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2023-12-31-accounts

Charity registration number 1073154

Company registration number 03515512 (England and Wales)

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

ANNUAL REPORT AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Trustees Prof B Goldson
Dr H L Pierpoint
Dr R C Vipond
Prof A Tseloni
Prof P Davies
Prof J Treadwell
Prof S Walklate
Dr J Smith
Dr V Heap
Dr M C Duggan
Prof A E Millie
Dr J Price
Mrs G Gallacher
Dr H Bows
Dr S Young
Dr E Miller
Dr I Zempi
Dr M Bhatia
Dr G A Birkett
Dr C Barlow
Dr C A O'Reilly
Dr A A Nurse (Appointed 7 August 2023)
Dr T Ayres (Appointed 6 November 2023)
Mrs S Plimley (Appointed 22 April 2024)
Secretary Dr E C Harris
Charity number 1073154
Company number 03515512
Registered office Suite 501
The Nexus Building
Broadway
Letchworth Garden City
Herts
SG6 9BL
Independent examiner UHY Hacker Young
Suite 501
The Nexus Building
Broadway
Letchworth Garden City
Herts
SG6 9BL

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Bankers

Barclays Bank PLC Epsom Leicestershire Leicester LE87 2BB

Bath Investment & Building Society 15 Queen Square Bath BA1 2HN The Charity Bank Limited Fosse House 182 High Street Tonbridge TN9 1BE

CAF Bank Limited 25 Kings Hill Avenue Kings Hill West Malling ME19 4JQ

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

CONTENTS

Page
Trustees' report 1 - 14
Independent examiner's report 15
Statement of financial activities 16
Balance sheet 17
Notes to the financial statements 18 - 25

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts and comply with the Society's governing document, the Companies Act 2006 and “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015)”.

Objectives and activities

The Society's objectives are to advance public education about crime, criminal behaviour and the criminal justice systems in the United Kingdom. This is important for the running of civil society, to provide an educational and scrutiny role to public policy makers and ensure sufficient research evidence and education for future generations.

While we were pleased and relieved to see a definite post-COVID return to business-as-normal in 2023 with a mainly face-to-face annual conference and some in-person network and regional events, the pandemic years continue to have an impact. Some of these are positive in that many of our events now include at least some hybrid elements to them, meaning that geography and other commitments are no longer a bar to more members attending events. It is also undoubtedly greener for many of the Executive Committee meetings to continue to be via Zoom. But the continuing cost-of-living crisis and increasing catering and product costs have impacted our own finances and also those of many of our members. Some of our members working in British universities are facing cuts to their research and conference budgets in many cases but for others to their very livelihoods (see below).

Membership

At the end of 2023, the Society had 1009 members. This increase of 27 members on December 2022 figures included UK members with a current direct debit, overseas members, and honorary members receiving journal subscriptions. While there is an increase overall in membership numbers in 2023, the Society is continuing to monitor the departure of members who cite financial pressures as the main reason for withdrawing from membership.

The recruitment initiative for separate group and individual options for undergraduates that began in 2020 has continued and the Society now supports some 1200 students on group schemes (up by more than 400 student members on 2022).

Of our members, 92% are based in the UK and 8% are based overseas. The majority of members (94%) are in the university sector, approx. 30% of these are postgraduate/undergraduate students. The other 6% of members are practitioners working in the public and independent sectors.

The Society is managed by its Executive Committee, consisting of the President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Executive Secretary of the Society, together with the Regional Groups and Specialist Networks Coordinator, all chairs of Specialist Networks, and chairs of the Publications, Prizes, Public Relations, Conference, Postgraduate and Professional Affairs & Ethics Committees. The Executive Committee can have up to four members 'without portfolio', one of these would usually be the previous President of the Society. Constitutionally, the Company Secretary can also be a member of the Executive Committee and with the President, Executive Secretary and Treasurer forms the Finance and General Purposes Committee. In 2015, the AGM created a new role of Vice President to take some of the pressure of workload from the President and ensure greater continuity. The Society is governed by its Constitution, which is amended periodically via member vote at its AGM.

The eight committees, working electronically, have spread the burden of Society work more equitably, and increased capacity significantly. During 2023, the whole Executive Committee continued to meet via Zoom taking interim decisions occasionally via email correspondence. Online meetings are expected to remain a regular feature of the EC meeting structure into the future.

