bear on a range of issues that are acknowledged widely but largely misunderstood.
The network will be formally launched at the Annual BSC conference at the University of Lincoln, in July 2019.
Future events will be announced in the BSC bulletin, the network’s newsletter that is sent out to members, and via the network’s Twitter account.
Membership is open to anyone with an interest in the field of Green Criminology research.
You can follow us on twitter @BSCGreenCrim
Please contact James Heydon jheydon@lincoln.ac.uk
Green Criminology – Definitions, resources and downloads
Open access special issue of the International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, focusing on green criminology. A useful introduction for anybody looking to find out more.
Green criminology: shining a critical lens on environmental harm, article by Angus Nurse.