EUROPEAN GROUP FOR THE STUDY OF
DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL
ESTABLISHED 1973
Coordinator: Emma Bell
Secretary: Monish Bhatia
‘FAMILY REMOVALS’- by Lucy Edkins
WINTER NEWSLETTER II
Website administrator: Gilles Christoph
Critical Criminology in a Changing World –
Tradition & Innovation
29th August – 1st September 2013
Department of Criminology and Sociology of
Law
University of Oslo
Norway
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I European Group 40th Anniversary
Conference
Celebrating the work of Stan Cohen
Abstract submission deadlines
Conference fees
Registration
The Stan Cohen Assisted Place
Photo exhibition
II European Group news
Mary McIntosh: in memoriam
Stan Cohen: in memoriam
Newsletter Articles
Sites of Confinement Conference
European Working Groups
III Comment and analysis
IV News from the Europe and the world
Sam Fletcher: On Being Occupied:
Alternative futures and the elusive ‘99%’.
Lucy Edkins: Art collection
‘Outsourcing abuse’ .
Canada
EU
France
Germany
Italy
Northern Ireland
Norway
Poland
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
I European Group Conference
Critical Criminology in a Changing World: Tradition and Innovation.
The Group’s 41st annual conference, celebrating its 40th year (since its founding in 1973), will
be held at the University of Oslo, Norway, from 29th August to 1st September 2013. More
information is available here: http://www.europeangroup.org/conferences/2013/Index.htm
Celebrating the work of Stan Cohen
Stanley Cohen died on January 7, 2013 (see tribute below). Stan Cohen was one of the
founders of the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control. His books
include Folk devils and Moral Panics, Psychological Survival (with Laurie Taylor), Visions
of Social Control and States of Denial. Stan Cohen’s work and his never ending struggle for
human rights has been, and continues to be, of great inspiration to the members of the
European Group and for critical criminologists worldwide. For this reason, we will invite
delegates to the Oslo conference to present papers which reflect the impact Stan Cohen
had both on the European Group as well as on criminology more generally.
Abstracts
Abstracts are to be submitted by 28th April 2013 to p.j.ystehede@jus.uio.no. In the subjectheading, please state ‘EUROPEAN GROUP -2013 – ABSTRACT – NAME’. IN THE
ABSTRACT, PLEASE INCLUDE FULL NAME, POSITION AND CONTACT INFO AS
WELL AS WHICH STREAM YOU WISH TO SUBMIT YOUR PAPER TO. Please note
that it will not be possible to accept abstracts after this date.
Conference fees
Full fee for participants incl. dinner reception
2200 NOK 295€*
Full fee for students incl. dinner reception
1500 NOK 200€
Full fee for participants excl. dinner reception
1600 NOK 215€
Full fee for students excl. dinner reception
900 NOK 120€
Please note that fees in euros are approximate only and may vary depending on the exchange
rate at the time of registration. Fees are more expensive than usual this year due to the high
costs of living in Norway but they do include the proceedings, all coffee/tea breaks and
lunches during the conference (Friday – Sunday) as well as a welcome reception. In addition,
fees include the cost of participation in a number of social events from which delegates can
choose during the conference.
The Stave Church of Norway
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
Registration
Conference places are limited to 200. Priority will be given to those who are presenting
conference papers. However, a number of places will be reserved on a first-come, first-served
basis for those who are not planning to present a paper. For those delegates, registration will
be possible from 1st February 2013.
For those of you who are planning to present a paper, please wait until you have received
confirmation that your abstract has been approved before registering. You will have
received an answer by the 15th of May 2013. If your abstract is approved, you will receive a
user-name and password to be able to log on to the ‘Registration Forms’ page on the
University of Oslo website where you will have to fill in some information (name, country of
origin, email + will be able to pay electronically). Please note that the payment has to be
carried out upon registration. The registration is only valid after the payment has successfully
been carried out. Participants will receive a confirmation of their registration and a receipt for
their payment by email immediately after their online payment. As the payments are online
and the participants get a receipt from the credit card company as well, no other receipts will
be provided to guests.
Stan Cohen Assisted Place
Please note that there will be at least one assisted place available for the conference.
Following Stan’s death, we have decided to name this place in his honour. Depending on the
nature of applications, we would be looking to bestow the assisted place on one person who
meets some / all of the below criteria:
* Does not have a tenured position in academia or has no means of providing alternative
means of support through employment schemes.
* An MA / PhD student / part time member of staff who is ineligible for university
department/school/faculty funding to attend conferences.
* Is confronted with other significant difficulties which would merit special support to attend
the conference.
* Is currently undertaking research or activism in an area that reflects the themes and values
of the European Group
* Is planning to deliver a paper at the conference on a theme that reflects the work of Stan
Cohen. It may, for example, reflect on the concept of moral panic, social control, the
psychological impact of atrocities and imprisonment…
The deadline for applications has been extended to 31st March. Those wishing to apply
should write a 150-300 word statement in support of their application. A copy of the
conference paper abstract should also be included in the submission. The conference place is
free and the European Group will help support travel and accommodation up to £250 for the
assisted place.
If you would like further information please contact:
europeangroupcoordinator@gmail.com
A photo exhibition celebrating 40 years of the European Group will be organised at the Oslo
conference. If any of you have any photos that reflect the history of the Group, please send
these either electronically to p.j.ystehede@jus.uio.no or by mail to Per Jorgen, Postboks 6706
St. Olavs plass, 0130 OSLO.
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
II European Group News
In Memoriam: Mary McIntosh
Mary McIntosh, an influential radical sociologist and one of the
organisers of the critical 1970s forum, the National Deviancy Conference, sadly passed away
on Saturday January 5th 2013. Some of her best-known work was Deviance and Social
Control (with Paul Rock, London, 1974), The Organisation of Crime (1975) and Sex
Exposed: Sexuality and the Pornography Debate (1992).
A tribute to Mary written by Ken Plummer can be accessed here:
http://kenplummer.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/inspiration-and-in-memoriam-mary-mcintosh/
Below are some personal reflections on Mary from members of the European Group:
This is yet another blow!
I never met Mary but her work and crucial insights into the socio-cultural construction of
'homosexuality' and respectively other 'sexualities' were made at an early time and formed an
important and empowering foundation for many critical scholars and researchers in the realm
of the sociology/criminology of 'sexuality' and 'its' 'perversions'.
What a loss and, together with the passing of Stan, this is really upsetting,
-Andrea Beckmann
Mary Macintosh wrote one of the best introductions to organised crime (The Organization of
Crime. Macmillan 1975). The deaths of two such important people for criminology [Mary
and Stan] is very sad indeed and they will be very much missed.
-Paula Wilcox
I was taught by Mary McIntosh whilst an undergraduate at Essex University in the 1980's and
she had a real influence on my life. She was an inspirational woman and through her
passionate teaching and writing helped develop my political understanding of feminism and
socialism which impacted on my personal and professional life and activist work around
women's rights, state violence and social justice. A wonderful woman with a wonderful
legacy.
-Deborah Coles
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
In Memoriam: Stan Cohen 1942-2013
Stanley Cohen, who was instrumental in founding the European Group for the Study of
Deviance and Social Control in 1973, sadly passed away on Monday 7th January following a
long illness. He will be greatly missed by his friends and colleagues in the European Group
and is a huge loss to the fields of sociology and critical criminology. He was particularly
well-known for his seminal texts, Folk Devils and Moral Panics (1972), Visions of Social
Control (1985) and, more recently, States of Denial: Knowing about Atrocities and Suffering
(2001). As an inspiration to scholars throughout the globe, his intellectual legacy will
continue long after his death.