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TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

We would like to thank the trustees who have served the BSC and retired from the Executive this year and extend grateful appreciation to Allan Brimicombe who has sat on the Executive Committee since 2010 latterly as Company Secretary and Azrini Wahidin, another long serving member of the Executive, as chair of the Professional Affairs Committee, Chair of the revamped Professional Affairs and Ethics Committee and latterly again as Company Secretary. Within the Networks, we lost James Heydon as Green Criminology Network cochair, Oliver Smith as Critical Criminology Network co-chair and Tom Cockcroft as Policing Network co-chair. We are very grateful again for all members’ time and commitment recognising the increasing burden of their institutional workload expectations at this time.

Achievements and performance

Professional Affairs & Ethics Committee

• The situation of criminologists working at the University of Brighton, where senior staff were facing compulsory redundancy after the announcement of stringent cuts, was a catalyst for discussions at the Executive Committee and the Annual General Meeting about the working conditions of academics working across the piste linked to a perceived wider move within some institutions to make education more technical and taught en masse by less experienced staff. There was discussion about how to support colleagues undergoing such actions in terms of writing letters or statements of support and organising petitions while recognising these might only be symbolic. In the case of Brighton, the Society agreed to promote union-led grey listing of the university by other academics – not supporting external examiner procedures, events or speaker invitations. It was suggested that universities could not cut staff in certain subjects which were accredited so subjects such as Criminology would have to subsidise them. Accreditation seems to be the only method that universities accept to keep healthy staff student ratios. The BSC is to follow up the research undertaken in 2019 about how criminology was researched and taught in the UK to look at wider conditions, experiences and context, with the community asked about potential roles for the Society.

• In 2022, former BSC President Peter Squires launched a new project – ‘The Theft of Criminology’ – after noticing the disappearance of the discipline from initially the ACSS’s drop down menu of Fellows’ research interests. While this particular issue has been resolved, during 2023 members have reported the absence of criminology on other drop-down menus including in some departments of the ESRC and within HESA statistics which are being followed up.

• In October, the BSC responded to the REF 2028 initial decisions consultation. The BSC welcomed the Future Research Assessment Programme’s commitment to ‘identify, through consultation and careful evaluation, those approaches to research assessment that: encourage and strengthen the emphasis on delivering excellent research and impact; support a positive, productive research culture; while simplifying and reducing the administrative burden on the HE sector’. We recognised that there is much positive in some of the proposed clarification such as portability criteria. Aware however that other learned societies and HEIs were commenting on these elements which impact on our shared social science and academic concerns more widely, we concentrated our response on the continued invisibility of criminology within the REF structure and formal reporting with only the Social Work and Social Policy sub Panel explicitly recognizing the discipline in its report with both the flagging experiment and the roving assessor mechanism not apparently working, despite the welcome endeavours of those criminologists involved.

• The BSC continued to work with the Academy of Social Sciences and the Society Publishers’ Coalition (a grouping of not-for-profit academic journal owners across the disciplines) on common issues and policy areas across the social sciences and academic disciplines more generally including the practicalities and impact of open access publication, the role and continued financial viability of learned societies, hybrid conferencing and inclusion and diversity.

• The BSC continued to respond to queries from both individuals and outside bodies for ethical advice and review, receiving unanimously positive feedback for its input. A new Professional Affairs and Ethics Committee chair was sought with a view to updating the BSC Statement of Ethics in particular addressing issues of research either undertaken remotely or researching online activity.

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Conference Committee

The 2023 annual conference ‘Sustaining Futures: Remaking Criminology in an age of Global Injustice’ was hosted by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) at the end of June.

The sustainability theme was embedded into every practical element of the gathering; from minimising plastic (reusable coffee cups for use in all breaks); going paperless (delegates used an app); and choosing locally sourced produce for meals. Some 400 delegates attended the conference from all over the world – some in person, some remotely - to discuss the latest research and new developments in the field, particularly through the theme lens of injustice.

