Border Criminologies turns 10!

Border Criminologies is celebrating its 10th anniversary this new academic year, starting with a two-day event on September, which will draw together international scholars and NGOs to discuss their work on the intersections of border control and criminal justice.  When Mary Bosworth founded Border Criminologies in 2013, with support from the Leverhulme Trust and the European Research Council, academic research, particularly within criminology, on the intersections between border control and criminal justice was in its infancy.  Despite the existence of key texts, not least of which was former Border Crim director, Juliet Stumpf’s 2006 article on ‘crimmigration’, there was still a sense that immigration belonged to other disciplines and fields of study.

Fast forward to the summer of 2023, it is sadly clear that such views no longer apply. The criminalisation of migration has not just become totally normalised, but so too has the criminalisation of asylum.  Alison Mountz’s (our advisory board member) declaration of its ‘death’ is, every day, proven to have been prescient.

Under these conditions, celebrating our tenth anniversary in September will be a little bitter sweet. It would have been far preferable to have been able to close down the organisation, due to its irrelevance.  Yet, here we are. Our mission is, it seems, more important than ever. We will, therefore, celebrate our achievements in September, and regroup and develop new strategies we need to address the challenges ahead.

We hope you will join us in Oxford, either online or in person on September 11 – 12. Coming together is important to recharge our ideas and also our activism and ourselves. You can sign up for the event on our website. We hope to see you all soon!