DIC
2003 Annual Report
Submitted by
April 7, 2004
This report details the activities of the DIC
since the submission of our last annual report in April, 2003.
According to the DIC Constitution the Division
has the following purpose:
I.
to foster research
and exchange of information concerning criminology in an international
perspective;
II.
to encourage
effective teaching and practice of criminological principles and to develop
curricula for courses in international criminology;
III.
to identify criteria
and standards for evaluating criminal justice systems;
IV.
to provide a forum
for personal interaction and exchange of ideas among persons involved in
international criminology; and,
V.
to promote conference
sessions pertaining to international criminology.
Elections were held in August for 2003-2005
Officers.
re-elected Chair, William F. McDonald Secretary
and
At the DIC Business Meeting in Denver, the
following short term objectives were adopted for 2003-2005. These objectives supplement those previously
stated as our purpose in the DIC Constitution.
·
Encourage excellency in
comparative/international scholarship
·
Play a leading role in our role as a recognized
NGO at the UN
·
Increase student membership and membership from
developing nations
·
Liase more closely with the ASC Board and with
other ASC divisions and committees in achieving internationalisation of the ASC
·
Encourage transparency of crime and criminal
justice data worldwide and facilitate research access to such data by
criminologists.
·
Monitor funding
resources (or lack thereof) for international/comparative criminology
DIC Membership at the time of our business
meeting at the ASC in Denver totalled 411.
This represents an increase from 360 in 2002 and 275 in 2001. Several membership recruitment events took
place this year. At the ASC Annual
Meeting in Denver, DIC sponsored sessions were papered with a flyer encouraging
presenters and attendees at those sessions to become DIC members. Additionally, all ASC members received a
sheet that was enclosed with the annual ASC membership renewal mailing in early
2004. DIC Chair Barberet distributed a
flyer at the ISC congress in Rio de Janeiro and the ESC conference in Helsinki,
both in August of 2003. A membership
committee chaired by Ineke Marshall and composed of three students has been
established for 2003-2004, to promote membership among ASC student members in particular.
The DIC voted at its business meeting to offer
free membership to all ASC members from developing countries, using World Bank
indicator criteria (GDP) currently adopted by the International Sociological
Association for its own sliding scale membership fee. This has meant adding about 25 more members
to the DIC roster.
According to records kept by ASC Executive
Director Chris Eskridge, the DIC is now the largest ASC Division. Our current aim is to hit 500 members by
Nashville.
2.4.
Finances
Finances were reported in absentia by DIC Treasurer
DIC BUDGET REPORT
INCOME AND EXPENSES FOR 2002
THROUGH TO 30 SEPTEMBER 03
ITEM |
AMOUNT |
BALANCE |
2002 YEAR INCOME |
|
|
Beginning balance |
|
$-
97.46 |
Total 2002 dues paid |
3,045.00 |
2,947.54 |
Luncheons paid |
2,186.00 |
5,133.54 |
Luncheon expenses |
- 3,321.60 |
1,811.94 |
Expenses |
|
|
Printing |
- 95.18 |
1,716.76 |
Awards |
- 360.65 |
1,356.11 |
Postage |
-
54.68 |
1,301.43 |
Balance as of 31 December 02 |
|
$1,301.43 |
|
|
|
2003 YEAR to 30 SEPTEMBER 03[1]
|
|
|
Total 2003 dues paid |
2,820.00 |
4,121.43 |
Luncheons paid |
482.00 |
4,603.43 |
Expenses |
|
|
Printing |
- 107.02 |
4,496.41 |
Balance as of 30 September 03 |
|
$ 4,496.41 |
3.5.
Activities
1:00 p.m. Session 39 Aspects of Crime and Policing in Taiwan
Session
43 Programs Which Prepare Inmates for
Reintegration:
Cross
National Comparisons
Session
47 Punishment and Society: Punitive
Mentalities
Session
53 International Police Issues
Session
61 The New Mafia: Perspectives on the
Changing Nature
of
Organized Crime
2:40 p.m. Session 64 Civilian Disarmament and Genocide
Session
65 The American Society of
Criminology's Special
Consultative
Status at the United Nations
Session 73 Is There a Criminology Strong Enough to
Confront
U.S.
Empire?: Part I-Global Issues
Session 78 International Policing
4:20 p.m. Session 93 Comparative Analyses of Criminal Justice Processes
and
Structures
Session 94 Who in the World Should Have Guns?