From postgraduate papers through to panels and plenaries, speakers explored contemporary debates relating to justice, globalisation, and the future of criminology. Stream themes included: understanding transforming stop and search; desistance and compliance; crimes of the powerful; decoding racism and coloniality in contemporary penality; criminological interpretations of public inquiries; and zemiology: law, justice and resistance. Keynote speakers included Paul Stretesky on green criminology and sustainability and Denise Wilson on women living under state violences. Two of the plenaries were panel-based, one exploring systems of oppression and abolitionist perspectives, and the other reflecting on the sustainability of criminology. Delegates were also treated to a moving theatre performance by Certain Curtain Company powerfully showcasing the realities of domestic abuse.

The conference also aimed to attract practitioners and encourage their involvement in the conference including in an exhibition table afternoon session. The AGM meeting was prefaced by a topical talk from UCLan historian Robert Poole about the trial of the Pendle witches, which happened locally, and the way in which the form and evidential basis of the trial of the Lancashire women had provided an unfortunate template for subsequent trials.

A special virtual edition of the British Journal of Criminology with articles exploring the themes of the conference was edited by the team at UCLan Virtual Special Issue of the British Journal of Criminology / The British Journal of Criminology / Oxford Academic (oup.com).

Postgraduate Committee

As usual, the postgraduate committee held a pre-event at the annual conference offering the postgraduate community the opportunity to network, present to their peers and take part in bespoke training and breakout sessions opening with keynotes focusing on inclusivity, accessibility and practice in academia and closing with one on publishing by BSC Publications Committee Chair Marian Duggan - which led to some publishing opportunities described below in the Publications section. As usual, the BSC offered a number of free places to postgraduate members to attend the full conference, sponsored by donations from individual BSC members, and Hart and Emerald Publishing, the latter also offering a student blog prize and opportunity to edit a special edition of an Emerald journal.

Regional Groups and Specialists Networks Committee

We are extremely fortunate in having dedicated teams working around the country hosting exceptional events which go to the heart of our main charitable aim. As our accounts show, the Networks particularly got back to hosting face-to-face events in 2023 but with many still offering a remote option accessible to a wider audience, not limited to the local area and providing legacy products for those not able to attend at the time of the event. Many event organisers also wrote blogs to summarise key talks and discussions for those unable to attend. The Society thanks all those who organise and speak at these events as well as those who attend and join in the discussions.

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TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Regional events included:

The BSC now has fourteen specialist networks increasing its potential to reach out, influence and educate.

The networks are:

*The BSC Youth Criminology/Youth Justice Network (YC/YJN), established in 2008, is chaired by Professor Barry Goldson. The YC/YJN aims to facilitate critical reflection and exchange within and between the academic, policy and practice communities nationally and internationally, and to advance understanding of youth criminology and youth justice/juvenile justice studies. Such aims are achieved by: organising and hosting conferences, seminars and symposia; disseminating information through a dedicated YC/YJN JISCmail list; and responding to policy consultations and/or requests for information.

*The Crime and Justice Statistics Network (CJSN), established in 2009, and chaired by Machi Tseloni in 2023 is a virtual community defined by the JISCMAIL CRIME-JUSTICE-STATS which serves as a base for sending out relevant information and announcements, most notably calls for consultations on pending or under consideration changes in crime and justice data definitions, production and reporting by the Office for National Statistics, Home Office and Ministry of Justice. The Network provides an arena for debate about the production and publication of crime and justice statistics; works to improve perception and public trust in crime and justice statistics; and supports the proper interpretation of crime statistics and encourages greater analytic use of criminal justice statistics and surveys. Current membership stands at 165. During 2023, the Network was involved in a Datafirst Ministry of Justice event on linked datasets research.

*The Women, Crime and Criminal Justice Network, established in 2011, was chaired in 2023 by Gemma Birkett of City University. The network exists to support scholarship on women, crime and criminal justice, and to foster research of the highest standard. In addition to promoting scholarship on women, crime and criminal justice, the network also aims to support women as criminological scholars. The Network has 206 JISCMail subscribers; 172 Member Database Entries; and an X account with 2,067 followers.

The Network continued its regular newsletter to showcase WCCJ members’ activities. Content included news on recent publications, research projects and events which members may be involved with. Each newsletter also featured a spotlight on a member of the network highlighting their research and background.

The group continued its online writing group for members which began in October 2021. The group meets via Zoom for 90 mins. There have been more than 30 different attendees so far, with around 4– 6 people attending per session. People have been working on a range of different writing projects.

