European Society of Criminology


The Society has established twelve working groups:

Thematic working group on juvenile justice (Chair: Josine Junger-Tas) jungertas@xs4all.nl

The first meeting of this working group took place at the Conference of the European Society of Criminology in Helsinki in August, 2003.

is working group took place at the Conference of the European Society of Criminology in Helsinki in August, 2003.

The reports produced by the members of this group led to the publication in 2006 of an International Handbook of Juvenile Justice edited by Josine Junger-Tas and Scott H. Decker (published by Springer). You will find below the preface of the book as well as the first two pages of each chapter.

The group invites national Juvenile justice experts to present papers on the situation in their own countries, answering if possible the following four essential questions:

  1. What are the main policies in your country in terms of the prevention of crime, the treatment of young offenders, and the respect of children’s and young people’s procedural and individual rights?
  2. Have there been in the last 15–20 years any specific trends in these policies?
  3. What is known about the practical outcomes of the present policies, both concerning the effective reduction of delinquency and the respect of children’s rights?
  4. Does your country have policies as well as evidence based programmes to make prevention and interventions more effective and individual rights better respected?

Juvenile justice experts willing to make a contribution to the working group, please contact Jungertas@xs4all.nl.

International Handbook of Juvenile Justice (Josine Junger-Tas and Scott H. Decker, Eds., Dordrecht: Springer, 2006)

If you want more information on this book, please visit:
http://www.springer.com/east/home/generic/search/results? SGWID=5-40109-22-107951447-0



Quantitative criminology (Chair: Andromachi Tseloni) andromachi.tseloni@ntu.ac.uk

ESC members with research interests in quantitative criminology are invited to join the newly formed European Quantitative Criminology (EQC) working group.

Apart from defining a pool of European criminologists with quantitative orientation and promoting communication among them, the EQC working group's shape and objectives are open for discussion. Possible functions include organizing quantitative criminology or research methods panel sessions at ESC conferences or holding one-day EQC workshops, establishing cross-national quantitative criminology research ties to aid in competing for European Commission funds, offering a student award for the best quantitative paper submitted to the ESC meetings, and drafting guidelines for quantitative research methods courses, etc.

If you would like to join, please send your name, position, affiliation, and (optional) quantitative research specialization/expertise to andromachi.tseloni@ntu.ac.uk. Your views and suggestions for short and longer-term functions of the EQC group are greatly welcome. Please include the group's abbreviation, 'EQC', in the subject field of your e-mail message.


ESC European University Curriculum Working Group (Chair: Gorazd Meško) gorazd.mesko@fvv.uni-mb.si

The purpose of the working group is to foster high quality European university programmes in criminology as well as innovative teaching in this area.

The basic idea is to find a consensus on the substance and processes of teaching (census, standards) while "the challenges" concentrate on the results of teaching (communication with policy and public). Both aspects seem very important. However I would suggest formulating something like goals of the working group to initiate a discourse and to seek consensus/understanding each other on issues of substance of teaching (place for critical criminology, analysis of on-going processes in politics and public), teaching process (innovation, transfer of knowledge, mobility), and the results of teaching (public and professional awareness, influence over decision making processes). In some countries, a very important issue is raising of understanding of public and private sectors for which criminological knowledge is important and useful, it is also important to start a discussion on labour market for criminologists.

Due to a greater transferability of knowledge, mobility and exchange of academicians in the field of criminology plans of the working group for the period 2006-2009 are learning about programmes in criminology, criminal justice, crime prevention and community safety, victimology, etc.; obtaining research grants for creation of a European Higher Education Directory consisting under and post-graduate programmes in the mentioned areas, institutions and professors (teachers) of criminology.

Everyone who is willing to participate in developing the quality of teaching and contributing to the development of standards of criminological programmes in Europe is very welcome.

Members:

Erich Marks
Algimantas Cepas
Aleksandras Dobryninas
Chris Eskridge
Gorazd Meško

New members welcome!

