By Dr Louise Brangan, University of Stirling Why do societies punish as they do? And why do these systems of punishment change, sometimes dramatically? This study will explore these theoretical and historical questions by pursuing an original perspective, examining the mass decarceration of women and girls in the Republic of Ireland between 1970-1998. In 1950s … Continue reading Mass Decarceration: A critical social history
By Richard Kjellgren As I write the first sentence of this blog post, I officially entered Year 2 of my PhD, and it dawned on me that it has been 217 days since I last set my foot inside my cosy office at the University of Stirling. As we all do our best to adapt … Continue reading Reflections from an increasingly digitalised criminology student
By Professor Laura Piacentini, University of Strathclyde On hearing the Scottish government announcement, made on the 18th of March, that schools in Scotland would close indefinitely from the 20th of March, and that we would then enter a period of lockdown because of the epic human catastrophe called Covid-19, I entered a period of what … Continue reading Living Under Covid-19
By Dr Emiline Smith, Lecturer in Art Crime and Criminology, University of Glasgow At the start of October 2019, I traveled to Hong Kong to teach at the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong under the Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility scheme. The Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research and … Continue reading Creativity, Inbetweenness and the Fight for Democracy: the 2019 Hong Kong Protests
By Fergus McNeill, Professor of Criminology & Social Work at the University of Glasgow Between 20th and 27th April this year, I visited Chile at the invitation of the Centro de Estudios Justicia y Sociedad at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (PUC) in Santiago. My job was to present – several times in Santiago … Continue reading What do I know about desistance in Chile? Reflections on criminological travel
By Sarah Armstrong, Director of SCCJR Where should transgender prisoners be housed? This question is in the news once again, with some calling for segregated wings for transgender people in prison. The issue is a complicated one entangling concepts of gender identity, risk, security, vulnerability and dignity. Two opposing themes are emerging in the trans … Continue reading Safety of, from or including transgender people in prison?
By Alistair Fraser, Senior Lecturer, University of Glasgow When we think of organised crime thoughts turn inevitably to images from popular culture. If you are of a certain vintage it will be The Godfather or The Sopranos; for the Netflix generation it might be Breaking Bad or Narcos. A seedy-glamorous world of anti-heroes and outlaws, … Continue reading Why We Need to Change the Conversation about Serious Organised Crime
University of Edinburgh student Luis Reyes reflects on his short visit to the Leuven Institute of Criminology (LINC), supported by the SCCJR International Mobility Fund: It was my first day in Leuven on a short, one week visit, and I was still feeling the effects of fatigue from the last-minute logistics planning my trip there. … Continue reading Looking at Leuven through another lens: Why local context is relevant in influencing policing…and beer?
By Fergus McNeill A paper that I’ve been tinkering around with for over a year has finally been published in Punishment and Society. Mass supervision, misrecognition in the ‘Malopticon’ has been a labour of love as it draws on two encounters with a Scottish man referred to as ‘Teejay’ and discusses what I learned from him … Continue reading BLANKFACE’ AND THE ‘MALOPTICON’
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