A memorial page has been set up for Stan at the London School of Economics:
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/condolences/2013/01/08/stancohen/
For those of you who would like to make a donation in Stan's memory, his daughter Judith
has suggested that they donate to Parkinson's UK citing his name:
http://www.parkinsons.org.uk/support_us/donate/in_memoriam.aspx.
Alternatively, Sightsavers was a charity that Stan supported for many years and that would
also be appropriate (Sight Savers International http://www.sightsavers.org/).
Below are some personal reflections on Stan from European Group members:
I am so very sad to hear this news. I only knew Stan for a few years but I will never forget his
kind and supportive words when I became coordinator of the European Group. His advice
was invaluable. I will also never forget when he came to Preston in 2009 - Greenbank lecture
theatre has been 'the Stan Cohen lecture theatre' in my mind ever since. I had known he was
very poorly for some time but I hoped that somehow he would pull through. His work has
been, and continues to be, a total inspiration and 'States of Denial' is perhaps the most
important and influential book I have ever read. His work and spirit will live on and continue
to inspire future generations. It must.
-David Scott
He did intervene, relishing the opportunity of speaking the truth to power. A fine epitaph. I
think.
-Mick Ryan
This comes as a very sad surprise to me. Stan was a wonderful person and a great intellectual.
Warm-hearted may be THE adjective. And critical of mainstream perceptions. It makes me
very very sad. Vale, et suii persuade carissimum esse mihi.
-Sebastian Scheerer
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
This is a tragic big loss that hits us in the European Group and far beyond.
A lovely person and a great and distinguished thinker. The last times I met Stan he was in
much pain and had great difficulties speaking, however, he always overcame these with
incredible dignity and will-power.
Our conference in Oslo should be dedicated to his memory and powerful life-work.
-Andrea Beckmann
I’m very sad to receive this message. I have not seen Stan for years, but got real nice
greetings from him through common friends. Sad, sad.
-Ida Koch
Such sad news which came as no surprise to many who watched Stan's painful decline over
the years.
My enduring memory of this great academic was my first meeting with him. I was a PhD
student of David Downes who, in his typically generous spirit, had invited me to the family
home for dinner. As we were eating, David suddenly remembered that I hadn't been
introduced to some of the guests. He got to the person sitting next to me and said, 'And this is
Stan Cohen'. I recall thinking, oh god, what sensible things can I say about Visions of Social
Control, Folk Devils etc.. Of course, nothing 'sensible' was needed to be said because Stan
picked up on my nervousness and kept asking about my own research, putting me at ease
through his insightful questions and suggestions.
Years later, when I returned to the LSE to teach, I had to go to his room to discuss some
supervision arrangements. I hadn't seen him for six or so years and was taken aback by his
physical decline. Stan clearly read my facial expression and gently expressed his resignation
to the medicalised world he now inhabited, then moved on to the business at hand. And
despite all his own suffering he kept writing and lecturing whenever he could to raise
awareness of the suffering, and its denial, of others.
It's not just a powerful academic legacy he leaves, but as so many others have noted, a
personal one too.
-Paddy Rawlinson
I share the deep grief and sorrow about the passing of our friend and colleague Stanley Cohen
- as a sympathetic and supportive person and as the most reflective and thoughtful critical
criminologist I have ever met. He was a leading figure of the legendary National Deviance
Conference (NDC) and edited the first of two collections of papers that were given on more
than ten symposia at York University, beginning in 1968 (Images of Deviance, 1971). I very
well remember Stanley's angry reaction on the IAC-Congress 1988 in Hamburg when his
work and position was attacked by a Dutch colleague who blamed critical criminology for its
lack of appreciation of the noticeable decrease of imprisonment in modern societies. Stan
Cohen's death will leave a gap in our discipline which cannot be filled, it seems to me, in the
next future.
I am so sorry and sad,
-Fritz Sack
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
I've never met Stan Cohen and didn't know him personally. His influence on me (and I'm sure
many others) however was defining as my interests and intellectual development - and
subsequent academic career - resulted directly from reading 'Visions of Social Control',
which is the best, unsurpassed and most inspired and inspiring criminological text ever
written.
-Colin Webster
Au nom du centre de recherches criminologiques de l’ULB je voulais te communiquer notre
profonde tristesse à tout(es)s ici. (On behalf of the Centre for Criminology at the Free
University of Brussels, I wanted to convey our deepest sadness).
-Carla Nagels
I share the grief of the Group and indeed of anyone who had the pleasure and privilege of
spending time with Stan. Some time back Keith Hayward asked me to write some lines on
Stan's life and contribution. It was one of the most difficult writing assignments of my
career; not because I was lost for words but rather it seemed impossible to encapsulate the
impact of the man on my life and on the world at large, in letters on a page.
For me the memory I will most cherish about Stan is his generous spirit and his capacity to
turn around my thinking in the most profound but effortless fashion.
-Mark Findlay
I do recall Stan’s visit to Preston in 2009 and the passion in his voice as he delivered his
lecture, in spite of failing health. The turnout at the time reflected the esteem in which he is
held; and as you have mentioned his work will continue to inspire future generations.
-Tunde (Alfred Zack-Williams)
Stan had a soft kindness as a human being and a razor's edge as a scholar.
-John Braithwaite
Stan was a remarkable person ... his brilliant, critical scholarship opened minds. It came
without a hint of arrogance but with selfless warmth, encouragement, comradeship, wit,
integrity ... on numerous occasions when it mattered he was there for me, and I know for
many others. A while ago I was asked to write about his work. I withdrew the piece because I
refused to edit the 'personal commentary'. This is a brief extract ...
“In 1973 I was working with Irish Travellers in Liverpool. In quick succession I read Stan
Cohen’s now legendary Folk Devils and Moral Panics and Psychological Survival, his book
with Laurie Taylor on long-term imprisonment. These were consciousness-raising texts that
helped shape alternative, critical discourses on the demonisation of young people and, what
Jimmy Boyle later named, the ‘pain of confinement’. It is not without irony that significant in
Stan’s legacy now is the familiar use of the terms ‘folk devils’ and ‘moral panics’ in media
headlines, editorials and broadcasts.
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
Within a decade I was sitting opposite Stan, conducting the last ever studio interview at
BBC’s Alexandra Palace. It was a warm Friday afternoon. I was working on the Open
University’s new Social Sciences’ Foundation course and the film crew and sound engineers
wore T-shirts commemorating the closing of the studios where British television broadcasting
began.
A young lecturer, in awe, my nervousness was soon alleviated by Stan’s humility, generosity
and warmth. Throughout the interview I was struck by his capacity to deliver the strongest
analytical message with lightness of touch; words easy on the ear, language accessible. Even
in brief responses to questions his story-telling was evident.
If great teachers have one attribute above all it is their capacity to inspire their students to
want to know more. As we explored the trinity of the ‘personal’, the ‘social’ and the
‘structural’, I was conscious that we were over time yet as the session closed I wanted to hear
more. At that moment I knew that over the forthcoming years many thousands of OU
students watching and listening would feel the same. It was fitting that a critical voice,
particularly one so astute and uncompromising in his analysis of the media, should have the
last word at Ally Pally ...”