Session 109 In Search of Security
Session
117 Understanding Organized Crime and
Terrorism
8:00 a.m. Session 121 Comparative Justice Systems
Session 126 Spatial Analysis as a Tool for Guiding Policy
and
Practice
9:40 a.m. Session 156 Technology and Police Work
Session 160 The Social Construction of Crime and
Punishment
1:00 p.m. Session 180 International Issues in Policing
Session 181 Roundtable: Punitive Regions: The U.S.,
Germany,
and
Japan
Session 204 Roundtable: Eurogang Research Program: Recent
Developments
2:40 p.m. Session 215 Juvenile Justice in Non-Euro-American Traditions
Session 217 Roundtable: International Prison Initiative
(IPI)
Project
Session 230 Roundtable: Counter Colonial Criminology: A
Critique
of Imperialist Reason
Session 236 Comparing Systems of Juvenile Justice
Session 250 THEMATIC SESSION: Theory and Research on
Terrorism
Session 251 Roundtable: Ethnicity as an Essential Factor
in
Understanding
and Explaining the Nature and
Composition
of Organized Crime Groups in the
United
States
Session 253 Roundtable Organized Crime in Poland and
Africa
8:00 a.m. Session 266 Globalization and (In)Justice: Feminist and Critical
Perspectives
Session 271 Longitudinal Research in Criminology II
Session 272 Policy Responses to International Pressures
9:40 a.m. Session 288 Comparative Cross-National Research: Implications
for
Theory
Session 298 Comparative and Cross-Cultural Studies of
Crime and
Criminal
Justice
1:00 p.m. Session 308 THEMATIC SESSION: Generalizing the General
Theory
of Crime
Session 311 Errors in Justice
Session 315 Afro-Optimism and Afrenaissance: Criminology,
Democracy,
and Justice in Post-Colonial Africa
Session 320 A Democratic Model of Policing, Post Conflict
Criminology
and Democratic Development
4:20 p.m. Session 360 International Issues in Juvenile Delinquency
10:40 a.m. Session 419 Homicide and Other Serious Violence
Session 420 Human Trafficking and Criminal Networks
At the Annual Meeting in Denver, besides our
business meeting, the DIC sponsored a hosting service, a table, a luncheon, a
site visit to VS2000, and two special United Nations workshops.
The hosting service was organized by
Ineke Marshall coordinated a DIC table near the
book exhibit.
The DIC luncheon attracted about 80 attendees,
compared to 100 in Chicago and 67 in Atlanta.
A reduced price was offered to students and DIC members, and all enjoyed
the ‘Colorado Homestead buffet’. The DIC
luncheon included an awards ceremony, and afterwards, “open mike” during which
members were allowed to make spontaneous announcements of upcoming conferences
and other activities.
The DIC
Distinguished Book Award was led by committee chair Ineke
Marshall. Committee members were Janice Joseph, Mahesh Nalla, Barbara Owen, and
John Winterdyk. There were 12 books nominated, 10 of which were acceptable
because they had a publication date of 2002, the other two having a 2003
publication date [and therefore eligible in the coming year]. The Committee did
not meet face-to-face but via email. Each member read all of the books, ranked
the top candidates 1, 2 or 3 and the book receiving the highest number of
positive votes was declared the winner.
This year the
award went to Martha K. Huggins, Mika Haritos-Fatouros, and Philip P. Zimbardo
for Violence Workers: Police Torturers
and Murders Reconstruct Brazilian Atrocities, University of California
Press. 2002. The book is an empirical study of criminal justice employees in
several cultures who engage in unlawful/excessive force/violence in the course
of their professional criminal justice duties. The DIC arranged afterwards for
DIC members to purchase the book at a 20% discount thanks to the generosity of
the University of California Press. Four
copies of the book were donated by the authors for distribution to worthy sites
of DIC’s choosing, including universities in Venezuela, Nigeria, and China). A
former student of Martha Huggins received the award on behalf of all the
authors and expressed their gratitude for this recognition.
Marshall also
registered several recommendations for decision-making criteria of the
Committee. 1) The deadline for submission of nominations should be moved
forward from July 1 as getting copies of the books and then moving them into
the reviewing member’s hands over the summer proved difficult. 2) The
international/comparative nature of the work should be emphasized. 3) It must
be published in English. 4) It should demonstrate sound theoretical and
methodological frameworks for the subject matter.
The
Distinguished International Scholar Award was presented
by
One recipient
was James Vadackumchery, Professor of Criminology, Police Training College,
Kerala, India who was recognized as one of the leading criminologists in India.
He was unable to attend to receive the award for financial reasons.
The other
recipient was Wang Mu, Professor of Criminal Justice and Law at the Institute
of Criminal Justice, China University of Politics and Law, Beijing, China. He
was recognized for his efforts at popularizing criminology as an academic
discipline in China and his achievement in advancing the understanding of the
politics and economics of crime and crime control in China. He was unable to
attend to receive the award because he encountered delays with the U.S.
government in acquiring a visa.
Awards Committees for 2004 are as
follows. The Book Award Committee volunteers consist of Edna Erez
(Chair), Suzanne Karstedt, and Daniel Glaser. The Distinguished Scholar
Committee consists of Alex Vazsonyi (Chair), Mahesh Nalla, Dirk van Zyl Smit,
and
At the ASC in Denver, the
DIC also sponsored two United Nations related workshops:.
