“Criminology and Criminal Justice in a Changing World: Contributions from Asia”
24 – 26 Jun 2015
The Department of Applied Social Sciences at CityU and the Department of Sociology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) co-organised the Seventh Annual Conference of the Asian Criminological Society (ACS) on 24–26 June 2015. ACS is a professional association of scholars, practitioners, and students in the fields of criminology and criminal justice who are interested in Asia. Its inaugural conference was held in Macao in 2009.
It was the first time Hong Kong proudly hosted the annual conference of ACS. Through such an effective forum, criminological and criminal justice scholars and practitioners from Asia and other parts of the world are able to share their findings and exchange their ideas, thereby linking the theories and experience developed from the Asian context to the international community.
The organising committee consisted of faculty members from the abovementioned departments at CityU and CUHK, with an equal delegation of responsibilities. There were some 200 papers from all over the world presented at the conference. The committee were particularly honoured to be able to invite several internationally distinguished scholars to deliver keynote and plenary speeches, including Professor Joanne BELKNAP of the Department of Sociology, University of Colorado, and Robert SAMPSON, Henry Ford II Professor of Social Sciences at Harvard University.
The theme of the conference was "Criminology and Criminal Justice in a Changing World: Contributions from Asia". In connection with the Hong Kong context, a relatively large number of the papers were delivered by Hong Kong presenters and focused on the Hong Kong population. The criminological cases of Hong Kong provided useful basis for discussion at the conference.
The Conference successfully attracted over 300 participants from more than 20 countries. Participants included criminologists in the academic, practitioners from the field and representatives from NGOs. Supporting local organisations of the conference included the Correctional Services Department, Customs and Excise Department, Hong Kong Police Force, Department of Immigration, Society for the Aid and Rehabilitation of Drug Abusers, and the Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation and Crime Prevention.
This year's conference enriched delegates' understanding of criminology and criminal justice across Asia and specifically enhanced cooperation and communication in the field among scholars and practitioners across the globe.