-Phil Scraton
Stan Cohen had been for years a great friend and teacher. He had visited Poland several
times, and I guess he liked the place and was so much liked and respected here. I can hear his
voice and almost see him talking. The day he died was a day when we discuss his Visions of
Social Control. The work is not only valid but all the time equally important for the present
criminal policy, so in a way, he is here and will stay.
-Monika Platek
This is a profoundly sad announcement. However, one nice element of the reaction to Stan’s
death has been to see and hear from so many colleagues, former students and friends about
how he touched their lives. I didn’t know him as well as many, but for what it’s worth, this is
how he touched mine.
I first read Folk Devils and Moral Panics as a very disgruntled law undergraduate suddenly
enlivened by something called criminology. I was inspired. In the days before amazon, I read
everything of his I could get – harassing the university library staff for inter-library loans. I
realised the news was manufactured, I began having visions of social control and despite
having only recently become a convert, I then found I was against criminology. I heard that
he was also a bit of an activist. Stan became my hero.
My first job was in an NGO and with my colleague Brian Gormally I authored a report
examining prisoner release as part of conflict transformation in a range of places including
Israel\Palestine. A while later I received a hand-written note from Stan telling me he liked the
report and was using it for teaching. I remember jumping around the office showing the note
to people who didn’t know who he was. I was as happy as a pup with two tails.
Later I became an academic and Stan agreed to be one of the externals on my PhD. They say
you shouldn’t meet your heroes, but mine lived up to expectations. He was lovely, warm,
funny, encouraging and of course, very insightful. We kept in touch, he read my stuff when
asked, wrote references and basically was the kind of mentor that all of us would wish to be.
I am not sure if my critical faculties were as sharp as they should have been in teaching his
stuff. A few years back as I waxed lyrical (again) about Stan in general and the merits of
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
States of Denial in particular some wags in a transitional justice class stood up in unison and
bowed saying ‘Stan Cohen, we are not worthy’. I was too embarrassed to tell him that story, I
am sure he wouldn’t have approved.
Probably like a lot of academics I have at times had to defend (particularly to human activist
friends and colleagues) the practical utility of what we do. Maybe Belfast in particular can be
very unforgiving of academic pretensions. In a tight corner, I would always turn to Stan
Cohen. Deploying Stan was always the clincher in making an argument as to how a smart,
properly theorised, political and engaged academic could tilt the axis a bit. I always knew I
had a foothold, when the retort was ‘ok, fair enough, but apart from Cohen, which of you are
actually relevant or useful...’.
Of course lots of academics do good stuff that is theoretical, political, engaged and relevant
in both criminology and human rights. But to paraphrase Carly Simon, nobody did it better
than Stan Cohen.
Suaimhneas síoraí go raibh aige
-Kieran McEvoy
Living as I do in the U.S., I had not had a chance to meet Stan until many years after I had
read and been shaped by his work on moral panic. Like most people, I suspect, I often
develop mental images of people whose work I've read, but whom I have never met. Meeting
Stan certainly erased the image of him I had created. Instead of the hard-charging firebrand I
had imagined, I met a kind, gentle man with a powerful intellect who seemed far more
interested in talking about me than him. As I came to know, it was this kindness and this
interest in others that made Stan the mensch he was - and will continue to be in our thoughts
and our spirits. The best honor we can pay his memory is to carry on the struggle for justice
to which he was so committed.
-Ray Michalowski
A MAN WALKS INTO A CHURCH ....
I’m in England for almost three weeks. Sandwiched between my brother’s 60th birthday
party and David (Edgar’s) 60th birthday party, I get to play in London and visit old friends,
as well as friends getting older. I was looking forward to reconnecting with Stan Cohen. We
were both part of the 60’s radical criminology movement, though from different perspectives
and sites. Political sectarianism kept us – well, me – in different revolutionary camps. We’re
not personally close, but with the collapse of the New Left in all its permutations, we are now
on the same side, even on the Israeli Question, which usually divides Jews in the Diaspora.
I’ve always appreciated his intellectual work and his activism, the two intimately connected.
We are about the same age; and we’ve both moved about a lot during our careers.
When I was an undergraduate at Oxford in 1960, he was studying at the University of
Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. While he was in transit from South Africa to England in
1963, I was leaving my homeland for grad school in Berkeley. For a while he was teaching in
southern California in radical Santa Barbara; my activism cost me my job at Berkeley and,
luckily, landed me a job until retirement at a local state college. Stan was an important figure
in post-60s radical sociology, best known for helping us to understand how “moral panics”
fuel law and order campaigns against “muggers” and “wayward teens.”
He’s been a committed public intellectual all his life, battling apartheid in South Africa and
Thatcherism in England. He tried without success for several years to bore from within Israel
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
(at Hebrew University, 1979-1995) against its militarist state. Since 1997, he’s lived in
England, teaching and helping to nurse his wife through a chronic illness to her death from
cancer. Now he’s the sicko. He’s been ill for several years with Parkinson’s and various other
maladies. Not too long ago, he had spinal problems and was in hospital for a few weeks,
immobilized, unable to move his legs. He was “reet poorly,” as they used to say in
Manchester when I was a kid – a euphemism for “at death’s door.”
A couple of years ago when he took early retirement because of health reasons, his friends
organized a conference and book of essays in his honor. When I told a friend that I was
planning on seeing Stan, he said, “You better steel yourself. He’s not in good shape.” But
when I called Stan at home, he said, “Let’s meet at my office at LSE.” He’s only been “back
at work” a few weeks, coming in once a week to teach a class on “Crimes of the State” to
visiting NYU undergraduates. (I doubt if they’ll like what he has to say about Israel.) It is
something of a shock to see Stan. Sitting in a chair, he moves continuously like a marionette
pulled by hidden strings until he finds a comfortable position. This only happens some days,
though his body is usually in pain. Not surprisingly he has trouble, he says, with memory and
finding the right words. Don’t we all?
But there’s nothing wrong with his mind or his politics. One of his most recent essays is a
blistering critique of the fawning complicity and self-induced myopia of Israeli intellectuals
(“The Virtual Reality of Israeli Universities,” Independent Jewish Voices, January 2008).He
is now writing a new introduction to the second edition of his book, States of Denial. And
despite his physical limitations, he’s into teaching again, trying to jump-start overly
compliant students. Stan takes me out to a local café for coffee and we slowly walk the
bustling neighborhood. He’s hoping that exercise will ward off another surgery. Our
conversation turns personal, to our families, and our losses.
Close to Covent Garden he takes me into his favorite men’s shop, J. Simons, where he buys
stylish American jeans and a shirt, and reminisces about working as a teenager in his
immigrant father’s clothing store in Johannesburg. He encourages me to buy a vintage 50s
jacket that I spot but, for now, resist. Life is still up for grabs. Stan also tells me about his
partner, who is “a Ph. D. student, Swedish, thirty years younger, beautiful.” Some people
object to the liaison, he tells me. To hell with them, I reply, and he laughs. Another reason
they get on so well is that she also has a chronic illness. Which reminds him to tell me the
first of several jokes. He’s a lovely storyteller, skilled at peppering his conversation with
parables.
“Talking about Jessica [his girlfriend] reminds me of a joke,” he says. “A man walks into a
church, goes into the confessional. The priest asks him why he’s here. ‘I’m an old man and I
have great sex every day with my young girlfriend,’ he says. ‘What’s the problem,’ asks the
priest, ‘Are you a member of this parish?’ ‘No,’ says the old guy. ‘I’m not even a Catholic,
I’m a Jew and I don’t even believe in God.’ So,’ says the priest, ‘Why did you come here to
tell me this.’ ‘Because,’ says the man, ‘I’m telling everybody.’”
