About the network
At the beginning of the 2000s, migrants increasingly occupied a more prominent place in public debates about deviance, social exclusion, victimisation, identity, security and criminalisation. Issues surrounding immigration and citizenship also gained greater prominence in criminological research in Europe and in a broader international context.
The aim of the ‘Immigration, crime and citizenship’ network was to discuss and examine the complex links between migration, criminalisation, victimisation and European criminal justice institutions. Although topics such as immigration, crime and citizenship have long historical antecedents, on which the group actively drew, the group also addressed new developments resulting from the various ways in which European states attempted to control unwanted migration.
Issues such as criminalisation, human rights, citizenship and social exclusion were not only of central importance to criminological studies of migration, but also provided a productive starting point for comparative analysis and academic collaboration.
The researchers in the network worked on topics related to:
- Immigration control and human rights;
- Borders and border security;
- Human trafficking and smuggling of migrants;
- Migration and gender;
- Politics of immigration, crime and deviance;
- Prostitution and migration;
- Migration and victimisation;
- The intersection of immigration law and criminal law ('Crimmigration');
- Imprisonment and immigration detention;
- Citizenship and criminal justice;
- Crime and juvenile migration issues;
- Criminal organizations and transnational crime;
- Terrorism and securitisation.
Activities
The network organises group meetings and panels during the annual conference of the European Society of Criminology – EUROCRIM.
The network has strong ties to CINETS – Crimmigration Control International Net of Studies (www.crimmigrationcontrol.com), but also had a connection with the European Society of Criminology.
Duration
2014–
The network was established in 2014 by May-Len Skilbrei at the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law. She chaired the group until 2020. Today, the network exists as an ESC Working Group and has grown to become one of the largest in the European Society of Criminology.