Do not hesitate to contact me at gorazd.mesko@fvv.uni-mb.si



Crime, Science and Politics Working Group (formerly EUGPSRN) (Chair: Adam Edwards) edwardsa2@cardiff.ac.uk

Origins of the Working Group

At its meeting during the ninth conference of the European Society of Criminology in Ljubljana, the European Governance of Public Safety Research Network (EUGPSRN) agreed to reconstitute itself as the 'Crime, Science and Politics' Working Group. This decision reflects the evolving interests of working group members from a specific concern with the kinds of politics of control generated by partnerships of state, market and civil society actors ('governance') to a broader set of interests in interactions between politics and crime control and political analysis and criminological research. The focus on crime, science and politics reflects current controversies around these interactions, such as: the tensions between scientific inquiry and popular-democratic representation in evidence-based policy-making; the call for social scientists to become 'public intellectuals' with a duty to intervene in and shape public controversies around crime and control; disputes over the appropriate methodological frameworks for evaluating 'what works' in crime control; and disputes over the possibility and desirability of demarcating science and politics in these controversies.


Aim and Objectives of the Working Group on Crime, Science and Politics

Given these origins, the aim of the working group is:

"To facilitate research into the relationship between scientific expertise and political action in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of public policy responses to crime and deviance".

 

Specific objectives in support of this aim are:

  • To consider the relationship between scientific inquiry and popular-democratic representation in policy responses to crime and deviance;
  • To examine the role of political analysis in criminological research;
  • To consider the possibility and desirability of demarcating political analysis from scientific inquiry in criminological research;
  • To question the politics and ethics of the research relationship between criminologists and those who commission and use criminological research;
  • To consider the role of criminologists in public policy-making;
  • To question the epistemological status of criminological knowledge relative to other narratives about crime and control.


Forthcoming Activities

The working group will convene panels of papers relating to the above aim and objectives at annual meetings of the ESC. The working group provides opportunities for researchers interested in science-politics interactions in criminology, crime and control to exchange ideas for collaborative writing and research and further stimulate comparative understanding in European criminology.


Membership of the Network

The constitution of the working group is relatively informal and participation in its activities is open to all members of the ESC who share a research interest in its aim and objectives. Offers of papers and suggestions for themed panels to be convened by the working group at the annual meetings of the ESC are welcome. Please contact the chair, Adam Edwards, at EDWARDSA2@cf.ac.uk, for further details of the working group's activities.

 


European Society of Criminology Postgraduate and Early Stage Researchers Working Group (EPER) (j.waters@shu.ac.uk - vice-Chair: Michael Vishnevetsky)

 

Origins and Progress to Date

The initial meeting of the European Postgraduate Researchers Group took place at the European Society of Criminology (ESC) Conference in Tubingen. The ESC, the Centre for Criminological Research, University of Sheffield, and the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research, University of Glasgow support the Working Group. The Working Group is primarily aimed at doctoral and post-doctoral researchers in the early stages of their career (up to 7 years research experience). The Group provides the opportunity for members to present their research, and provides information on publishing work, pursuing academic/research careers, applying for research funding and working collaboratively. It is an interdisciplinary group, with members from various departments from across Europe who are involved in criminological research, for example law and sociological studies.

The second annual meeting of the EPER Working Group took place in Bologna, 2007, and the third took place in September 2008 at the European Society of Criminology conference at the University of Edinburgh, held at Murrayfield Stadium. At the meeting, the co-ordinating committee for the group was finalised (see below). The fourth annual EPER meeting took place in Slovenia in 2009. For this meeting, three fellowships were available for members based in Eastern European jurisdictions to come to the meeting and present papers on their research.

Aim

The aim of the Working Group is to provide a forum to discuss, develop and collaborate on new and innovative criminal justice research with other early stage researchers and lead/senior academics on a European level.

Objectives

  • Promote the dissemination of information on the research projects undertaken and the methodologies employed - by doctoral and post-doctoral researchers across Europe who are in the early stages of their careers.

