Crime, Justice and Social Harms

• Start date: 31 Mar 2020

• End date: 1 Apr 2020

• Location: Keble College, Oxford

Tickets

Two days including conference dinner (statutory and private sectors) : £400

Two days without conference dinner (statutory and private sectors) : £360

One day (Tues) including conference dinner (statutory and private sectors) : £245

One day (Tues) without conference dinner (statutory and private sectors) : £200

One day (Wed) (statutory and private sectors) : £200

Two days including conference dinner (charities, NGOs, students and early career academics) : £360

Two days without conference dinner (charities, NGOs, students and early career academics) : £315

One day (Tues) including conference dinner (charities, NGOs, students and early career academics) : £220

One day (Tues without conference dinner (charities, NGOs, students and early career academics) : £175

One day (Wed) : £175

Book now

Two-day international conference to be held at Keble College, Oxford

Tuesday 31 March – Wednesday 1 April 2020

How social harms are understood, questioned and tackled can have a profound effect on how communities approach crime and justice. This conference comes at a time when communities across the world are experiencing change and uncertainty affecting how they understand themselves and challenges to the status quo. Coping with, responding to and supporting such uncertainty and change brings challenges for political institutions, criminal justice agencies and civic society in developing values, strategies and systems.

We will bring together academics, policy makers, practitioners and those directly affected by the criminal justice system to discuss, reflect on and suggest alternative strategies.

The Howard League’s conference will consider the intersection of issues relating to crime, justice and social harms. Building on the Howard League’s Commission on Crime and Problem Gambling, we are keen to explore the impact of problem gambling on patterns of crime and the societal harms that link crime and problem gambling.

Speakers & contributors confirmed so far:

• Lauren Abraham, Senior Service Designer, Digital Justice, Ministry of Justice
• Victoria Baines, Visiting Research Fellow, Oxford University Department for International Development (ODID)
• Dame Vera Baird QC, Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales
• Dr Tim Bateman, Reader in Youth Justice, University of Bedfordshire
• Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones OBE, FRCPsych, BA (Hons), DOccMed, MD (Imperial), Consultant Psychiatrist, Founder and Director of the National Problem Gambling Clinic
• Professor Neil Chakraborti, Head of School, Criminology and Director of the Centre for Hate Studies, University of Leicester
• Dr Jo Collinson Scott, Reader in Music, University of the West of Scotland
• Frances Crook, Chief Executive, Howard League for Penal Reform
• Dr Baz Dreisinger, Professor, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY
• Professor Manuel Eisner, Wolfson Professor of Criminology, Professor of Comparative & Developmental Criminology, Director of Violence Research Centre, University of Cambridge
• Dr Wendy Fitzgibbon, Reader in Criminology, University of Leicester
• Professor Barry Goldson, Charles Booth Chair of Social Science, Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology, School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool
• Cristian A Herrera, Health Policy Analyst, Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
• Dr Laura Janes, Legal Director, Howard League for Penal Reform
• Professor Ian Loader, Professor of Criminology; Fellow of All Souls College, University of Oxford
• Professor Fergus McNeill, Professor of Criminology & Social Work, School of Social & Political Sciences, University of Glasgow and Chair of the Board of Trustees, Howard League for Penal Reform
• Andrew Neilson, Director of Campaigns, Howard League for Penal Reform
• Professor Simon Pemberton, Professor in Social Policy and Criminology, Department of Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology, University of Birmingham
• Sarah Ramanauskas, Senior Partner, Audit and Research, Gambling Integrity
• Professor Gerda Reith, Professor of Social Science, School of Social & Political Sciences, University of Glasgow
• Katharine Sacks-Jones, Chief Executive, Become
• Andy Watson MBE, CEO / Artistic Director, Geese Theatre Company an Vice-Chair, National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance
• Harriet Wistrich, Founding Director, Centre for Women’s Justice
• Hwa Young Jung, multidisciplinary artist

Call for Papers

The Howard League is looking for papers from academics, policy makers, practitioners, PhD students and researchers from within the criminological and legal disciplines, however we are also keen to include contributions from fields of study including philosophy, geography, political science and economics.

We will consider theoretical, policy, practice-based and more innovative contributions around a wide range of issues that encompass the broad theme of justice and the wider conference themes.  We would particularly welcome papers on the following themes, however other topics will also be positively considered.

• political instability, austerity and social change
• addictions as a social harm including gambling, drugs and alcohol
• racism as a social harm
• cybercrime, technology and social media
• policing
• sentencing and legal change
• the role of probation, prisons and the criminal justice system in responding to social harms
• community and civil society’s responses to social harms
• relationships and responsibility of social, health and (criminal) justice
• gender, men and masculinities
• equality and social justice
• women, gender and justice
• overuse of the penal system: mass imprisonment, mass supervision and mass surveillance
• poverty and criminal justice
• domestic violence as a social harm
• young people, young adults – social justice and criminal justice
• victims of crime in a social harm context

Abstract guidelines

Abstracts should be a maximum of 200 words and include a title and 4–5 key words. Your submission should be submitted in English. Papers will normally be presented in panel sessions with 3 or 4 papers presented in either slots of 20 or 15 minutes, followed by 20/30 minutes discussion. This conference is particularly interested in and will respond positively to papers that incorporate participatory and creative methods to discuss ideas and findings, lightning talks, panels, or roundtables. We will ask you indicate your preferred method of delivering your paper. Include the proposer’s name and contact details along with the job title or role. Please submit abstracts via email to: anita.dockley@howardleague.org

We are pleased to announce that due to increased interest, including from overseas delegates, and to allow extra time for submissions over the Christmas break, the deadline for abstracts has been extended to Friday 31 January 2020.

All participants, whether presenting a paper or not, are expected to pay conference fees.

Download the call for papers

Conference fees

What’s included?

Conference fees include all day access to the conference sessions on your chosen day(s), conference papers, choice of delicious hot and cold two-course lunch served in the magnificent Victorian Gothic Dining Hall, morning and afternoon refreshments. Conference gala dinner on the first day is optional and can be selected at the time of booking.

‘Early bird’ rates apply to bookings made by Thursday 1 February 2020. 

Download the full list of conference rates.

Accommodation is not included in the conference fees and can be booked directly with the college online: https://www.keble.ox.ac.uk/conferences/accommodation at a special, discounted rate quoting promotional code: HOWARD20. Please book early as places are limited. Alternatively, delegates can arrange their own accommodation outside the college.

Sponsorship opportunities

For information on sponsorship opportunities, exhibiting or advertising in the conference booklet, please email barbara.norris@howardleague.org

Reports from previous conferences

• Redesigning Justice: Promoting civil rights, trust and fairness international conference was held on 21–22 March 2018
• We have published three special conference ECAN (Early Career Academics Network) bulletins following the 2018 conference:
  –  Redesigning Justice conference special No.1 July 2018
  –  Redesigning Justice conference special No.2 October 2018
  –  Redesigning Justice conference special No.3 December 2018
• Justice and Penal Reform: Re-shaping the penal landscape international three-day conference was held on 16–18 March 2016
• What is Justice? – international two-day conference held in on 1–2 October 2013
  –  Conference Podcasts. These are audio recordings of the plenary presentations
  –  Video shorts with plenary speakers talking about their presentations