Before I leave, I ask him to sign a copy of the book that has just come out in his living honor,
both of us chuckling at the irony. And with that, we say our surprisingly intimate goodbyes.
Tony Platt, February 17, 2008, London. This piece first appeared on Tony Platt's blog
(http://GoodToGo.typepad.com) on March 4, 2008.
My partner Anna and I were at the European Group conference in Prague in 1993, one of the
first occasions when Stan was sounding out elements of what later became his book, States of
Denial. In his paper he intrigued us all with what he said were the three stages states go
through in response to allegations that they have tortured people. Stage 1 is to deny the crime:
it didn't happen. Stage 2 is to deny the extent of culpability: it was the fault of one or a few
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
bad apples. Stage 3 is to deny the victim: the person tortured was evil and deserved it
anyway.
A group of Norwegians had driven to the conference in a beat up, pink school bus with all the
seats removed and replaced with mattresses. Anna and I decided to go with the Norwegians
in the bus that afternoon to visit Karlstein Castle. But for reasons that we never figured out,
the river and the one-way system completely defeated us. We could see on the map the road
we wanted to get to to leave Prague, and at one point we even managed to spot the road on
the other side of the river. But after probably an hour of driving around we were still stuck in
the centre, and running low on fuel. So, the next task was to find a petrol station and fill up.
The driver seemed to be as revived as the bus and set out with gusto for Karlstein. At this
point, Anna, ever the tour guide, decided to check the guidebook and announced that, even if
we could find the road this time, the place would be closed by the time we got there.
Dejected, we headed back to the university. But then we had an idea which lifted our spirits.
How could we explain our failure to the rest of the European Group? Easy. Step 1: no, we
were just driving around; we had no intention of going to Karlstein. Step 2: we did try to get
to Karlstein, but the driver was crap. Step 3: we didn't mind not getting there,
because Karlstein is totally overrated anyway.
I don't know if any of us ever told Stan how he had inspired us that afternoon!
-Bill Rolston
About five years ago, Moira Peelo and I conducted a modest study to consider how
knowledge has been constructed in British criminology since the 1960s. The outcome was
clear – “there is one outstanding hero, one impressive heroine, one consistent performer,
three major books by other authors and one major ongoing study” (p.481). The outstanding
hero was, of course, Stan Cohen.
-Keith Soothill
So sad. A great loss.
-George S. Rigakos
Stan Cohen was an inspiring teacher and a friend for me too. I am proud to have had this
opportunity and know his ideas are going on.
-Teresa Lapis
Dear Friends,
I want to remind you that when someone like Stanley Cohen, or Louk Hulsman, or
Sandro Baratta, and others disappears, it means to elaborate the meaning and feeling of
our lives, the deep perception of our youthfulness, of our efforts to change things, of
improving knowledge and consciousness about the most dramatic aspects of our
society. So let's stay in this dimension, let's share the deep sense of that, and join each
other in this long, odd way. A hug.
-Beppe Mosconi
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
Visions of Social Control is one of the two most important books on Social Policy, ever
written. Ever written! The other, is Foucault's Discipline & Punish. Oh Stanley, so sad to see
him go. The light of his humanity is so rare, so beautiful, so precious.
-Lynne Wrennall
I would like to add to the many personal tributes my own appreciation. Stan was a founding
father of critical criminology and a key participant in the creation of the European critical
legal studies movement. His humanity, radicalness and perseverance in the face of extreme
adversity offer a great example of the public intellectual in difficult times.
We will remember him,
-Costas Douzinas
I, too, am saddened by news of Stan's death. He was my PhD supervisor, mentor, and a
supportive friend at many important points in my life. He sent a lovely message to my
retirement lunch, and I was greatly honoured to be one of the speakers at his retirement
seminar. It was a great pleasure the summer after the Preston conference to be involved with
him in a research project bringing together issues and developments in social control and
human rights.
I have lots of lovely memories of Stan, who not only inspired me with his work but, among
many other things, introduced me to the music of Doctor John. His rigorous intellect
combined with his humane, warm and generous personality made him one of the most
remarkable people I have ever had the privilege of knowing. We will all miss him.
-Barbara Hudson
It was very, very sad to hear about Stan's passing away. He was a great person, and a great
scholar. I met Stan for the first time in 1973, forty years ago, when we were both in Italy,
Florence to found what later became known as the European Group for the Study of
Deviance and Social Control. The Group has met every year since then, altogether forty times
at various European sites. I remember the starting point well, because it coincided to the day
with the murder of the Latin American Socialist leader and President of Chile, Salvador
Allende, on 11 September 1973. It took, at that time, a few hours for organizers in Florence
to muster 40 000 people, largely communists, loudly demonstrating in the streets of the city
against the coup d'état in Chile. Symbolically, this first conference of the European Group
was called "Social Control in Europe: Scope and Prospects for a Radical Criminology". We
could do nothing then about the coup d'état, but the Italian protests against it were of a great
symbolic context and significance for us.
As the years passed by, Stan participated in several other important political and social
struggles. At the same time, he pursued his scholarly work. A string of crucially important
books came from his hand; to me the most memorable perhaps being the now famous "Folk
Devils and Moral Panics", which came early, in fact in 1973. But there were many others - it
is not possible to mention them all in this short statement. Stan's way of fusing, throughout
his life, deeply engaged political with highly original scholarly work constituted a
masterpiece. At the same time he was a splendid friend, caring for all his comrades in Europe
and elsewhere.
We mourn Stan's untimely death. We miss him greatly.
-Thomas Mathiesen
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
Stan Cohen died on Monday, January 7th. In accordance to Jewish traditions, the funeral took
place already Thursday that week, – at Edgwarebury Cemetery, near London. Here there
were warm words from oldest daughter, granddaughter and a brother, – and from friend and
colleague Laurie Taylor. A farewell to the man, but not to his ideas.
Home from his funeral, I took out his books from the shelf just behind me. They left a big
whole there, just as his death does to so many of his friends. I looked again into some of these
books, particularly “Visions of Social control”. And once more I got an opportunity to reflect
on Stan’s reflections. Reflections are just what make this book so important. It is not a simple
book on social control. Its core is not descriptions, conclusions and advice for action. Its
content is thoughts, critiques of these thoughts, and critique of the critique. It is a book about
how to think about social life, and on the moral base for action.
But these are not reflections without a solid empirical base. He laid much of the foundation
for “Visions” with the book on “Folk Devils and Moral Panics”, as well as the one with
Laurie Taylor on “Psychological Survival”. These books, and of course later books as “States
of Denial” and “Against Criminology”, they are treasures in the criminology of our time.
Let me add some observations on Stan’s importance, as seen from my Scandinavian corner:
I have kept a relatively close contact to British criminology throughout my whole life. From
the old guard with Hermann Mannheim and Max Grünhut, and a bit later Leon Radzinowicz.
And of course at that time Leslie Wilkins, always an outsider in his land. But then, slowly, a
new and important figure emerged: Stan, in the beginning shy and complicated to understand,
but after a while experienced as a warm, thoughtful but also admirable provocative person in
the new generation of British criminologists. He was also soon to become one of the central
participants when delegations from GB were invited to Scandinavian seminars. To me, he
became a dear friend.
For a period, he and his family stayed in Israel. Also there he was, in quite an extraordinary
way, able to stick to ideals of intellectual integrity. He, together with his wife Ruth, became
important independent voices in Jerusalem, courageously fighting for the preservation of
human rights in the middle of the fierce conflict.