  • Establish a communication network between members (e-mail distribution list, dedicated webpage, a regular newsletter)

  • Organize sessions at the annual ESC meetings which provide for

    ° 1) the opportunity for early stage and postgraduate researchers to present their work.

    ° 2) benefiting from the experience of Senior Academics through sessions on 'Getting Published' or 'Putting Together Research Proposals'.

  • To consider further methods of providing tips, advice, support and dissemination of current projects for example through the web-site.

  • Gathering support and promoting pan-European collaborations.

The website:

The website is currently being updated although you can still access some details at www.sccjr.ac.uk/projects/European-Postgraduate-and-Early-Stage-Researchers-Working-Group/8

EPER Online Criminal Justice Database:

The working group committee was keen to initiate some form of working project that would be of use to our members. The Group decided to establish an online database of information about the criminal justice systems of each country represented in the working group - the Criminology / CJS Fact Sheet project. Members of the group are creating a brief overview and critique of criminal justice procedures in their own jurisdictions, including any current issues. A pro-forma has been created to help members in this task and to aid consistency across jurisdictions. The plan is that this will eventually build into a significant online source of information for all those interested in criminal justice research.

5th Annual Meeting at the 2010 ESC Conference in Belgium

The fifth annual meeting of the working group will in September 2010 in Liege. As usual the meeting will take place alongside the annual ESC conference. However, this year the meeting will be held during the conference itself and not on the registration day. At the meeting we will be continuing our work on the online criminal justice database and the website, as well as providing an opportunity for members to present their research. This is an open meeting and all ESC members are welcome to attend. If you would like more information about the meeting or would like to register your interest in attending, please email Jaime Waters (J.Waters@shu.ac.uk).

The Working Group is currently coordinated by the EPER Working Group Organising Committee

Jaime Waters Chair
(j.waters@sheffield.ac.uk)
Michael Vishnevsky Vice-Chair / Recruitment (East Europe) (vishmish1@gmail.com)
Matthew Hall Communications/Newsletter (m.p.hall@sheffield.ac.uk)
Ryan Davenport Network Officer (r.davenport@sheffield.ac.uk)
Aiden Sidebottom Peer Review/Contacting Editors (uctqasi@ucl.ac.uk)
Tanja Link Peer Review/Contacting Editors (tlink2@email.ukj.edu)
Matthew Bacon PhD Liaison
(lwp07mjb@sheffield.ac.uk)
Joanna Shapland Senior Academic Rep (Associate Member)
(j.m.shapland@sheffield.ac.uk)
Michele Burman Senior Academic Rep (Associate Member)
(m.burman@lbss.gla.ac.uk)

Jenny Johnstone Senior Academic Rep (Associate Member) (j.k.johnstone@ncl.ac.uk)

Membership

Members

Members are doctoral and post-doctoral researchers in the early stages of their career (up to 7 years research experience).

Associate Members

Associate members will be Senior Academics who have experience of leading research projects and who would like to offer their support to the Group. Professor Joanna Shapland, Professor Michele Burman, and Jenny Johnstone are currently Associate Members of the Group.

Joining the group

All ESC-members who would like to be part of this group, either as Members or Associate Members are invited to join. Please contact either Lisa Burns at the The Centre for Criminological Research, University of Sheffield, Crookesmoor Building, Conduit Road, Sheffield, S10 1FL UK. E-mail: l.k.burns@sheffield.ac.uk Phone: +44 (0)114 222 6859 Jaime Waters, E-mail: j.waters@shu.ac.uk

Please feel free to contact any of us with questions or ideas for taking the group forward.



