Criminal justice and penal systems have increased dramatically in size, reach and punitiveness over the past two decades, a period dominated by neo-liberalism and retrenchment of social welfare across the UK, US, parts of Europe and Australia. Critical scholars in the social sciences from a range of disciplines - sociology, law, criminology, politics and history - have long been attuned to the dangers that lurk within the power to criminalize and responses to crime control shaped by punitive populism.

It is timely therefore to reflect on the neo-liberal epoch of crime control, particularly in light of the return to social democracy signaled by the policies of President Barack Obama. The aim of this conference is to reinvigorate the intellectual and policy debates about the link between social justice, social democracy and the reduction of harm, crime and victimization through the alleviation of inequalities and building of more socially just and inclusive societies.
Date: 26 - 28 September 2011

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