He was a great gift to so many among us.
-Nils Christie
We, members of CPEP/PSCS,1 a coalition of activist faculty and students from Carleton
University and the University of Ottawa wish to offer our condolences on the passing of
Stanley Cohen. As critical criminologists committed to the pursuit of social justice we have
been much influenced and inspired by Stan Cohen’s eloquent, path-breaking and insightful
work. We share Cohen’s dedication to what he several times described as efforts at appeasing
‘three voracious gods’: ‘first, an overriding obligation to honest intellectual enquiry itself
(however sceptical, provisional, irrelevant and unrealistic), second, a political commitment to
social justice, but also (and potentially conflicting with both) the pressing and immediate
1
CPEP/PSCS was established in the fall of 2012. Information about the Criminalization and
Punishment Education Project/Le Project de Sensibilisation sur la Criminalisation et la Sanction can
be found on Facebook
at
https:www.facebook.com/pages/Criminalization-and-PunishmentEducation-Project/315706328542334
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
demands for short term humanitarian help.’2
While Stanley Cohen’s inspiring ideas and publications will be prominent in our critical
pedagogy and activism for many years to come in the shorter term critical criminologists at
Carleton University and the University of Ottawa, and colleagues from across Canada and
beyond, will be paying special tribute to Stan Cohen and his academic and activist legacy
during a session at our third annual Critical Criminology conference co-hosted on May 3-4
2013 by the University of Ottawa and Carleton University: ‘Critical Perspectives:
Criminology and Social Justice.’
-Maeve McMahon, Department of Law and Legal Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa,
Canada, contact for CPEP/PSCS.
* A fascinating interview with Stan Cohen, carried out by Maeve McMahon and Gail
Kellough back in 1987, can be accessed on the European Group website:
http://www.europeangroup.org/publications/
Newsletter Articles:
Samantha Fletcher has contributed the second in our series of short articles on contemporary
penal issues, reflecting on the legal and cultural problems facing the Occupy Movement (see
below). Should anybody be interested in contributing an article, please e-mail suggestions to
europeangroupcoordinator@gmail.com. All contributions are welcome.
Sites of Confinement: Registration
The European Group and Liverpool John Moores University will be holding a one-day
conference entitled ‘Sites of Confinement’ on 22nd March 2013. This conference will offer an
opportunity to critically discuss increases in the uses of confinement and incarceration in
relation to neoliberalism, globally as well as in the UK. With activists, researchers and
academics working in prisons, detention centres and camps, it will consider the roles of social
structures, power, and lived experience in relation to confinement. Importantly, this
conference will consider increases in incarceration as a method of social control in areas of
extreme deprivation, as well as with marginalised groups. This conference is free to attend,
but limited to 90 participants. Please register here: http://confinement.eventbrite.com/. As this
is a free event, lunch will not be provided. However, refreshments will be available
throughout the day.
European Working Groups
Please note that the ‘Working Group on Prisons and Punishment’ will be launched at the
Sites of Confinement conference (see immediately above). Should anyone be interested in
getting involved, please contact David Scott for the prisons group (dscott@uclan.ac.uk).
For more details about the proposed ‘European Working Group on Migration and Migration
Controls/Detention’, please contact Monish Bhatia (M.Bhatia@hud.ac.uk) and Vicky
Canning (v.canning@ljmu.ac.uk )
If anyone would like to create a working group in another area, please get in touch with
Emma Bell at europeangroupcoordinator@gmail.com
2
Intellectual Scepticism and Political Commitment: The Case of Radical Criminology. Stichting W.A.
Bonger-Lezingen. Monograph. University of Amsterdam: Bonger Institute of Criminology. 1990. Pp
28-29
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
III Comment and analysis
Samantha Fletcher reflects on the problems facing the Occupy Movement.
On Being Occupied: Alternative futures and the elusive ‘99%’
‘You think you’re occupying, but you’re occupied.’ (Barksdale, 2012:8)
Since its emergence in 2011, it has been argued, or at minimum implied, by many (see: Lear
& Schlembach, 2011; Nader, 2011, Sitrin, 2011 cited in: Van Gelder, 2011) that the Occupy
movement has captured the ‘global imagination’ in the face of what was previously perceived
to be a future where there was ‘no alternative’ to capitalism (Fisher, 2011). Speaking about
his own experiences at Occupy Wall Street (henceforth OWS), before his untimely passing,
Neil Smith (2012) of City University New York highlighted how, despite comparatively
‘small’ numbers of people physically occupying spaces globally (perhaps 21,000 in total), the
movement appeared to be symbolically much bigger. These observations are arguably
accurate in so far as to say that the Occupy movement could be seen as having punctured the
previously supposed impenetrable hegemonic blanket of capitalism. In doing so, this has
allowed alternative ideas to seep through the punctures and has provided a space for
alternative discourse. However, the question asked now is what is the legacy of the Occupy
movement and where do we go from here? This short article suggests that the movement
faces a series of intricate challenges if it, or any of its related movements, is to progress.
These are outlined and discussed here under two broad categories: a. the challenge of
obstructive manifestations of state violence (‘overt’ challenges) and b. the challenge of
coercive hegemonic cultures (‘covert’ challenges).
To begin with, we can identify with much greater ease the ‘overt’ challenges for the Occupy
movement, broadly speaking manifestations of state violence or violence facilitated by the
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
state. Blatant actions of warfare from the state, or facilitated by the state, have been
extensively written about in the recent emerging literature about the Occupy movement.
There is a series of well-documented aggressive and violent actions towards the Occupy
movement and its occupiers and these come mainly from the police and private security
personnel, but also from a number of fascist factions. The Occupy movement has also
witnessed the utilisation and manipulation of antiqued laws to hinder its operations, such as
the requirement for a permit to amplify sound; the application of anti-camping ordinances to
remove occupiers; and arrest warrants for violations of a 150 year-old state statute which
‘prohibits masked gatherings of two or more people, with the exception of masquerade balls’
(Khalek, 2012). Furthermore, we have seen the broadening scope of legislation set to
criminalise a series of acts associated with protest movements, most notably plans by the
Spanish Government to implement legislative changes in 2013 which will allow the peaceful
occupation of public spaces to be labelled as ‘an attack against public order’ (Hudig, 2012:
4). Such clear manifestations of state violence or violence3 facilitated by the state are
relatively tangible, explicit and easy to identify and, whilst they are extensive, they are far
less insidious than the other challenge(s).
The main challenge for the Occupy movement can broadly be defined as a set of ‘covert’
hegemonic coercive cultures which are not only more extensive than the latter but also, it will
be argued here, provide a far bigger threat to the realisation of any potential alternative
future. So captivating are these powers that the possible and likely consequence is a 99%4
who feel the effects of the capitalist crisis, yet fail to relate the resistance movement to the
crisis of their own lives (a sentiment echoed by Ateş (2012) in an article about OWS). At the
risk of an analysis by anecdote, the following story illustrates the story point. At an event in
London5 towards the end of 2012, Mark Fisher, author of Capitalist Realism: Is there no
alternative? highlighted changes in UK TV broadcasting, especially since the 1980s. Using
the UK TV station Channel 4 as an illustrative example, Fisher described the shift from
politically-charged, thought-provoking programming to one predominantly dominated by
‘reality TV’. This reality TV has been identified as reproducing the criminalisation and
demonisation (Skeggs, 2011) of many already marginalised groups e.g. My Big Fat Gypsy
Wedding – a scathing depiction of travelling communities in the UK. The accessible political
discourse that formally emerged from Channel 4 in previous decades has been replaced with
a plethora of reality TV. This reality TV programming is charged with subtle and not-sosubtle undertones of a neoliberal rhetoric persuading viewers to follow the lessons of their
oppressor, providing a vehicle for a distinction between the ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’
poor (or ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ 99%) to flourish. At present, the only semblance of
any real critical engagement from the politics of the left in the UK mainstream media comes
from the lone voice of Owen Jones (Fisher, 2012). Jones’ commentary stands out markedly
against a series of other voices that occupy this space with the gamut of A-B politics that is
neoliberal hegemony.