European Development and Life-course Criminology (EDLC) (Chair: Arjan Blokland & Paul Nieuwbeerta)

Origins

The development of antisocial behaviour within individuals' lives is the focal point of Developmental and Life-course Criminology (DLC), an exciting and growing research area in criminology. Much of the knowledge base on the longitudinal patterning of delinquency and crime over the life span has emerged from using data from the United States, Great Britain and more recently Australia. Yet, developmental patterns result from the complex interplay between individual and contextual factors, including societal and legal institutions. Since these institutions differ cross-nationally, developmental patterns may do so accordingly. DLC-research from other - European - countries is thus inexplicable to gain detailed knowledge on criminal careers and test developmental criminological theories. Fortunately, longitudinal projects on the development of antisocial behaviour are underway in various European countries and the number of European researchers on DLC-topics is substantial and growing. In order to stimulate DLC-research in Europe and to promote contact between the various European research groups working on DLC-issues, we have established the European Developmental and Life-course Criminology working group. We would like to invite ESC members involved in longitudinal studies on the development of delinquency and crime to combine their expertise and join the working group.

Aim

To facilitate research on developmental and life course criminology and maximize international dissemination of DLC-research results.

Objectives

A number of specific objectives in support of this aim have been established:
  • promote communication between European DLC-researchers
  • organize thematic DLC-sessions at the annual ESC meetings
  • establish cross-national research ties and promote international collaboration on DLC-topics
  • offer a 'best European paper' award for outstanding research in the DLC-field

    Membership

    The working group is chaired by and its activities coordinated by Arjan Blokland and Paul Nieuwbeerta. All ESC-members involved in longitudinal research projects are invited to join. If you would like to join, please send your name, position, affiliation, and a description of the research project you are working on to edlc.esc@nscr.nl .

    Contact address

    Dr. mr. A.A.J. (Arjan) Blokland / Prof. Dr. P. (Paul) Nieuwbeerta
    NSCR (Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement)
    P.O.Box 792 - 2300 AT Leiden
    The Netherlands
    Tel: +31 (0)71 - 527 8527 (secr.)
    Fax: +31 (0)71 - 527 8537
    Email: edlc.esc@nscr.nl



    European Homicide Research (EHR) (Chair: Marieke Liem )

    Origins

    Homicide is one of the most dramatic and tragic offences. It has very high priority in research, public opinion, policy, and prevention in the European nations. Unfortunately, it is one of the most difficult crimes to be studied due to the low frequency and the high variability of events.
    Moreover, most statistical sources on homicide that exist in European countries are hardly cross-nationally comparable. Regrettably to date our knowledge and information on homicide in Europe is rather limited.
    Therefore, it is of importance to stimulate the study of homicide in each of the different European countries. Furthermore, there is a need to describe differences in homicide patterns across European countries and examine various explanations for the (cross-national) differences in these patterns. Violent crimes result from the complex interplay between individual and contextual factors, including societal and legal institutions. Since these institutions differ cross-nationally, homicide patterns may do so accordingly. Cross-national research thus is inexplicable to gain detailed knowledge on homicide and test criminological theories on violence.
    In order to stimulate homicide research in Europe and to promote contact between the various European researchers working on national homicide studies, we have established the European Homicide Research working group. Fortunately, homicide research projects are underway in various European countries and the number of European homicide researchers is substantial and growing. We would like to invite the ESC members involved in these homicide studies to combine their expertise and join the working group.

    Aim

    To facilitate research on homicide in Europe and maximize international dissemination of homicide research results.

    Objectives

    A number of specific objectives in support of this aim have been established:
  • promote communication between European homicide researchers
  • organize thematic homicide sessions at the annual ESC meetings
  • establish cross-national research ties and promote international collaboration on homicide research
  • offer a 'best European paper' award for outstanding research in the area of homicide research

    Membership

    The working group is chaired by and its activities coordinated by Marieke Liem. All ESC-members involved in homicide research projects are invited to join. If you would like to join, please send your name, position, affiliation, and a description of the research project you are working on to ehr.esc@nscr.nl.