The American Society of Criminology’s Special Consultative Status at
the United Nations. Wednesday, November 19, 2:40-4:10.
International Criminal Justice Reformers Documentary Project,
Friday, November 21st, 2:40-4:10.
The DIC also
arranged a site visit to VS2000 on Friday, November 21st, 9-10:30. There are many DIC members interested in
victimology, and this visit attracted about 15 attendees, many of whom were
from Japan and Taiwan. VS2000 Denver,
was an OVC (Office for Victims of Crime) demonstration project that aims to
provide comprehensive, coordinated and seamless delivery of services to meet
the needs of crime victims at a particular site. The DIC would be happy to organize site visits
in the future. For many of our attendees
from abroad, attending the ASC is a rare and expensive opportunity, such that
offering site visits helps them take advantage of their stay in the United
States.
f.
Journal
affiliation.
DIC Journal
Committee Report was presented by
Subject to ASC approval, the DIC would enter into
a two year “memorandum of understanding” in which the DIC will be able to
appoint five persons to the Advisory Board for terms of three years, ten
persons to the Associate Editor Board for terms of three years [thus giving DIC
50% input] for the cost of $10 raise in DIC dues membership for two (2) issues
of the journal per year beginning in 2005. The objective is to together, with
the editorial management, raise a third tier journal to a second tier journal.
This
recommendation of affiliation with the International Journal of Comparative and
Applied Criminal Justice was approved and will now be put to a balloted vote by
the full DIC membership.
g.
DIC Constitution and By-Laws Reform Proposals were
circulated and discussed. The Chair explained the intent to create a
Treasurer’s post on equal footing with the other officers, changing the
language of Advisory Council to Executive Council, raising to at least four
Executive Councillors from the current three, accelerating the timeframe for
changes in the Constitution and By-Laws, creating a Program Committee to advise
the larger ASC Program Committee on subjects ‘recommended’ by the DIC, creating
a Web-page Committee, creating a Publications Committee (in anticipation of
journal affiliation), creating a U.N. Representation team, structuring the
nominations process [for elected office] better, providing for the DIC Chair as
ex officio member on all Committees, and having Executive Counselors elected by
the membership instead by volunteering.
These modified
revisions were approved and must now be put to a ballot vote by Division
members.
4.6.
ASC Policy
ASC continued to send representatives
in 2003 to meetings of associations of criminology abroad. In last year’s Annual Report, the DIC
informed the ASC Board that it would like to play a greater role in these
“ambassador” trips and that at the very least, it would like the ASC to fully
specify the role of the “ambassador” and request a report on each journey. The DIC is disappointed that this role is not
taken more seriously and that ASC funds have been disbursed for trips that have
not resulted in fuller reports to the ASC membership.
For three years now the DIC has been encouraging
the ASC to consider giving free or reduced membership to criminologists from
developing nations. This year the DIC
has taken the initiative to give free DIC membership to these
criminologists. Obviously, this is only
a gesture of good will since DIC members must first be ASC members. We reiterate our desire to have the ASC take
a stance on this issue.
b.c.
DIC Scholar Travel
Fund
At the DIC business meeting in Denver, we voted
to establish a travel fund for the DIC Distinguished Scholar Award recipient,
conscious that it has been impossible for many of the awardees to travel to the
ASC to collect their award for financial reasons. We also voted to request that the ASC provide
matching funds for this purpose.
The American Society of Criminology
applied for NGO special consultative status to the Economic & Social
Council of the United Nations in 2001, thanks to the work of DIC members
William Chambliss (DIC Chair at the time), Paul Friday and ASC Executive
Director Chris Eskridge. In 2002 this
status was granted. This enables the ASC
to attend a variety of UN meetings in an observational role, the most important
of which are the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice annual
sessions, held in May in Vienna and the quinquennial United Nations Congress on
Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (the next one to be held in Thailand in
2005, for which the DIC is generating interest in special topic sessions) and
to join organisations such as the Alliance of NGOs on Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice and ISPAC
(International Scientific and Professional Advisory Council). The DIC is proud to be spearheading this
effort of representing the ASC at the United Nations. Cindy Smith continued to attend Alliance meetings in New York in 2003,
The DIC would like to reiterate its wish that
the ASC letterhead include the following phrase, as is customary when an NGO is
granted consultative status at the U.N.:
“The American Society
of Criminology is a non-governmental organization in consultative status with
the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.”
Conclusion
The DIC is engaged in constant dialogue twelve
months a year on issues relating to comparative international criminology, not
just at the Annual Meeting of the ASC.
The DIC’s role is three-pronged
and includes that of village, advocate and resource. It provides an informational support network
for DIC members (‘village’), it advocates for the international perspective
within the ASC at large, and it constitutes a valuable knowledge resource for
the ASC, the United Nations and other research communities.
[1] These are the
first 3 quarters figures for 2003. There
will no expenses until after the ASC meeting in Denver.