3
State violence is defined here as the infliction of illegitimate harm in contravention of legal or moral
norms (Ward & Green, 2009)
4
The 99% is a term employed by Occupy Wall Street to describe the income inequality between the
richest top 1% of the population compared to the remaining 99% of the population.
5
Organised under the banner, ‘Up the Anti: Reclaim the future!’. See http://uptheanti.org.uk/.
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
Secondly, let us turn our attention to the role of new media technology. Klein (2011),
speaking at OWS, claimed that what did not matter was ‘whether we can fit our dreams for a
better world into a media sound bite’ (Klein, 2011 cited in: Van Gelder, 2011: 48). Whilst
ideally this should not matter, in reality it does matter greatly as the ‘media soundbite’ is fast
becoming the modus operandi of many of our everyday interactions. In the context of recent
emerging protest movements, the events from Tahrir in 2011 were depicted in a book entitled
‘Tweets from Tahrir’ a text wholly dedicated to the ‘tweets’6 that were posted online during
the occupation of Tahrir square via the Twitter social network. Whilst the story depicted
through these ‘tweets’ was useful, the idea of one of the most significant political events of
2011 being articulated in a series of disjointed single sentences is potentially extremely
problematic and indicative of an emerging new culture of communication. The question this
raises is, ‘Can 140 characters or less7 provide a platform for any kind of meaningful
engagement with political struggles seeking to create an alternative future?’ What we face is
a series of problematic cultures, associated with new media technology becoming part of our
everyday interactions. These cultures are not necessarily conducive to the type of meaningful
communication required to meet the goals of the Occupy movement. Each day many of the
99% type a plethora of ‘LOLs’ but fail to actually ‘Laugh Out Loud’. Similarly, we see how
technology has the power to take the ‘active’ out of ‘activism’. Arguably, vast swathes of the
99% have succumbed to the ‘marketisation of social change’ (White, 2011). The implications
are the cultivation of an ‘alone together’ (Turkel, 2011) culture whereby the revolution is
merely ‘liked’ on Facebook in isolation and never realised. This is not to devalue the
potential of new media technology which has provided many positive methods of
communication and information distribution to a wide audience for the Occupy movement.
However, what should be recognized is that new media technology is a dangerously doubleedged sword. The role of new media technology should be situated and critically analysed
from within the framework of coercive capitalist cultures. The overarching concern is that
even if the relatively ‘small’ numbers of the Occupy movement devised a strategy for a new
alternative future, it is unclear who would actually be willing or able to engage with it unless
it was broken down to meet the dietary needs of a ‘#’8 audience. It could be argued that there
is a need for relearning how to meaningfully engage in dialogues beyond those in a format of
140 characters or less. Unfortunately, this hegemonic cultural occupation still appears to be
far more successful at capturing the global imagination than the Occupy movement itself.
There are numerous everyday examples where the spirit of Occupy pales in comparison to the
‘spirit’ of capitalist culture.
The Occupy movement appears to be continuously seeking to unite around ‘universal’ issues
that bring together the, arguably elusive, ‘99%’. In the first instance, it defined its cause in
sweeping economic terms, positioning the world’s richest ruling elite against the proletariat
masses. Most recently, it has turned its focus to the issue of debt as the ‘ties that bind’ (Debt
Strike 2012; Rolling Jubilee 2012). It appears to be the general consensus that, amid a
celebration of difference, a tangible commonality of struggle should be sought in order to
It is worth noting that these ‘tweets’ came from those who posted in the English language.
Twitter uses can only post comments that are 140 characters or less.
8
This refers to the use of the # on the Twitter social network to identify ‘trending’ topics
6
7
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
provide the means to mobilise the mass proletariat in a meaningful way for an alternative
future. However, to paraphrase the sentiment of Barksdale (2012), we think we are
occupying, but in reality we are occupied. This occurs in both ‘overt’ and ‘covert’ ways,
some of which have been outlined here. The consequence of this two-fold occupation of both
the physical and the metaphysical creates more fractures amongst the 99% than the
inequalities that it seeks to challenge. Recognition and exposure of the intricacies of this
hegemonic occupation should be a priority for the Occupy movement. The capitalist cultural
occupation of the masses, in all its nefarious forms, is a coercive power so stealthy that few
even make it to the Occupy ‘party’. This is not to say that many of these issues are not
already recognised, but they require far more critical attention in the explicit context of the
Occupy movement than they are currently receiving. A broadly adopted mantra of the
Occupy movement has oft been that of ‘it's not a protest, it's a process’. Perhaps that process
needs to start with the recognition that what really unites the 99% is the multifaceted, ever
changing and ambidextrous (Peck, 2010) gauntlet of hegemonic coercive cultures that
perpetually contain the potential of the 99%. #wheredowegofromhere?
References
Ateş K (2012) ‘OWS and the Working Class’, Journal of Communist Theory and Practice 5 available at
http://insurgentnotes.com/ (accessed 26/02/12).
Barksdale A (2012) ‘Occupy LA: The Worst and Best’, Journal of Communist Theory and Practice 5, available
at http://insurgentnotes.com/ (accessed 26/02/12).
Fisher M (2009) Capitalist Realism: is there no alternative? London: Zero Books.
Hudig K (2012) ‘European governments step up repression of anti-austerity activists’, Statewatch, Volume 22
No 1 pp 1 – 7.
Khalek R (2012) 12 Most Absurd Laws Used to Stifle the Occupy Wall St. Movement Around the Country,
available at http://www.alternet.org (accessed 10.12.12).
Lear B & Schlembach R (2011) ‘If you don’t let us dream, we won’t let you sleep?’ in Lunghi A & Wheeler S
(eds) (2011) Occupy Everything: Reflections on why it’s kicking off everywhere, Brooklyn: Minor
Compositions.
Nunns A & Idle N (2011) Tweets from Tahrir: Egypt's Revolution as It Unfolded, in the Words of the People
Who Made It, New York: OR Books.
Peck J (2010) ‘Zombie neoliberalism and the Ambidextrous State’, Theoretical Criminology 14:104 – 110.
Rolling Jubilee: http://rollingjubilee.org/ (accessed 23/01/13).
Skeggs B (2010) ‘The Moral Economy of Person Production: the Class Relations of Self-Performance on
‘Reality’ television’, The Sociological Review, Volume 57, Issue 4, pp 626–644.
Smith, N. (2012) 'Every Revolution has its Space: From Occupying Squares to Transforming Cities?'
OpenSpace Leverhulme Visiting Professorship event at The University of Manchester 25.04.12
Strike Debt: ‘Debt is a tie that binds the 99%’, available at http://strikedebt.org/ (accessed 23/01/13).
Turkel S (2011) Alone Together: Why we expect more from technology and less from each other, New York
:Basic Books.
