In this edition of our Committee of Management (CoM) Blog Series, we speak with Associate Professor Angela Higginson, ANZSOC’s President.
Angela reflects on how the Society has transformed since its founding in 1967, the significant progress made under the current Committee of Management, and how members at all stages of their careers can contribute to shaping the future of criminology in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. As ANZSOC continues to evolve, its commitment to inclusivity, diversity, and impact within the criminology community has never been stronger.
Looking back over ANZSOC’s history, what do you see as the most significant changes in the Society’s role or focus within the criminology community?
Perhaps the most significant change in ANZSOC’s history is the huge changes in the discipline itself. When ANZSOC began back in 1967 criminology was still very young in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, and our membership reflected that. There were only a couple of criminology departments at universities and most of our members came from a medico-legal or criminal justice admin background. In fact, membership was initially restricted to those who held a university qualification in criminology (or similar field) or a senior position in policing or corrections. Since then, we’ve grown to over 400 members comprising students, people with lived experience of the criminal justice system, academics across all stages of their careers, pracademics, activists, practivists, practitioners and policy-makers. Our job is to make sure that ANZSOC represents the rich diversity in Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand criminology.
What are your key priorities or hopes for the Committee of Management during your term as President?
My work as president has really built on the work of the society that’s come before me, and my key priority is to make sure all our members know that their voices matter. I was first elected in 2022 after having worked on the Transforming ANZSOC agenda that began under our past president Jason Payne. I’m incredibly proud that our members have since voted to change ANZSOC’s constitution to recognise the harms that are inflicted by the criminal justice systems on Indigenous peoples, to commit to working to address these harms and prevent them happening in the future, and to support the inclusion of Indigenous peoples’ perspectives and work in criminology. We now have two identified positions on the Committee of Management to ensure that there will always be – quite literally – a seat at the table, and we’ll be holding the first meeting for our Indigenous Advisory Group at this year’s conference in Brisbane.
How can members, especially students and early career researchers, get more involved in shaping the future of ANZSOC?
ANZSOC exists for our members, so I would actively encourage members to get involved. Keep an eye out for emails where we’ll share opportunities, and of course, check out PacifiCrim and the blog posts. Getting involved in a thematic group is a great start – we currently have 13 thematic groups which bring alive communities of practice around specific sub-disciplines. Many of the thematic groups hold events and meetups, and have active discord or slack (etc.) channels. ANZSOC also supports local events in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, and of course each year we hold our annual conference. Members can nominate themselves, a student, or a colleague for one of 12 ANZSOC awards or they can apply for one of our bursaries for registration or childcare support to help them participate in the conference. And of course, members can stand for election to the Committee of Management at the AGM each year – also, just come to the AGM either online or in person, it’s where we can vote to make a difference.
We, the members of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology (ANZSOC), acknowledge the traditional custodians of Australia and the sovereignty of the Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand.
ANZSOC would like to acknowledge the ongoing Traditional Custodians of the lands for which our constituents conduct their teaching, learning, and research. We would like to acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded and the lands, now called Australia, continue to belong to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the Traditional custodians of the lands. ANZSOC would like to pay respects to the Elders who have passed on the legacy of knowledge and culture to the future generations and acknowledge that the future generations hold the hope, the stories and the continued knowledge for current and emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. May this knowledge through Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing guide you with wisdom and courage.
ANZSOC also recognises iwi Māori and their unceded right to tino rangatiratanga (sovereignty) and their expression of mana motuhaka (self-determination). We acknowledge mātauranga Māori (Māori ways of being and knowing) informs both traditional and contemporary knowledge production and its ability to enhance our collective futures.
The Association acknowledges the consequences and harms that continue to be inflicted by the criminal justice systems of Australia and Aotearoa-New Zealand on Indigenous peoples in the region and seeks through its activities to address these harms and to work to prevent them from continuing in the future.
