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University of Oxford Centre for Criminology
Thanks to the
following organisations
and individuals who
support our work:
AB Charitable Trust
British Academy
Economic and Social
Research Council
FIFA
Lady Edwina
Grosvenor
Goldsmith Chambers
John Fell Fund
Kalisher Trust
Leverhulme Trust
Open Society
Foundations
Annual
Planethood Foundation Report
Wellcome Trust 2019-20
Centre for Criminology Annual Report 2019-20
CENTRE FOR CRIMINOLOGY
Cover: ‘The View from My Office’
– a montage of lock-down images provided by Centre
members working away from Oxford, assembled
in the now familiar grid of an online meeting.
Original photos by (from top, l-r):
Luiz Phelipe Dal Santo, Anna Kotova, Luiz Phelipe Dal Santo
Sanjay Vashishtha (x2), Marion Vannier
Sam O’Donnell, Patrick Tissot, Rachel Wechsler
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ANNUAL REPORT 2019-20
Director’s Introduction
I write this annual report under conditions of lockdown where, like everyone else, I have been
struggling to adjust to the changes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. Staff, students and
research associates are scattered around the world, and the University is closed for the foreseeable
future. It is difficult, under these circumstances to concentrate on administrative tasks like annual
reports, yet, also a privilege to look back over this year and to attempt to summarise our activities.
It is fair to say, that even before the pandemic, that 2019-20 had been a difficult year, marked by
industrial action and uncertainty over the impact of Brexit. Along with colleagues around the world,
in Michaelmas term we mourned the attacks on the Cambridge University’s Learning Together
conference on Friday November 29. We grieved for Saskia Jones and Jack Merritt, whose lives were so
cruelly cut short, and we continue to keep them in our thoughts.
Yet 2019-20 has also been marked by joy and success. I am pleased and proud to note the creation of a
new Death Penalty Research Unit, generously funded through a donation from Lady Edwina
Grosvenor, and supported by initiatives in the Law Faculty and the Centre for Criminology. We
recruited a bumper crop of excellent DPhil students, and have greatly enjoyed teaching and getting to
know our MSc cohort. There have been new babies for our students, alumni and research associates
and we have benefited from getting to know two new colleagues, Dr Katrin Mueller-Johnson and Dr
Estelle Zinsstag.
Since the pandemic, while everyday life has been upended and I am particularly sad about the sudden
disruption of the MSc programme, I am also very proud of the numerous ways in which my colleagues
have engaged in research and writing about COVID-19. I am also proud of our students, many of
whom have been engaged with mutual aid groups in Oxford and further afield.
We have spent considerable effort in maintaining and reinforcing the Centre community, moving it
online, via coffee mornings, reading groups, drop in sessions and one-on-one supervisions. We are all
becoming intimately acquainted with the photogenic nature of Ian’s dog Luna; even those of us who
might otherwise be suspicious of canines altogether.
Images: Luna, photos by Ian Loader
Like the rest of the University sector, Criminology in Oxford will not be unscathed by Coronavirus,
however, hopefully we can emerge from this period with new technical skills and a warm and
connected global community. The virus affects us all, but not in the same way. While the solution rests
in finding effective treatments and a vaccine, it also requires action on structural inequalities. It is here
that we can all contribute with our research, teaching, and local organising and activism. As
criminologists, we are familiar with social inequalities, and now, more than ever, it is important to try
to move beyond critique, to imagining and building a more equitable society.
Mary Bosworth
3
CENTRE FOR CRIMINOLOGY
Part of the Oxford Centre’s Global Criminal
Justice Hub, the DPRU will build on decades of
death penalty research at the Centre, which
began with the work of Professor Roger Hood,
a leading death penalty scholar, who was until
his retirement in 2003, Director of the Centre.
It aims to:
(a) develop empirical, theoretical and
policy-relevant research on the death
penalty worldwide;
(b) encourage death penalty scholarship
including at graduate level, through
education, events, research dissemination
and an active blog; and
(c) engage in knowledge production,
exchange and dissemination in cooperation
with civil society, charities, legal
Death Penalty Research Unit practitioners and local academics in those
countries where research is ongoing.
The Centre for Criminology is pleased to
announce the creation of the Death Penalty It will focus on the retention, administration
Research Unit (DPRU), following a generous and politics of the death penalty worldwide,
donation from Lady Edwina Grosvenor. The seeking to understand the rationales for the
DPRU (to be officially launched in October death penalty, how it is used in practice, and
2020), will be led by Professor Carolyn Hoyle, its diverse application and impact on
working closely with academics, practitioners communities.
and civil society organisations around the
world.
Image: Prof. Carolyn Hoyle and Saul Lehrfreund, Co-founder, Death Penalty Project UK at a panel discussion
on the ‘Global Migration of Bachan Singh’s Rarest of Rare Framework’ hosted by Project 39A in New Delhi,
India in September 2019.
4
ANNUAL REPORT 2019-20
Collaboration with partner organisations and
academics around the world on the production
and dissemination of empirical and theoretical
knowledge will be central to the work of the
DPRU
The Oxford team is currently working with
NGOs around the world including LBH
Masyarakat, Indonesia; Justice Project,
Pakistan; Harm Reduction International;
Veritas, Zimbabwe; and engaging in
collaborative endeavours with Amnesty
International, ADPAN (Anti-Death Penalty
Asia Network); We Believe in Second chances,
Singapore; Capital Punishment Justice Project,
Australia; and the Abdorrahman Boromand
Center, which focuses on human rights in
Iran.
The DPRU also collaborates with academics in
various countries; including at the Capital
Punishment Impact Initiative Australia;
Project 39a, India; Dhaka Law School in
Bangladesh; the Faculty of Law and the
Department of Criminology at the University
of Indonesia and AIDS Research Centre, Atma
Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia.
These projects are aimed at challenging
prevailing rationales for capital punishment
However, the DPRU’s main partner is the
and providing retentionist countries with
London-based legal charity, The Death Penalty
rigorous and independent empirical research
Project (The DPP), which has for 30 years
to allow for evidence-based policies on crime,
engaged in litigation, capacity building and
drugs and capital punishment. The data allow
research on the death penalty in over 30
for new perspectives on social interventions to
countries.
reduce and control crime and drug problems
around the world without recourse to the
Collaborations with The DPP
death penalty.