Van Gelder S (ed) (2012) This Changes Everything: Occupy Wall Street and the 99% Movement, San Fransisco:
Berrett-Koehler Publishers [Yes! Magazine]
White M (2010) ‘Clicktivism is ruining leftist activism’, available from: The Guardian Online (accessed
24/01/13)
-----
Author Bio
Samantha Fletcher is a Lecturer in Sociology at Staffordshire University. She is currently
completing her PhD at Liverpool John Moores University. It is a critical exploration into the
changing forms of both coercive state power and manifestations of state violence in the
context of recent forms of contestation, primarily with reference to the Occupy movement.
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
Lucy Edkins explains ‘Outsourcing Abuse’ (cover page art)
In illustrating Outsourcing Abuse, a report consisting of nearly 300 personal accounts of the
abuses suffered by asylum seekers during forced removal from the UK, and the more recent
State Sponsored Cruelty, a report highlighting the psychological impact on children in
detention, I was continuing a body of work I started for lawyers by illustrating the 2004
Tipton Report, focusing world attention on the abuses carried out on detainees at
Guantánamo Bay; followed by the unpublished 2005 Belmarsh series reporting the
psychological abuse suffered by men detained indefinitely without trial in the UK under
Control Orders and the impact on their families; and by the unpublished 2006 Rendition
series of prints I created in response to the Council of Europe's report of apparent European
complicity in 100 illegal CIA kidnappings on European territory and subsequent rendition to
countries where the men could be tortured.
I created the Guantánamo and Belmarsh series using a kind of illustrational journalism by
interviewing some of the men and families involved. Photographs were not possible, so the
lawyers felt the paintings would help grab media attention. We exhibited the paintings, along
with ceramics produced by the Belmarsh detainees in London, (and with the addition of the
Libyan detainees' cartoons) Edinburgh & Glasgow.
The Outsourcing Abuse series of paintings and prints, apart from being displayed at the back
of a public debate about forced asylum removal held at the House of Commons, at the
publication launch meeting and a one day dedicated exhibition, 'Family Removals', with talks
at South Bank University, has yet to receive a sustained exhibition.
The illustrations series can be viewed on www.lucyedkins.com under
Political Illustrations:
http://www.lucyedkins.com/acrylics%20on%20paper/Acrylics%20on%20paper.htm
For the report ‘Outsourcing Abuse’ see:
http://www.medicaljustice.org.uk/images/stories/reports/outsourcing%20abuse.pdf
For ‘State Sponsored Cruelty’ see:
http://www.medicaljustice.org.uk/images/stories/reports/sscfullreport.pdf
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
IV News from Europe and the world
Canada
Graduate Studies Programme: Carleton University at Ottawa welcomes applications to its
graduate studies programme. See: http://www1.carleton.ca/law/ccms/wp-content/ccmsfiles/GradBrochure2011.pdf
EU
Statewatch has just published a report on EU Immigration and Asylum Law in 2012 entitled
The Year of Living Ineffectually, authored by Professor Steve Peers from the University of
Essex. It provides an overview of EU legislation on immigration issues in 2012 and
concludes that little has actually been done so far to complete the second phase of the
Common European Asylum System. The report can be accessed here:
http://www.statewatch.org/analyses/no-210-immigration-asylum-12.pdf
Migreurop has published a map pinpointing the principal sites of migrant detention in the
EU. It is accessible in French here:
http://www.migreurop.org/IMG/pdf/Carte_Atlas_Migreurop_19122012_Version_francaise_v
ersion_web.pdf. The English version is not currently working but should be available soon.
France
News
Last December, France modified its asylum law to abolish the solidarity offence which made
it illegal to support or assist undocumented migrants. However, the law allows the detention
of such migrants for up to 16 hours where they cannot produce necessary documentation.
This latter provision finds another way of enabling the police to detain migrants in custody
following the decision from the Cour de cassation last summer which deemed their detention
for a 24-hour period for the purposes of carrying out identity checks to be illegal. See
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2012/dec/france-abolishment-solidarity-offence.htm
(in
English),http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichLoiPreparation.do?idDocument=JORFDOLE00
0026425454&type=general and http://www.liberation.fr/depeches/2013/01/01/sans-papiersretenue-de-16-heures-et-fin-du-delit-de-solidarite-publiees-au-jo_871058 (in French).
In 2012, France deported 36,822 men, women and children under the immigration legislation,
up 11.9% since 2011. See http://www.gisti.org/spip.php?article3005 (in French).
In the context of a rising prison population (up from 75 prisoners per 100 000 of the total
population to 104 per 100 000 between 2002 and 2012), the socialist MP Dominique
Raimbourg presented a report on ways of tackling prison overcrowding. It is suggested that
parole should be automatic once offenders have reached the third-way point of their sentence
and the half-way point for those serving sentences of five years or longer. See
http://www.liberation.fr/societe/2013/01/23/pour-vider-les-prisons-le-depute-donne-sescles_876259
and
http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/14/controle/lois/surpopulationcarcerale.asp#publication (in French).
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
Conference
A conference entitled ‘Birth and Mutations in the Justice of Minors: From the end of the
19th Century to the 1950s’ is to be held at the University of Angers form 10th-12th April
2013. For more info, see http://criminocorpus.hypotheses.org/5085
Germany
Statistics
A number of useful statistics on the penal system in Germany are available here (in English):
https://www.destatis.de/EN/FactsFigures/SocietyState/Justice/Justice.html
Planned simplification of the surveillance of telecommunications in Germany. See:
http://www.zeit.de/digital/datenschutz/2012-12/tkg-pin-bundesrat/seite-1
Italy
Call for Papers
Giuseppe Campesi and Alvise Sbraccia are currently looking for contributors to a new book
entitled The Borders of Control. Papers of 9000 words should be submitted by 15th May
2013. For more info, please see https://www.facebook.com/notes/etnografia-e-ricercaqualitativa/call-for-papers-monographic-issue-on-the-borders-of-control-edited-by-giuseppec/334813419949995
Northern Ireland
Prison Inquiry
Phil Scraton outlines the case for a detailed public inquiry into prisons in Northern Ireland,
highlighting the failure of the Prison Service to address the needs of vulnerable prisoners.
See: http://www.thedetail.tv/columns/comment/ni-prisons-the-case-for-a-public-inquiry
Norway
Conference videos
Videos from the Second Oslo International Symposium on Capital Punishment are available
here: http://www.jus.uio.no/english/services/knowledge/podcast/conferences/2012/capitalpunishment.html
Poland
Call for Papers
A conference entitled ‘Legal Aspects of Diversity in Europe’ will be held in Poznan,
Poland next June. See: http://www.helsinki.fi/law/research/diversity_conference.html
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
Sweden
Articles and reports
The Nordic Journal of Masculinity Studies publishes many articles in English. See:
http://www.idunn.no/ts/norma?languageId=2
Two interesting reports on domestic violence in Sweden are available here:
http://www.socialstyrelsen.se/Lists/Artikelkatalog/Attachments/18606/2012-2-16.pdf (in
English) - Their Own Fault? A Study Guide to Female Victims of Violence with Substance
Abuse or Addiction Problems – and here:
http://www.socialstyrelsen.se/Lists/Artikelkatalog/Attachments/18602/2012-2-13.pdf (also
in English) - Looking the Other Way: A Study Guide to Female Victims of Violence with
Disabilities. Christina.Ericson from the European Group helped to author the second of these
reports.
