‘Political processes shape and mould many facets of our lives. It is well known, for example, that who provides and runs our buses, our trains, our healthcare systems and our domestic utilities is the outcome of political choices. But in what ways is the experience of crime shaped by political decision making? Using Margaret Thatcher’s (and John Major’s) periods in office as a case study, this talk explores the ways in which social and economic policies are associated with changes in crime rates and criminal justice responses, and, in so doing, charts the ways in which such processes unfold over a number of years, producing unanticipated consequences ‘down stream’. It is contended that the changes in social and economic policies initiated during the 1980s had dramatic impacts not just on crime during the 1980s and 1990s, but also on the approaches adopted to tackle crime. In turn, this begs the question as to whether or not the changes associated with that period made Britain a safer or a less safe place, and ought to cause us all to reflect a little more on the question ‘What is justice?’.’

Date: 14th May 2015, 6.00-7.30pm

Location: UCL Laws, Bentham House, Endsleigh Gardens, London WC1H 0EG

Charge: Free, registration required

More information can be found here.