Since 2004, when Roger Hood became an
Masters and DPhil students will continue to
academic consultant to The DPP, he has
participate in research as part of the DPP-
conducted a series of studies, starting in 2006
Oxford Criminology Research Internship
with research on the mandatory death penalty
Programme. To date, they have produced
in Trinidad and Tobago. Since then, he and
reports on women on death row in Africa and
Carolyn Hoyle have worked with The DPP on
Asia and on death penalty appeals at the Privy
reports on the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia,
Council. Lucy Harry’s DPhil project seeks to
addressing public opinion on the death
understand women’s pathways to drug
penalty, the views of ‘opinion formers’,
offending in Malaysia and their experiences of
sentencing, and wrongful convictions.
death row, while Amelia Inglis’ work on the
experiences of victims of capital crimes in the
In the past few years, Carolyn Hoyle and Roger
US seeks to understand how the protracted
Hood have worked with The DPP and partner
appeals process can militate against recovery
organisations on ‘elite’ opinion research in
for those whose defendants are sentenced to
India, Bangladesh, the Eastern Caribbean and
death. Chloe Deambrogio’s work on the death
Barbados, Zimbabwe, and Indonesia.
penalty in the US adopts an historical
approach, considering the changing landscape
5
CENTRE FOR CRIMINOLOGY
of scientific evidence in capital cases in Texas, Carolyn Hoyle and Lucy Harry will continue
one of many doctoral projects focused on the their research on foreign nationals at risk of
death penalty in the US supervised by Carolyn capital punishment across South and
Hoyle over the past two decades. Southeast Asia. Working with The DPP and
the Capital Punishment Impact Initiative at
In October 2020, new Oxford Criminology Monash University in Australia, their research
DPhil student, Lucrezia Rizzelli will start her will develop theoretical and empirical accounts
project on deterrence, drugs and the death of citizenship and gender alongside of other
penalty in Indonesia as part of an ESRC sites of disadvantage and discrimination.
collaborative studentship. Co-supervised by
Carolyn Hoyle and Katrin Mueller-Johnson, The DPRU has recently received funding from
and Parvais Jabbar of The DPP, she will work the ESRC (Impact Acceleration Account) to
closely with Dr Claudia Stoicescu, a Research collaborate with a team of human rights NGOs
Associate of the Centre for Criminology, and around the world to establish, develop and
the University of Atma Jaya, Indonesia. Her maintain an interactive database of
work will contribute to a larger programme of information on foreign nationals sentenced to
deterrence scholarship being led by The DPP, death in Asia and the Middle East. This
which could be replicated across other collaborative database will record and provide
Southeast Asian jurisdictions. Later this year, access to accurate and up to date information
Carolyn Hoyle and Parvais Jabbar will conduct on the prevalence and frequency of death
a pilot study of prisoners in Jakarta to prepare sentences for, and executions of foreign
for Lucrezia’s research, with assistance from nationals. Aggregate data will include their
Claudia Stoicescu and Ricky Gunawan (former nationality, gender, the crimes that they are
Director of LBH Masyarakat). convicted for and the countries they are
detained in under sentence of death or where
A focus on Asia, Africa and the Caribbean they were executed. This resource will provide
civil society with the tools to effect change for
Though the DPRU team will be international this vulnerable population.
in its reach, including all jurisdictions that
retain the death penalty, particular attention The DPRU and The DPP is currently planning
will be paid to Asia and to the Commonwealth work on elite opinion research in Taiwan, as
countries of Africa and the Caribbean where part of a broader programme of research
there are fewer due process protections and conducted by The DPP, working with Taiwan
retention for crimes that are not typically Alliance to End the Death Penalty and
thought of as the most serious and where Soochow University, Taipei.
many more women and foreign nationals are
exposed to the death penalty than, for
example, in the US.
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ANNUAL REPORT 2019-20
Image: Prof. Carolyn Hoyle and Parvas Jabbar from The Death Penalty Project opening the Human Rights Festival in Jakarta,
Indonesia at the University of Indonesia, December 2019, hosted by Prof. Tuti.
In all of these countries, there is little
scholarship on the death penalty and DPRU’s
commitment to working with local academic
and civil society partners can help to build
capacity for research and engagement that
could have an impact on the retention and
administration of capital punishment. By
building on partners’ research aspirations,
training ‘local’ researchers, and sharing in the
production and dissemination of outputs, they
will seek to ensure that their research has an
impact on governments, civil society, legal
practitioners, organisations that support
women and migrants, and those who are
subject to criminal justice systems. The DPRU
is not only aimed at elucidating the law and
practice of capital punishment worldwide, but
at challenging it, with the explicit aim of
abolition or, failing that, progressive
restriction.
7
CENTRE FOR CRIMINOLOGY
GRADUATE SCHOOL DPhil in Criminology and DPhil in Law
This year we have been joined by 24 full-time Our new DPhil students in Law and
MSc students from across the world, and one Criminology come from a variety of countries
part-time MSc student; our four part-time including the UK, US, Finland, Brazil, Israel.
MSc students from last year entered their They have been funded from a range of
second and final year. We also saw one of our sources including one needs-based bursary
MSc students from last year continue to the from the Centre and Law Faculty, the Rhodes
MPhil, and welcomed ten new full-time DPhil Foundation, the Clarendon Fund at the
students in Criminology, one new full-time University of Oxford, the Wellcome Trust, the
DPhil student in Law, and three new part-time ESRC, Green Templeton College, and FIFA.
DPhil students.
Student Proposed Thesis Title
MSc in Criminology & Criminal Justice
Leah The criminalization of
Crowder humanitarian aid work in
border areas
Kathryn Trust, Blame and Confidence in
Farrow Police Organizations: A
Deliberative Case Study
Amelia Inglis The impact of time on the
healing process of families of
capital murder victims.
Joseph Masculinity, violence, and the
McAulay denial of victimhood:
Understanding the construction
of victimhood in gay Intimate
partner violence.
Rachel Noah Punishment in the Context of
Terror and Conflict: the case
Palestinian Prisoners in Israel
The total MSc cohort, which includes both Luiz Oliveira Mass incarceration at Global
years of the part-time programme, consists of Dal Santo Periphery
29 students, from 11 different countries
including the US, New Zealand, Ireland and Lucy Pearce An Exploratory Study of the
Colombia. As can be seen in the profile Differences in Treatment
booklet students join us from a range of Between Male and Female
backgrounds. While some have already Offenders of Intimate Partner
practised law, a number are intending on Violence in the Criminal Justice
going to law school or to the Criminal Bar. System
Others have experience in the policy world or
are heading into that arena. Quite a few head Ailish Saker ‘Everyone deserves their day in
off to further graduate study, either here in court’; Including victims of
Oxford or elsewhere. A couple of our students non-recent child sexual
are Rhodes scholars, and for the first time we exploitation in the judicial
were able to offer three of our MSc students process.
and our MPhil student means-based bursaries.
Samuel How does the development and
Singler diffusion of surveillance and
security technologies impact the
8ANNUAL REPORT 2019-20
global criminalization of Jasmina 27 Sep 2019 Negotiating Youth
migration? Arnez Deviance and
Parenting: Exploring
Hallam Tuck Punishing Mobility: Citizenship, the Effects of Social
Race, and Privatization in Class in Professional
Foreign-National Prisons in the Interactions
USA
Mia Harris 17 Oct 2019 Queer in the Prison?
What Does it Mean
to be 'Out' Inside?
Part time new DPhil Criminology students
Diana 2 Nov 2019 How restorative
Sandra Understanding the shifting Batchelor justice 'works':
Brunnegger nature of victimhood in (post) Psychological
conflict Columbia changes expected
and experienced by
Stanley Law enforcement and public victims who
Gilmour health, a return to a prevention communicate with
paradigm? offenders
Eva Maria Exploring migrants' practices Emma Burtt 10 Dec 2019 “Sorry Mate, but
Spiekermann of resistance at border spaces you’ll have to eat the
in Europe same food as us
guilty people!” The
Lived Experience of
Claiming Wrongful
Full time new DPhil Law student Conviction in Prison
Kathryn Motherhood in Carceral Space Dominic 18 Dec 2019 Responses to Deaths
Kaelin Aitken in Custody: The
Politics of Prisons
and Immigration
Removal Centres
We also saw a large group of doctoral students
graduate. We congratulate the following Rachel 07 Jan 2020 Recognizing
students who have been awarded their DPhil Wechsler Victims’
during this year, and we wish them all the best Perspectives:
with their future careers. Toward a Human
Rights-based
Name Date of Thesis Title Approach to Human
Completion Trafficking
Lyndon 26 Sep 2019 Consistency in Cian 02 Apr 2020 The Communicative
Harris sentencing: Is the O Architecture of
current guidance in Concubhair Policing
England and Wales
adequate? Jenna 15 Apr 2020 Political Ideology,
Milani Racism, and
Rory Kelly 26 Sep 2019 Behaviour Orders: American Identity:
Preventive and/or An Examination of
Punitive Measures? White Americans'
Support for the
Police Use of
Excessive Force
9CENTRE FOR CRIMINOLOGY
DPhil Law students completed the US during her second year. Earlier this
year she assisted in conducting undergraduate
Arushi 26 Sept 2019 Understanding Rape Law interviews at New College. She is also
Garg Adjudication in Delhi organising a film screening of Free Men,
Trial Courts alongside a Q&A with Samantha Knights QC
and death row inmate Kenneth Reams.
Unfortunately, the event has had to be
Alice 06 Dec 2019 Criminalising postponed.
Irving Preparation: The
Limits of the Law Abdul Rashid Ismail is a part-time DPhil
student researching the abolition of the death
Elise 23 Jan 2020 Offender agency at penalty in Malaysia. He is supervised by
Maes sentencing: Exploring Professor Carolyn Hoyle. Rashid is a corporate
the grounds and scope and commercial lawyer with a special interest
for engaging offenders in constitutional and human rights law in
in the determination of Malaysia. He has been working for the
punishment abolition of the death penalty in Malaysia. He
actively litigates death penalty cases in the
Malaysian courts.
Matthew Bostrom is in the final year of a Lucy Pearce has over the last year been
DPhil in Criminology, supervised by Professor working with Crisis UK to promote the work
Carolyn Hoyle. His research explores a that they do for those struggling with
character-based police officer selection model homelessness. On 23rd December she visited
that is founded on community engagement. several of their London shelters, where they
The early results indicate that selecting police were running Crisis for Christmas and was
officers who possess the community's values interviewed by the press about the work of
increases the levels of trust and legitimacy Crisis UK and how domestic abuse can lead to
between the police and the community, homelessness. She spoke with Sky News, BBC
improves in police officer work habits, and News, BBC Scotland Radio, networks from
positively contributes to perceptions of other countries and volunteering celebrities,
procedural justice, trust, and normative including Ellie Golding, about these issues. She
alignment. He completed his action research at has also had several interviews with journalists
the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and authors to highlight the importance of
and Plano (Texas) Police Department. The improving support for those who are homeless
findings are leading to a model that can be and the connection to domestic violence.
replicated and tested in other communities
and police departments.
Lucy Harry presented at an event hosted by
the French Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, on
‘Alternatives to the Death Penalty’ in
December 2019. Prior to the lockdown, she
was conducting her empirical research in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where she was
collaborating with part-time DPhil student,
Rashid Ismail. Whilst in Kuala Lumpur, Lucy
was a visiting scholar at Monash University
Malaysia, where she was invited to present at a
capacity building workshop on the Malaysian Image: Lucy Pearce being interviewed by the media
death penalty, which has since been cancelled
due to the pandemic. She was due to visit Maayan Ravid successfully passed her
Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia as Confirmation of Status milestone and will
a visiting scholar, but this has been postponed spend the rest of the academic year writing up
until after the lockdown. her DPhil in Israel. While in Israel she has
resumed activism alongside asylum seeking
Amelia Inglis has spent the year preparing for communities from Sudan and Eritrea in their
her DPhil fieldwork which she will conduct in
10ANNUAL REPORT 2019-20
struggles against detention, deportation, and Samuel Singler began his DPhil research,
socio-economic exclusion. which examines the role of security
technologies in the global criminalization of
Nicholas G. Santis successfully passed his migration. He is funded by an ESRC +3
DPhil QT in March 2020. Since September studentship. Alongside his DPhil, Samuel
2019 he has been serving (by judicial assisted Prof Mary Bosworth and Dr Alice
selection/appointment) as President of the Gerlach with their research, ‘Measuring the
Larnaca/Famagusta Assize Court. Quality of Life in Immigration Detention,’ and
continues to assist Mary Bosworth with her
Luiz Phelipe Oliveira Dal Santo has had two project, ‘Enforcing the Border: A Study of
papers accepted for publication this year. One Immigration Removals and Transportation.’
focuses on Brazilian mass incarceration, and Samuel was runner up in the 2019 Border
the other on the systematic murder of citizens Criminologies Thesis Prize, and in April he
committed by Brazilian police—they will come joined the Border Criminologies Editorial
out in June and July, respectively. Luiz has also Team. Samuel has also been involved in
been awarded a Travel Grant by Wolfson outreach activities by giving lectures on the
College to present his paper entitled ‘Beyond topic of ‘Criminology and Security’ as part of
penal populism: when too little—not too The Access Project.
much—democracy leads to mass
incarceration’ in Rome. He was also awarded a
conference fee waiver to present his paper
‘Overcoming neoliberalism, expanding
imprisonment: mass incarceration in post-
neoliberal Brazil’ at the Howard League
International Conference. In April 2020, Luiz
became a peer-reviewer for the International
Journal for Crime, Justice and Social
Democracy. Additionally, he has had research
methods training—both quantitative and
qualitative. Lastly and most importantly, Luiz
became father of his second son, Antonio, in
March 2020.
11CENTRE FOR CRIMINOLOGY
RESEARCH
As ever, Centre staff have been active in a
range of publishing and research. They have
also had considerable success in applications
for research funding within the university and
from external sources.
Between July – September 2019, in
collaboration with Centre research associate,
Oxford Brookes University Lecturer in
Criminology and DPhil Alumna Dr Alice
Gerlach (DPhil, 2018), Mary Bosworth
surveyed the entire immigration detention
estate, using the Measure of the Quality of Life
tool that is based on her ongoing academic
research inside detention centres. Working
alongside current and former students from
the Centre (Dominic Aitken, Samuel Singler
and Elspeth Windsor) with assistance also
from Francesca Esposito, the Newton
International Postdoctoral fellow, Mary and
Alice gathered the first complete data set. The
report, which was published in February 2020 They have commenced a new part of the
forms part of the official evaluation of the project which focuses on civil society
Shaw Review into vulnerable people in organisations in Greece and Italy, and in
immigration detention in the UK. January 2020, with the collaboration of
Francesca Esposito, launched a new
In addition to this work, Mary Bosworth interactive map, Landscapes of Border Control
began a new project (with RA assistance from which seeks to illuminate day to day life in
Samuel Singler), funded by the British detention sites around the world.
Academy and the John Fell Fund, into
detainee transportation and deportation. This In March, 2020, Mary was successful in an
project, which is the first of its kind, involves application to the Leverhulme Foundation for
observation of all stages of the deportation and a visiting Professorship for Michele Pifferi,
removal processes as well as of the day to day Professor of Legal History at the University of
movement of detainees around the detention Ferrara. Under the terms of the award,
system and to court etc. Michele will spend some months with the
Border Criminologies group at the Centre for
Alongside Andriani Fili and Hindpal Singh Criminology from June 2021, where he will
Bhui, Mary visited sites of immigration deliver a series of lectures and seminars, while
detention on Kos as part of the ongoing also conducting research on the legal history of
project on human rights monitoring in Greece. migration control in Italy.
In November, the research team published a
report on practices in Greece and Turkey. Finally, in April, Mary published Bordered
Lives: Immigration Detention Archive, co-
authored with Khadija von Zinnenburg
Carroll and Christoph Balzar. An
interdisciplinary project, this book draws on
the immigration detention archive of artwork
and documentary evidence that Mary has been
gathering since 2009 from immigration
removal centres in the UK. There will be a
book launch in Oxford once such events are
possible again. Meanwhile, it is available free
to download. under a creative commons
license
12ANNUAL REPORT 2019-20
Rachel Condry is one of a team of researchers Francesca Esposito, has commenced her
awarded an ESRC grant of £2,550,850 to project ‘Making Gender visible in Immigration
develop a multi-disciplinary understanding of Detention: An Intersectional Exploration of
the political economies and consequences of Immigration Detention in the UK, Italy, and
school exclusion across the UK. The Portugal’ funded by the British Academy
interdisciplinary team operates across Oxford, through the Newton International Fellowship
Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast and the London scheme. In her research she looks at gender
School of Economics (LSE) and the project is and sexuality in immigration detention, and at
led by the University of Oxford’s Department the gendered experiences of women confined
of Education. In comparing the landscapes of in these sites. With Mary Bosworth and
exclusion across the UK’s four jurisdictions, Hindpal Singh Bhui, Francesca has recently
the study explores cross-cutting themes of: started a partnership with the Portuguese
children’s rights, youth crime, values and the National Preventive Mechanism which will be
role of religion, geographical context, gender dealing with human rights monitoring in
and ethnicity, social class, special needs and immigration detention with a focus on
disability, and mental health, and Rachel will vulnerability and gender. Since the COVID-19
focus upon the connections between school lockdown, Francesca has been working closely
exclusion and youth offending. with an array of Italian NGOs to gather
evidence about how the virus is affected
Further information about the study can be immigration detention centres in Italy. This
found here: information has been uploaded to the
Landscapes of Border Control map on the
Rachel continues to develop her global Border Criminologies website.
prisoners’ families research network. In June
2019 she held a workshop at the Centre Carolyn Hoyle has been particularly busy this
hosting colleagues researching prisoners’ year with her international research on the
families in Mexico, Israel, Japan, Kashmir, the death penalty, traveling every month until the
US, and Europe. Rachel was awarded funds to COVID-19 pandemic to set up or continue
hold a workshop in July 2020 at the working on research projects in Indonesia,
International Institute for the Sociology of India, and Zimbabwe. In March, Carolyn
Law, Onati, Spain which is now postponed. secured funding from the John Fell Fund for a
The network continues to attract more pilot study on ‘Drugs, the Death Penalty and
members and is developing new projects Deterrence in Indonesia’. The funding will
considering the global and cultural aspects of allow her team to test the feasibility of
the experiences of families of prisoners. interviewing prisoners in 3 prisons in Jakarta
about their drug use, convictions, and
In May 2020, with Caroline Miles at the experiences of criminal justice processes as
University of Manchester, Rachel began preparation for a much larger study across
conducting research on experiences of Indonesia. This will include a household
adolescent to parent violence in the Covid-19 survey and a survey of participants in drug
pandemic. Rachel has been awarded a grant rehabilitation centres, as well as a much larger
from the Economic, Social, Cultural, & sample of prisoners. She was also awarded,
Environmental Impacts of Covid-19 - Urgent together with Rudina Jasini an ESRC Impact
Response Fund for a project that will produce a Acceleration Account grant for a project on
fast evidence base on experiences of adolescent ‘Advancing the Impact of Victim Participation
to parent violence through first-hand accounts at the International Criminal Court: Bridging
from parents and the views of experts and the Gap Between Research and Practice’. This
practitioners working directly with families. is aimed at creating pathways for further
The project aims to consider what the impact impact arising from the substantive research
of the pandemic and government restrictions done by Carolyn and Rudina on victims’ rights
has been on families and on violence and and victim participation. They will produce an
abuse, what support has been available to edited collection to bring together the
families during this time and what measures knowledge, insights and practices shared in the
might be put in place at government, local workshops and the training organised as part
authority, and third sector level to protect of their prior ESRC IAA project, conducted in
families and address their needs, both during cooperation with the International Criminal
government restrictions and when those Court Bar Association (ICCBA). This
restrictions are eased. publication and other resources created as part
13CENTRE FOR CRIMINOLOGY
of the completed ESRC IAA project will better evidence base for voice ID procedures
continue to pave the way for a valuable and will test different parameters of ID
contribution to the work of the ICCBA on parades (e.g. length of samples, number of foil
advancing the legal representation of victims voices, witness instructions, parade type), with
at the International Criminal Court. a view to modifying the procedure to optimise
earwitness performance. The second strand
Ian Loader commenced research on the ESRC will investigate from a phonetic perspective
project on ‘place, in/security and everyday life’. why it is that certain speakers are more
The project involves re-visiting a research site distinctive-sounding than others and whether
– Macclesfield in Cheshire - to ask, in the speakers judged to be more distinctive are also
altered conditions of today, what makes people more memorable. The third strand will entail a
secure or in/secure in their daily lives. study of the degree to which social
perceptions, judgements, attitudes and
Shona Minson published her first monograph, stereotypes related to voice(s) can motivate
Maternal Sentencing and the Rights of the witness decision-making during voice parades.
Child with Palgrave. She began working with a The final strand of the project will assess and
Child and Young Person’s Advisory Group to evaluate the extent of police and legal
develop the methodology for her new British practitioners' awareness and experience of
Academy funded research on the impacts on voice parades, beliefs about earwitness
children of parental release and family memory, attitudes to conducting voice parades
reintegration after imprisonment. and how earwitness evidence is received in
court. The current earwitness parade
guidelines were created in 2003 and based on
knowledge derived from eyewitness research.
Since then research has demonstrated that
while exhibiting many parallels the memory
processes involving earwitness testimony are
distinct from eyewitnesses memory and
eyewitness-based ID parade procedure and
bespoke procedures for earwitnesses are
needed. This project will lead to further
improvements in the understanding of
earwitness behaviour and in techniques for
collecting earwitness evidence efficiently
which are essential in investigating these kinds
of crimes. Together with Tim Coupe and
Barak Ariel from the University of Cambridge,
Katrin also published an edited collection:
Crime Solvability, Police Resources and Crime
Detection with Springer.
Katrin Mueller-Johnson is one of a group of
researchers awarded a 3-year ESRC-funded
project on improving voice-identification
procedures. Interdisciplinary in nature, it
connects a team from criminology,
psychology, forensic phonetics and linguistics
from 4 UK universities. It has four main
strands, with the overall aim of improving
understanding of earwitness behaviour and
improving the interaction of the criminal
justice system with the use of earwitness
evidence. The first strand takes an
experimental approach towards creating a
14ANNUAL REPORT 2019-20
Institute for Criminal Law on effectiveness and
proportionality in security law and criminal
justice. And she contributed as rapporteur to a
project on the political economy of crime,
Tracing the Relationship between Inequality,
Crime and Punishment, funded by The British
Academy. More recently, she has carried out
research on the rise of right-wing extremism
and attempts to counter extremism more
generally as part of a collaborative project with
colleagues at UNSW and the University of
Toronto.
In September Estelle Zinsstag launched, with
Dr Kerry Clamp (University of Nottingham),
the newly founded ESC Working Group on
Restorative Justice which they co-chair at the
European Society of Criminology Conference
in Ghent, Belgium. There, Estelle also
launched the book series Studies in Restorative
Justice which she co-edits with Dr Tinneke
Roxana Willis, British Academy Postdoctoral Van Camp (California State University,
research fellow has established the Cameroon Fresno) for Eleven International Publishing,
Conflict Research Group, an interdisciplinary with an author meets critic session of the first
group that aims to investigate the ongoing book in the series Building Bridges: Prisoners,
violence in the anglophone regions of Crime Victims and Restorative Justice by Gerry
Cameroon. The group has secured five Johnstone and Ian Brennan. Estelle has also
funding awards for the work to date, including been involved in a project to disseminate
an award from the Global Challenges Research research regarding the Good Lives Model in
Fund, the ESRC, and the John Fell Fund. France and beyond. To that effect after the
Together with colleagues Ndjodi Ndeunyema article co-authored with Lode Walgrave and
(DPhil student Law), Joseph McAuley (DPhil Tony Ward in the European Journal of
student Crim), James Angove (lecturer in Criminology in 2019, two chapters co-authored
moral and political philosophy), Roxana with Tony Ward, Lode Walgrave and Marie
Willis published the first human rights report. Keenan are about to appear in French in a
Available on the Oxford Human Rights Hub book entitled Good Lives Model edited by
Website, the report offers a historically Erwan Dieu for L’Harmattan.
informed perspective on the conflict in
Cameroon,and includes an analysis of 400
pieces of footage along with recommendations
on how the international community should
respond. In Hilary 2020, the group hosted the
Visiting Fellow in Law, Barrister Caroline
Mbinkar. During this time, the team
interviewed 32 people in the war-torn regions
of Cameroon for a second publication: Willis,
Angove, Mbinkar, and McAuley, ‘“We Remain
Their Slaves”: Voices from the Cameroon
Conflict’ (forthcoming).
Lucia Zedner has continued to pursue
research on the exercise of and limits to the
state’s police powers in the fields of crime,
security, counterterrorism, punishment and
border control, examining their impact on
human rights and their implications for state-
citizen relations. She has also participated in
collaborative project with the Max Planck
15CENTRE FOR CRIMINOLOGY
two terms writing under supervision of Mary
Bosworth. Sadly, a planned doctoral
conference on borders in Oslo, that Dorina
had organised had to be called off due to the
pandemic. Hopefully it will be rescheduled
next year.
There have been a few changes of personnel
within Border Criminologies this year. In
November Juliet Stumpf from Lewis & Clark
Law school, joined Mary Bosworth as a new
Co-Director and Katja Franko from the
University of Oslo became a new Associate
Director, replacing Vanessa Barker from the
University of Stockholm. Ana Aliverti, from
Warwick University rejoined as an Associate
Director in the new year. Peter Mancina has
stepped down from book review editing to
concentrate on his research, he has been
replaced by three student editors, Claudia
McHardy, Samuel Singler and Bill de la Rosa.
BORDER CRIMINOLOGIES Since December 2019, the blog and website
have been managed by Sanja Milivojevic, as
Border Criminologies and its members have Andriani Fili has been on maternity leave.
been active this year in Oxford and further
afield in research, publishing, and policy work. As ever, much of the activity of Border
In Oxford it has hosted a number of visitors Criminologies has occurred online, on our
this year, many of whom also gave research newly refreshed website. New videos have
talks. In Michaelmas term, for example, Dr been uploaded to a designated YouTube
Anthea Vogl, from University of Technology, Channel, and presentations from visiting
Sydney, spent a month at the Centre for speakers to the Border Criminologies’ iTunes
Criminology. Her ‘Crimmigration and account. The blog remains a key output,
Refugees in Australia’ can be heard here. She publishing nearly 100 posts between October
was followed in November by Dr Gabriella 1, 2019 and the end of May, 2020. Posts are
Sanchez from the EUI who spoke about viewed, on average, 10,000 times per month,
‘Rethinking ‘Smuggling’ in Libya’. Her talk by users from across the world, with a
can be heard here. particular concentration from the US, UK,
Germany, Australia and Sweden.
Dr Julie Ham, from the University of Hong
Kong spent a term visiting the Centre. During Since the start of the pandemic, Border
her visit she discussed her community-based Criminologies has used this extensive online
project in Hong Kong with domestic workers presence to profile state responses to the virus,
from the Philippines, in which she is and to call for greater attention to the needs
developing new, visual methods. Although and vulnerabilities of migrant communities.
only able to visit for a few short weeks, Cecilia On 13 March, 2020, for example, the group
Vergagno presented her work on border released a statement calling for healthcare
crossing facilitation at the Franco-Italian provision for migrants. It followed this up on
border, while finally, Martin Lundsteen, a March 25 with a call for the release of people
Carlsberg Foundation, Postdoctoral Fellow, from immigration detention. Then, on 6
began a two year research period at Border April, together with Francesca Esposito the
Criminologies in May, 2020. Newton International Postdoctoral Fellow at
the Centre for Criminology, Mary Bosworth
Border Criminologies also welcomed two launched an information campaign through
visiting students this year, who joined a large Border Criminologies, to identify how states
cohort of Oxford based DPhil students. Dorina around the world are responding to COVID-
Damsa from the University of Oslo and Giulia 19 in sites of border control. Information is
Raimondo from the Graduate Institute of being uploaded to the interactive map,
international and Development Studies, spent Landscapes of Border Control, to provide easy
16ANNUAL REPORT 2019-20
access to it. More information about the call
and how to contribute to it can be found here.
Image: Landscapes of Border control map
17CENTRE FOR CRIMINOLOGY
keynote address by Alejandra Ancheita,
founder and Executive Director of the Mexico
City-based ProDESC (The Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights Project) and comments by
Miriam Saage-Maaß from the European
Center for Constitutional and Human Rights).
OTJR’s Monday seminar series also enjoyed
great interest during the 2019/2020 academic
year (you can view our past events here). Guest
speakers addressed a broad variety of issues
and regions, including the documentation of
ISIS crimes in Syria and Iraq; ICC
investigations in Palestine; transitional justice
efforts in Libya and Ukraine; cultural
restitution in the post-colonial world;
protection of displaced persons in camps in
South Sudan and CAR; the intersection
between gender and the environment in post-
conflict Colombia; the transnational
implications and legacy of Operation Condor;
and incorporating Native American
Peacemaking practices in state courts across
Oxford Transitional Justice the US. In November 2019, OTJR hosted a
Research Group (OTJR) keynote lecture by Judge Julieta Lemaitre from
the Colombian Special Jurisdiction for Peace,
The last 12 months were very eventful for followed by a lively Q&A session featuring
Oxford Transitional Justice Research. They Colombia’s former President Juan Manual
hosted a large international conference and 15 Santos. The challenges posed by the current
seminars with practitioners and academics pandemic presented us with the unexpected
from around the globe; started a webinar series opportunity to take our seminar series online
as a response to the current public health and reach out to a larger audience than ever.
emergency; collaborated on 12 written pieces Since the beginning of Trinity Term 2020, our
with JusticeInfo.Net; and forged a new live virtual seminar series has attracted more
partnership with the Centre for International than 100 registrations per session and allowed
Studies in DPIR. Their international audience us to host speakers and participants across
grew to more than 700 subscribers to our multiple continents and time zones.
weekly newsletter, and almost 2000 followers
on both Facebook and Twitter. Relocating online also presented an
opportunity to partner with the Enacting
One of the highlights of the past year was the Global Transformation Initiative (a
two-day-conference ‘Justice for Transnational collaboration between DPIR’s Centre for
Human Rights Violations - At the Crossroads International Studies and the Theatre of
of Litigation, Policy and Scholarship’, co- Transformation Academy) on the
organised by the Bonavero Institute of Human ‘Transformative Justice for the post-COVID
Rights, Oxford’s Latin American Centre, and Transition’ project: a webinar series that draws
OTJR. On 19 and 20 June 2019, more than 30 on the insights of national and international
academics and practitioners from various leaders on the challenges that transitional
disciplines and institutions located around the societies are facing, particularly in the context
world gathered in Oxford to discuss their work of the current pandemic. The list of
over seven panels, which dealt with topics such distinguished speakers includes Afghanistan’s
as: transitional justice in a transnational world; State Minister for Human Rights and
violations of socio-economic and collective International Affairs, Dr Sima Samar, and
rights; transnational strategies for former UN Under-Secretary General Youssef
accountability for human rights abuses; the Mahmoud.
rights of migrants and refugees; and business
and human rights. The conference included OTJR continues to work closely with
JusticeInfo.net to select, edit, and publish
18ANNUAL REPORT 2019-20
transitional justice op-eds through the Oxford None of these achievements would have been
partnership. Over the last year, OTJR possible without the support of the Centre for
published five diverse pieces on topics Criminology and the Planethood Foundation,
including the ICC in the Central African as well as the hard work and the creativity of
Republic and political populism in Colombia. OTJR’s current student committee: Gayathree
OTJR has also finished editing two additional Devi K.T., Jessica Anania, Carson Smith,
pieces, currently in the pipeline for Tsvetelina van Benthem, Sameer Bhat, Brigid
publication. This April, OTJR selected five new O’Farrell-White, Valerie Kwok, Benedikt
op-eds from submissions: These pieces will be Leidner, and Alexander Wentker.
edited throughout the summer.
Image: Participants in the ‘Justice for Transnational Human Rights Violations’ conference,
20 June 2019, St Antony’s College, Oxford.
19CENTRE FOR CRIMINOLOGY
With a winter general election looming, Dr
Tidball also wrote about reforming the law to
allow for All Disability Shortlists in order to
increase the representation of disabled people
in the UK Parliament.
As we enter a new decade, 2020 has presented
enormous challenges for disabled people in the
context of Brexit and the coronavirus
pandemic.
Never has teaching and research on disability
law and policy been more important in legal
education. The Covid-19 pandemic has led to
far reaching changes to the law affecting
disabled people in the UK, from ‘shielding’ the
vulnerable to changes to legislation under the
Coronavirus Act 2020. Marie worked with the
Bonavero Institute and members of the Centre
for Criminology to produce a submission for
Disability Law and Policy Project the House of Commons Women and
Equalities Committee inquiry on the unequal
Since Dr Marie Tidball returned from impact of the Coronavirus Act and Covid-19
maternity leave in Michaelmas term 2019, the on disabled people in the UK (forthcoming).
Oxford Disability Law and Policy Project, Signed by forty Oxford academics and alumni,
which she convenes from her office in the working on disability law and related areas,
Centre for Criminology, has seen an array of this was followed by a hugely successful
exciting initiatives. Webinar on Disability in the Context of the
Coronavirus Pandemic. Attended by 170
For example, the inaugural Herbert Smith people from twenty different countries around
Freehills Disability Mooting Championship: the world speakers included Professor Anna
Oxford v Cambridge saw a record-breaking 70 Lawson, Director of the Centre for Disability
students apply and was featured in The Times, Studies, University of Leeds, Professor
taking place across three Oxford Colleges - Jonathan Herring, University of Oxford, Dr
Exeter, Jesus and Worcester. It culminated in Brian Sloan, University of Cambridge and
a fascinating panel discussion on the theme of Kamran Mallick, Chief Executive of Disability
Disability at the Intersections: A “hostile Rights UK.
environment” for BAME people with
disabilities? Dr Tidball was invited to contribute to a policy
Report Our Other National Debt, her essay
Panellists explored whether BAME people examines how we create a country that values
with disabilities face “double exclusion” in the disabled people and closes the inequality gap
context of the Windrush scandal and the UK we face following the coronavirus pandemic.
government’s immigration policy in this area. Beyond substantive teaching and research,
Marie has been working closely with the
The Disability Law and Policy Project’s work Faculty of Law and Wadham College on
on diversifying the curriculum continued with fundraising for an Associate Professor in
Marie teaching seminars on the Faculty’s Law Disability Law and Policy to secure the future
and Computer Science Course and a seminar of teaching and research in this important
on Developing Strategies for the Protection and area.
Promotion of Human Rights for the Bonavero
Institute of Human Rights in Michaelmas Dr Tidball has made a number of media
Term. Marie wrote about the latter in her appearances and written on the need to close
Oxford Human Rights Hub Blog on the need the attainment gap for young people with
for action to accelerate equal access to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities,
maternity care for mothers with disabilities. along with other groups.
20ANNUAL REPORT 2019-20
KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE AND about the risks of pregnancy in prison to unborn
CONTRIBUTIONS TO PUBLIC LIFE babies which was used to call on the government
for early/temporary release of pregnant women
Centre staff have been as active as ever in their and mothers and babies. The film is available on
contributions to public life in the UK and beyond. YouTube, while an article which Shona
coordinated appeared in The Independent on 22
Mary Bosworth was appointed to the Shaw March, 2020. Shona has also launched new online
Analytical Advisory Panel (SAAP) which is surveys and is conducting interviews with
advising the Home Office on their response to caregivers and support services to map the impact
the Shaw Reviews into the treatment of of COVID-19 on children with a parent in prison
vulnerable people in immigration detention. during the Covid-19 pandemic. The updated
‘Safeguarding Children when Sentencing
Carolyn Hoyle, meanwhile, through her work Mothers’ films were launched in March, covering
with the Death Penalty Project, has been the 2019 General Guideline: Overarching
engaged in high level policy work in a number Principles which includes significant improved
of countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, guidance on the consideration sentencers must
and Zimbabwe, to end Capital Punishment. give to defendant’s dependent children, as well as
a focus on the risks to unborn babies of
Since the pandemic, colleagues have engaged with imprionsing pregnant women. Those films are
the impact of the virus on all sorts of aspects of embedded in the internal learning platforms of
criminal justice and border control. Responding the Judicial College of England and Wales, the
to the rise in domestic violence that has arisen National Probation Service and HMPPS, and are a
over the lockdown period, Rachel Condry and CPD resource on Crimeline which is used by legal
Caroline Miles are conducting research on professionals.
adolescent to parent violence in the pandemic
which has included an online survey of parents’ Katrin Mueller-Johnson has taken up a role on
experiences launched in April 2020. Rachel and the Thames Valley Police Research and Practice
Caroline are working with practitioner and policy Board. This year she is has also been advising the
groups to consider how to respond to families at Police Service of Northern Ireland on their
this time. engagement with families of victims of homicide
Francesca Esposito, British Academy Newton Lucia Zedner had several of her publications
International Fellow, has started a data collection cited as authorities in leading appeal court
on immigration detention in Italy during the cases. Her book Preventive Justice, with
covid-19 pandemic and is now working on a Andrew Ashworth, was cited by the High
briefing paper. This initiative is part of the project Court of Australia in Vella v Commissioner of
Immigration Detention in Italy and Greece: Police (NSW) (2019) – a case on the legality of
Safeguarding Human Rights at Europe’s Southern preventive orders imposed on Australia’s
Frontier, coordinated by Mary Bosworth. motorcycle ‘bikie gangs’. The influence of the
book was held to be of ‘constitutional
In response to the new policing powers being significance’ by one commentator. Her
deployed around the world, Ian Loader Theoretical Criminology article ‘Penal
published a piece on Policing the Covid-19 Subversions’ was also cited by the Australian
crisis in The Conversation. Ian also High Court in Minogue v Victoria (2019) – a
contributed to the Police Foundation’s 2020 case on the application of parole orders to
Strategic Review of Policing in England and those convicted of killing a police officer. And
Wales. The review, which is currently in its her article ‘Securing Liberty in the face of
early stages, is focusing in particular on the Terror’ was cited by the Supreme Court of
challenges that the police service will face over India in Bhasin v Union of India (2019) – a
the next two decades. In his paper, which is case on the constitutionality of internet curbs
available here, Ian focused on the police on freedom of speech in security cases.
mission, asking what are the police are for and
why that question still matters. Estelle Zinsstag was invited to take part in a
roundtable entitled Teaching Restorative
As part of her ongoing work on the impact of Justice to the Practitioners of the Future
maternal imprisonment, Shona Minson, British organised by the UNODC’s Education for
Academy Postdoctoral fellow released a new film Justice Initiative and Maynooth University
Department of Law.
21CENTRE FOR CRIMINOLOGY
Academic Visitors, Guest Speakers, Research Associates & our Advisory Board
Our Criminology seminar series, held at All Souls College, saw presentations from
7-Oct Prof. Federico Dept. of Sociology, ‘Democracy and the Mafia’
Varese University of Oxford
31-Oct Dr. Eddie Bruce- Birkbeck, University of ‘Structural Racism and Deaths in Police
Jones London Custody in Europe: At the Crossroads of
Criminal Law and Human Rights’
14-Nov Dr. Gabriella Lead of Migrant ‘Rethinking “Smuggling” in Libya’
Sanchez Smuggling Research,
Migration Policy
Centre, European
University Institute
28-Nov Prof. Jennifer University of Arizona ‘The Policeman's Burden: Policing Gun
Carlson Violence in the Contemporary US Context’
23-Jan Dr. Layla Skinns University of Sheffield ‘Seeing the Light': Material Conditions and
Detainee Dignity inside Police Detention’
06-Feb Prof. Simon Cole University of California ‘The Contribution of Forensic or other
Irvine Expert Evidence to Wrongful Convictions
in the United States: Data and Experiences
from the National Registry of Exonerations’
07-May Prof. Lucia All Souls College, ‘The safety relation: Risk, Prevention and
Zedner University of Oxford conditional citizenship in post-welfare
societies’
14-May Dr. Abenaa LSE ‘Understanding the barriers to defendant
Owusu-Bempah participation in criminal proceedings’
28-May Prof. Julian Centre for ‘Proportionality, Prisons and Parole’
Roberts Criminology,
University of Oxford
04-June Prof. Dirk van University of Annual Roger Hood Lecture:
Zyl Smit Nottingham
‘The People Strike Back? Life imprisonment
and other ultimate penalties in a
constitutional democracy’
22ANNUAL REPORT 2019-20
Dr Gabriella Sanchez, All Souls College, 14 November, 2019.
VISITORS:
Julie Ham - University of Hong Kong
Anthea Vogl - University of Technology, Sydney
Cecilia Vergnano - University of Amsterdam
Gaye Lansdell - Monash University, Melbourne
Toby Seddon - University of Manchester
Simon Cole - University of California, Irvine
Martin Lundsteen - Carlsberg Foundation, Postdoctoral Fellow
INFORMAL SEMINAR SERIES:
As usual the Centre has run an informal lunch-time seminar series. This series, designed as a space to
present work in progress, allows Centre staff and visitors to share ideas and comment on each other’s
work
24 Oct Mary Bosworth ‘Juxtaposed border controls on the French North Coast’
07 Nov Katrin Mueller-Johnson ‘Earwitness evidence: Improving voice identification
procedures’
21 Nov Julie Ham ‘Experiments in Enchantment: Domestic Work, Upcycling
and Social Change’
05 Dec Shona Minson Co-designing research methodology with children and young
people'
30 Jan Estelle Zinsstag 'Restorative justice in the case of sexual violence: current
practices, challenges and way forward'
13 Feb Toby Seddon ‘Immoral in principle, unworkable in practice: Cannabis
law reform, the Beatles, and the Wootton report’
27 Feb Carolyn Hoyle ‘Foreign nationals at risk of capital punishment in Malaysia’
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