At a time when everyone has an opinion on what to do about crime, but good public policy is hard to find, this year’s conference, hosted by Flinders Law School and Flinders University’s Centre for Crime Policy and Research, aims to cut through the noise and provide some much needed clarity.

During the three day conference, which began on Wednesday and is titled Security and Rule of Law: The Changing Face of Criminal Justice, academics and criminal justice practitioners have been asking whether criminal justice is undergoing revolutionary change as it adapts to new and familiar threats like cybercrime, terrorism and organized motorcycle club crimes.

Perhaps more importantly, they will question whether such changes threaten our democracy or, indeed, are an essential part of the battle to protect it.

International counter terrorism expert Professor Kent Roach tackled the issue of home-grown terrorism in a plenary session on the criminology of foreign terrorist fighters – a problem close to the Australian experience, while roundtables are being dedicated to exploring issues such as the media response to the Sydney hostage crisis, how Australia and New Zealand are dealing with people smuggling and asylum seeking and how, in general, our border and migration policies compare with other nations.

And with ‘Big Brother’ increasingly monitoring our every move online, various speakers have been questioning how much surveillance is too much and whether ‘national security’ is used to frequently deny rights.

Also on the agenda is what we can learn from the ice epidemic, how police may be trained to use force, and how some new forensic techniques are adding to crime discovery.

Victims and vulnerable populations are another important theme, including what happens when they are fully reintegrated into the court process and after the crime vanishes from the headlines.

From justice reinvestment to miscarriages of justice, policing, security & intelligence, to borders and migration, under-age sexting (as an example of social media) to social engagement (as a remedy for radicalization), the event will explore the critical issues of our times.

For more information please go to the ANZSOC Conference homepage: http://www.flinders.edu.au/ehl/ccpr/anzsoc/anzsoc_home.cfm

Next week, Flinders University will host the Law and Society Association of Australia and New Zealand Conference “Inside Out” to explore the role of first laws – the laws of Indigenous Peoples – within settler legal systems.

The public is welcome to attend the Elliott Johnston Memorial Lecture 2015, “Why First Laws Must Be In,” on Tuesday 1 December from 5.30pm-7.30pm at Pilgrim Uniting Church (opposite Flinders in Victoria Square), 12 Flinders St, Adelaide.  

This talk provides a comparative perspective with Aotearoa New Zealand and considers how the common law and legislation ought to be embracing Indigenous laws.