    Contact address

    Marieke Liem
    Leiden University
    Law Faculty
    Department of Criminology
    Steenschuur 25
    2311 ES Leiden
    The Netherlands
    Tel: +31 71 527 7462
    Email: m.c.a.liem@law.leidenuniv.nl


    ESC Working Group on Community Sanctions

    Acting Chair: Fergus McNeill (University of Glasgow)
    ++44 (0)141 330 5075
    F.McNeill@sccjr.ac.uk

    Members:

    Kristel Beyens, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
    Jose Cid, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona
    Elena Larrauri, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona
    Fergus McNeill, University of Glasgow
    Shadd Maruna, Queen's University of Belfast
    Mike Nellis, University of Strathclyde
    Peter Raynor, Swansea University
    Gwen Robinson, University of Sheffield
    Sonja Snacken, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
    Kerstin Svensson, Lunds Universitet
    Cyrus Tata, University of Strathclyde
    Thomas Ugelvik, Universitetet i Oslo
    Pamela Ugwudike, Swansea University

    This working group (formed in December 2007) exists to encourage networking, foster discussion, stimulate empirical research, enable theoretical development and encourage critical and comparative work on community sanctions in European jurisdictions. Its specific interests and concerns include:

    1. The historical development of community-based criminal justice sanctions in European jurisdictions, how community sanctions in European jurisdictions are currently configured (both as legal orders and as related penal practices) and whether, in what ways and to what extent they are subject to significant ongoing reconfiguration or transformation
    2. The emergence and significance of new forms of community sanction, such as compulsory drug treatment and electronic monitoring
    3. The effectiveness of these sanctions and their impacts:

      a. on sentencing
      b. on offenders
      c. on victims
      d. on communities
      e. on other stakeholders
    4. Public attitudes to and media representations of such measures

    The group will be formally launched at the ESC conference in Edinburgh in September 2008 through a series of themed sessions addressing the four issues identified above.

    ESC members interested in finding out more about the group or in joining it, should contact Fergus McNeill at F.McNeill@sccjr.ac.uk


     

    Eurogang Network (Contact Person: Frank Van Gemert)

    ESC members with an interest in developing an understanding of the scope, causes, nature and consequences of gangs through systematic, comparative and multi-method research are welcome to join the Eurogang Network. The Network was formed in the late 90s and since then has held 9 international workshops, developed a set of protocols for comparative research, and organized the publication of several edited volumes. In spring of 2008 the Network became affiliated with the ESC as a working group.

    Our objectives are:

    1)To develop conceptual and methodological research tools for carrying out comparative gang research
    2) To build a body of knowledge about the scopes, causes, nature and control of gangs across Europe
    3) To foster a constructive and amicable dialogue between different theoretical, disciplinary and national research traditions in the study of the relationship between the group aspects of youth transitions and offending
    4) To offer support, mentoring, and training to scholars interested in the comparative study of gangs and generally assist European scholars interested in the study of gangs
    5) To facilitate transfer of knowledge from academic research to the policy and practitioner community in the area of youth street gangs
    6) To develop specific funded research collaborations between our members.

    Membership remains informal and everybody that shares our aims is welcome. Those interested in active participation should email Frank Van Gemert (f.vangemert@rechten.vu.nl) for an initial contact. You will also need to contact Professor Kerner (hans-juergen.kerner@uni-tuebingen.de) for inclusion in the Eurogang distribution list.

    The Eurogang Network is governed through a Steering Committee composed of:

    Frank Weerman
    Frank Van Gemert
    Juanjo Medina
    Judith Aldridge
    Finn-Aage Esbensen
    Cheryl Maxson

    For more details you can visit our website (http://www.umsl.edu/~ccj/eurogang/euroganghome.htm).

     


    European Society of Criminology Working Group on Policing (Co-Chairs: Nick Fyfe and Alistair Henry)

    Current activities of the Working Group on Policing

    The Working Group on Policing will be playing an active role at this year's annual conference in Liege in September. Members of the Working Group will also be interested in an exciting preconference event being organised through the University of Ghent. The event is entitled 'Police, Policing, Policy and the City' and will run on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 September.

    Further information and registration details can be found through the following link:
    http://www.sva.ugent.be/home.php?content=04-05/09-ESC%20Preconference&sub=SVA

    Origins of the Working Group on Policing

    This working group was established following the 8th annual meeting of the ESC in Edinburgh in September 2008. In the first instance the working group intends to play an active role in stimulating and organising a series of themed panels at the next meeting of the ESC in Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2009.

    Aims and objectives of the Working Group on Policing

    The proposed Working Group on Policing aims to realise the central aim of the ESC in relation to the field of policing and police research:

    The Society wishes to foster criminological scholarship, research, education and training, and to encourage scholarly, scientific and practical exchange and cooperation among criminologists in Europe and elsewhere. Its objective is further to serve as a forum for the dissemination of criminological knowledge at the European level.

    To this end there are three inter-related aims of the Working Group on Policing:

     

  • To facilitate the networking of scholars and practitioners interested in the study of police organisations and policing

  • To open up and develop lines of communication and cooperation between nationally-based research centres, institutes and academies with policing-related interests and activities

  • To act as a hub through which scholars, practitioners and the policy community can collaborate productively together (e.g. through the development of comparative research programmes, knowledge transfer events, visiting scholarships/fellowships, or joint teaching and continuing professional development ventures)

    Proposed activities of the ESC Working Group on Policing

    The Working Group on Policing will play an active role in organising themed panel sessions at the 2009 conference in Ljubljana. It will also hold a meeting at this conference at which the future direction of the Working Group will be discussed. It is envisaged that the Working Group has the potential to act as a hub through which scholars interested in policing and policing research (broadly defined) can network, and that it might be used as a means to promote knowledge transfer and the development of comparative research projects. ESC members interested in becoming involved in any of the activities of the Working Group on Policing are warmly encouraged to contact members of the steering group.

    Steering Group of the Working Group on Policing

    The following people volunteered to act as a steering group for the WGP in its early stages. The steering group will take responsibility for coordinating the activities of the working group and will also act as points of contact for members or interested parties wishing to contact and/or contribute to the life and development of it.

    Sofie De Kimpe: sofie.de.kimpe@vub.ac.be
    Thomas Feltes: thomas.feltes@rub.de
    Nick Fyfe:n.r.fyfe@dundee.ac.uk
    Helene Gundhus:helgun@phs.no
    Alistair Henry: a.henry@ed.ac.uk
    Jan Terpstra: j.terpstra@jur.ru.nl
    Rachel Tuffin:rachel.tuffin@npia.pnn.police.uk

     

    European Sourcebook Group

     

    The European Sourcebook Group is a group of experts that produces on a regular basis the European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics.


    The first European Sourcebook project started in 1996. In that year the Council of Europe established a committee to prepare a compendium of crime and criminal justice data for its member states. Information was collected from 36 European countries covering the period 1990 to 1996. It included both statistical data and information on the statistical rules and the definitions behind these figures. This resulted in the publication by the Council of Europe of the first European Sourcebook in 1999. Also a 'Key Findings' bulletin was published in 2000 and an issue of the European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research (Vol. 8, No. 1, 2000) was mainly devoted on some results of the Sourcebook data.


    A second European Sourcebook project sponsored by the governments of Switzerland, United Kingdom and the Netherlands was completed and the findings were published in December 2003 by the Dutch WODC in their publications series (nr. 212). The publication reports on criminal justice data for 40 European countries covering the period 1995 - 2000. A special double issue of the European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research (Vol. 10, Nos. 2-3, 2004) was devoted to the results of the Sourcebook data.


    In June 2006 the third edition, sponsored by France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, was published again in the WODC publication series (nr. 241). This edition is a limited one: not all tables were updated. It covers the years 2000 - 2003 for 37 countries.


    The fourth edition, covering the years 2003-2007, will be published in 2009. It will be a full edition, with the addition of some new crime types.