Switzerland
Statistics
Statistics on youth justice in Switzerland from 1999 to present are available here (in German
and French): http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/themen/19/03/04.html%20
Statistics on domestic violence in Switzerland registered by the police are available here:
http://issuu.com/sfso/docs/797-120005?mode=embed&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml&s
howFlipBtn=true (in German). They show a significant increase in assault and battery
United Kingdom
News and analysis
On 9th January 2013, the Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, announced the release of a
consultation paper on offender rehabilitation entitled Transforming Rehabilitation: A
Revolution in the Way We Manage Offenders (see: https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digitalcommunications/transformingrehabilitation/supporting_documents/transformingrehabilitation.pdf). He declared: ‘My
vision is very simple. When someone leaves prison, I want them already to have a mentor in
place. I want them to be met at the prison gate, to have a place to live sorted out, and to have
a package of support set up, be it training, drug treatment or an employability course. I also
want them to have someone whom they can turn to as a wise friend as they turn their own
lives around. I intend to open up the market for probation services, so that we can combine
the expertise that exists in the public sector probation service with the innovation and
dynamism of private and voluntary providers’ (see:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm130109/debtext/1301090001.htm#13010946000003). In practice, this will open the door to the wholesale
privatisation of probation services in the UK and lead to the increased surveillance of
offenders, even those on short sentences, after their release. Tim Newburn from the LSE
comments here: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/archives/29753. Unsurprisingly, the
CBI, the lobby group representing business interests in the UK, welcomed the proposals with
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
open arms (http://www.wired-gov.net/wg/wg-news1.nsf/0/46FA31EA34FAE72580257AEF00522E77?OpenDocument).
It seems that the ‘titan prison’ is back. Just one day after announcing radical reforms for the
probation service, Chris Grayling announced that he is looking at the possibility of housing
2,000 offenders housed in a single jail (see: http://www.justice.gov.uk/news/pressreleases/moj/changes-to-the-prison-estate). There are also plans to close some smaller jails.
See comment here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/13/penal-policychris-grayling-titanic-distraction.The plans mean that prisoners are even more likely to be
detained far from their homes, thus breaking ties with family and friends and rendering
rehabilitation more difficult. In terms of rehabilitation, the latest Ministry of Justice reforms
are totally incoherent.
Police in Manchester, Northumbria, the West Midlands and London have been carrying out a
‘DNA sweep’ under the powers of the Crime and Security Act 2010. The law allows the
police to take DNA samples from people previously convicted of sexual and violent offences
so that these can be matched against the DNA from unsolved crimes. Gay men who were
arrested for the consensual offence of gross indecency before it was repealed in 2003 have
found themselves targetted by the DNA sweep and lumped together with violent sexual
offenders. See http://www.newstatesman.com/lifestyle/2013/01/police-demand-dna-samplesgay-men.
Her Majesty’s Inspector of Prisons has highlighted the use of force against children and
pregnant women detained in immigration removal centres in the UK. An inspection report
stated, ‘We were very concerned to find that force had been used to effect the removal of a
pregnant woman, using non-approved techniques. There is no safe way to do this while
protecting the unborn child and it is simply not acceptable to initiate force for such purposes’.
See: http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/inspectoratereports/hmipris/immigration-removal-centre-inspections/cedars/cedars-2012.pdf. The UK
Border Agency rejected calls to end such practices. See:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jan/11/uk-border-agency-rejects-force
The Youth Justice Board and the Ministry of Justice are considering opening up new ‘secure
academies’ in which young offenders may be educated:
http://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/1075829/secure-academies-proposals-boost-offenderseducation
The government has admitted placing young people aged under 18 in adult prisons:
http://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/1075953/government-admits-placing-offenders-adultjails
Twenty-two people died in police custody in England and Wales last year (see
http://inquest.gn.apc.org/website/statistics/deaths-in-police-custody). Inquest has called for an
independent inquiry into the problem. The issue is also discussed here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9781000/9781348.stm and here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16678970
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
Up to 650 students face deportation from the UK back to Syria where they may be subject
to "detention, torture and even assassination at the hands of the Syrian regime". See
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/01/14/syrian-students-face-deportation-death-torturetuition-fees_n_2472639.html
Conferences, seminars and lectures
‘How Corrupt is Britain?’ The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies and the University Of
Liverpool School Of Law and Social Justice have jointly organized a conference on Friday
10th May 2013. There will be an evening showing of the film `Who Polices the Police?' by
Ken Fero. For more details see: http://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/hcib.html
The Centre for African Studies at the University of London is launching a film series entitled
‘Slavery & The African Diaspora From a Global Perspective’ which will run from 30th
January to 27th February. See: http://www.soas.ac.uk/cas/events/30jan2013-history-on-film-slavery--the-african-diaspora-from-a-global-perspective-.html
International Summer School in Forced Migration 1-19 July 2013, Refugee Studies Centre,
Oxford University. Application is now open! Please note that the deadline for applications is
1 May 2013. For further details and how to apply see: www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/study/internationalsummer-school<https://mail.hud.ac.uk/owa/UrlBlockedError.aspx>
Prisoners, citizenship, desistance and voting rights: This seminar will be co-hosted by the
University of Sheffield and the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies on Thursday 14 March
in London. A mix of policy makers, practitioners and academics will discuss introductions by
Chris Bennett and Stephen Farrell (University of Sheffield) and then consider the policy
implications. The seminar will take place from 11am until 4.30pm on Thursday 14 March. If
you would like to attend then please e-mail Sam Harding:
samantha.harding@crimeandjustice.org.uk
Job Opportunities
Criminology lectureships at Aberystwyth University. Closing date 13th February. See
http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/media/LAW.13.01.pdf
Criminology lectureship available in the Department of Sociology at the University of Essex.
Closing date 12th February. See
http://gs12.globalsuccessor.com/fe/tpl_essex01.asp?newms=jj&id=68854
Internship
Freedom from Torture is recruiting a campaigns and communications intern. Our internships
are for people with a background in human rights or refugee protection who are interested in
gaining more experience in campaigns and communications to support future roles in similar
non-governmental organisations. Further details, including information on how to apply, are
available on Freedom from Torture’s website: http://www.freedomfromtorture.org/workingfor-us/vacancies/7043. Closing date: Monday 18 February 2013
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …
Call for Papers
Reclaim justice!
The Reclaim Justice Network is looking for short contributions and blogs of no more than
600 words. Check out the site and if you would like to share learning and ideas on how to
promote genuine alternatives to criminal justice systems and social inequalities, then email
Penalexcess@crimeandjustice.org.uk.
A special issue of State Crime on State-Corporate Crime and Harm will be published in
November 2014. It welcomes contributions which focus upon aspects of the particular
theoretical, conceptual, methodological, empirical and, indeed, political challenges posed by
the production of crime and harm at the interstices of state-corporate activity, as the latter
takes new and dynamic forms. Contributions from a variety of disciplinary and theoretical
perspectives are welcomed. Please contact Steve Tombs at steve.tombs@open.ac.uk,
although there is no need to do so nor formally register interest.
We would like to thank Kathy Angus for her
creative input in this month’s edition and Lucy
Edkins for the cover page photograph. Also, a
BIG THANKS to all the European Group
members for making this newsletter successful..
Please feel free to contribute to this newsletter
by sending any information that you think
might be of interest to the Group to
Emma/Monish
europeangroupcoordinator@gmail.com
Please try to send it in before the 25th of each
month if you wish to have it included in the
following month’s newsletter. Please provide a
web link (wherever possible).
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS …