Crime, Justice and the Human Condition

Call for Papers

The last two years have brought the fragility of human existence into sharp relief. This conference and accompanying festival for change is happening as we emerge from a time of intense uncertainty. Governments, civil society and communities face formidable problems and difficult choices that could have enduring repercussions for justice. This conference will provide an opportunity to reimagine how the penal system should work.

The conference seeks to examine key questions in penal reform using the lens of the human condition, for example:

• How can we utilise our shared and diverse experiences to shape criminal justice for the better in the future?
• What are the broader cultural and social factors that can be drawn upon to shape criminal justice responses, policies and institutions?
• How might we re-imagine the criminal justice system? What values and principles might underpin this re-imagining?

This is an opportunity to examine social bonds, history, creativity, learning and technology, as well as isolation and inequality, racism, harm and hate.

The conference will bring together contributions from academics and researchers at all levels, practitioners, policy makers and other experts from different fields and disciplines to explore crime, justice and the human condition, and the issues that intersect and think about how the criminal justice system can work.

Complemented by a festival of thought-provoking creative and participatory activities, this will be a wide-ranging discussion, considering crime and justice as they relate to life, growth, maturity, hope, emotion, conflict and mortality from myriad perspectives. We will look at how and where the criminal justice system touches people in their everyday lives, and what this means for society at large.

We are planning for this to be an in-person event however we are mindful that this may not suit everyone. We are developing plans for online participation and will announce further details shortly. Please also indicate whether you intend to participate in person or online.

We invite abstracts for traditional conference papers, as well as alternative modes of delivery. Please submit your abstract to helen.churcher@howardleague.org by Monday 16 May 2022, using our submission guidelines.