    All editions of the European Sourcebook are available in the group's Webpage:
    http://www.europeansourcebook.org/


    The European Sourcebook Group became an ESC Working Group at the end of 2008. The current members of the group are:


    Martin KILLIAS
    , University of Zurich, Switzerland (Chairman)
    Marcelo AEBI, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
    Bruno AUBUSSON DE CAVARLAY, CESDIP / CNRS, France
    Gordon BARCLAY, Home Office, United Kingdon
    Beata GRUSZCZYNSKA, Institute of Justice, Poland
    Stefan HARRENDORF, Georg-August-Universität, Germany
    Markku HEISKANEN, HEUNI, Finland
    Vasilika HYSI, University of Tirana, Albania
    Veronique JAQUIER, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
    Jörg-Martin JEHLE, Georg?August?Universität, Germany
    Ernesto SAVONA, Transcrime, Italy
    Olena SHOSTKO, Yaroslav Mudry National Law Academy, Ukraine
    Paul SMIT, Ministry of Justice, The Netherlands
    Rannveig THORISDOTTIR, The Reykjavik Metropolitan Police, Iceland

     


    ESC Working group on prison life and the consequences of imprisonment (Chair: Anja Dirkzwager)

    Origins

    Imprisonment is currently the most severe governmental sanction imposed on criminal offenders in Europe. Approximately one million persons are confined in penal institutions across Council of Europe countries, and prison populations have been growing in two thirds of them. Therefore, substantial numbers of people have had a prison experience and increasing numbers of people are released from prisons back into society. It is important to know the impact of incarceration on these (ex-)prisoners and whether there are long-term unanticipated consequences of imprisonment on the further lives of ex-prisoners and their families.

    Despite its manifest importance in crime prevention, there is surprisingly little knowledge on life in prisons as well as the (causal) effects of imprisonment. While some literature is available about prison climate and the effects of imprisonment on recidivism, far less is known about the effects of imprisonment on more conventional life domains such as socio-economic status (employment, living conditions), family formation and disruption, social integration, and health. Moreover, the methodological designs of most existing studies are inadequate to overcome selection effects and, therefore, cannot make causal inferences about the relationships between imprisonment and the further life course. Additionally, most prior studies did not address questions regarding mechanisms that might explain the effects of imprisonment on life-course circumstances.
    This means that basic questions regarding the (causal) effects of incarceration on criminal behavior and life course circumstances of convicted persons and their family members remain largely unanswered.

    In order to stimulate prison research in Europe and to promote contact between the various European research groups working on imprisonment, we have established the ESC working group on imprisonment. We would like to invite all ESC members involved in studies on prison life and the consequences of imprisonment to combine their expertise and join the working group.

    The specific interests of the working group include:


    1) Life in prison
    2) The effectiveness and impact of prison sentences on:
    a. life courses of ex-prisoners (e.g. socioeconomic status; labor participation; social networks; health)
    b. future criminal behavior of ex-prisoners
    c. life courses and criminal behavior of ex-prisoners' families
    3) Causal effects of imprisonment on the further life course of ex-prisoners and their families
    4) Mechanisms explaining the (causal) effects of imprisonment
    5) Theories and a theoretical integration of knowledge on the effects of imprisonment

    Aim

    To facilitate and encourage research on life in prisons and the consequences of imprisonment, and to maximize international dissemination of prison research results.

    Our objectives are


    1) To promote communication between European researchers on imprisonment
    2) To organize thematic sessions at the annual ESC meetings
    3) To establish cross-national research ties and promote international collaboration on prison research

    Membership


    The working group is chaired by and its activities coordinated by Anja Dirkzwager. All ESC-members involved in research projects on prison life and its consequences are invited to join. If you would like to join, please send your name, position, affiliation, and a description of the research project(s) you are working on to: adirkzwager@nscr.nl.

    Contact address


    Dr. A.J.E. (Anja) Dirkzwager
    NSCR (Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement)
    PO Box 71304
    1008 BH AMSTERDAM
    The Netherlands
    Tel: +31 (0)20 - 598 5239 (secr.)
    Fax: +31 (0)20 - 598 3975
    Email: adirkzwager@nscr.nl


     



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