The Network organised three WCCJN-themed panels at this year’s BSC annual conference comprising of approximately two dozen members.

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

The WCCJ Network held a joint conference with the BSC Policing Network in May ‘Police Misconduct and Violence Against Women and Girls: Exploring Research and Practice’ addressing the serious and systemic misogyny and violence against women and girls in policing, evidenced in a series of police reviews and inquiries in recent years. Both police culture, and police vetting, misconduct, and disciplinary practices have been identified as contributing to this situation. Despite the intense recent media attention on issues of police misconduct in England, the way these practices work and the opportunities, challenges and barriers to their improvement remain poorly understood. As the government launches a review of disciplinary procedures in policing and the College of Policing prepares to launch its new Code of Police Ethics, this event brought police researchers, stakeholders and practitioners together to explore these issues, share knowledge in the field, and shape a research agenda for the future.

*The Policing Network, also established in 2011 with the core aims of advancing understanding of policing studies and providing an arena for information exchange, critical analysis and debate across the research, policy and practice communities – nationally and internationally - was chaired during 2023 by Katerina Hadjimatheou (University of Essex). The Policing Network continues to be a significant source of information exchange and networking for police researchers and practitioners in the UK and abroad. It now has over 250 members. During 2023, the Network published a number of blogs including ‘Victims of Domestic Abuse in a UK Police Force: Police first, victims second’ by Nicola O’Leary, Leticia Couto and Iain Brennan setting out findings from qualitative data from a police workforce survey on experiences of domestic abuse; and ‘Security technology and domestic abuse prevention: offering solutions or creating new problems?’ by David Rowlands, Jana Kujundzic, Iain Brennan and Nicola O’Leary examining the strengths and limits of technological interventions in domestic abuse cases.

*The Learning and Teaching Network was established in 2012 as a vehicle bringing together colleagues across the discipline with a specific learning and teaching interest while looking for opportunities to embed good practice at module, course, and programme levels. The Network was chaired by Suzanne Young in 2023 and now has more than 100 national and international members. During 2023, the Network continued its Talking Teaching with Criminologists podcast with 7 episodes released during the year. The network had a panel at the annual BSC Annual Conference at UCLAN as well as a panel for the first time at the ESC Annual Conference discussing ‘Learning and Teaching Criminology: Contemporary Developments in the UK’. They also held an online seminar on Creating Student Communities in Criminology in March 2023. The Network continues to publish blog posts on the Network website, and in 2023 published a blog by Ian Marder on ‘Restorative Justice Pedagogy’ and a blog by Christine Haddow on ‘Authentic Belonging’.

*The Victims Network was set up by Pamela Davies of Northumbria University in 2014 bringing together those who have interests around victims of crime and social harm, survivors and resilience. In 2023, it was chaired by Hannah Bows (University of Durham). In 2023, the Victims Network held a successful writing retreat at the Gladstone's Library. The retreat involved two days of structured writing on individual projects, discussing Network futures and plans for an edited authored book on future directions in victimology. Network members attended and presented at the BSC Conference at UCLan in June.

*The Critical Criminology Network - launched in 2015 - was chaired in 2023 by Tammy Ayres (University of Leicester) with a remit to ‘breathe new life into critical criminology, encouraging critical criminologists to hatch new ideas that relate to the world as it is now’. The main Network event in 2023 was a day conference ‘Moving Critical Criminology Forward: Recent Developments’ held in August at the University of Northumbria with papers on a variety of topics from the policing of anti-hunt protests to Ukraine’s new nomads. Speakers included Justin Kotzé of Northumbria University ‘On Special Liberty and the Motivation to Harm’, Emma Armstrong of Teesside University ‘British Army Veterans’ Experiences of the Transition into Civilian Life: An Ultra-Realist Perspective’, Mark Bushell and Anthony Lloyd Staffordshire University and Teesside University ‘Post-Pandemic Reflections on Violence and Abuse against Workers in the Public Sphere’ and keynotes Simon Winlow of Northumbria University ‘Beyond Measure: On the Marketization of British Universities, and the Domestication of Academic Criminology’ and Justin Kotzé of Northumbria University ‘Con Air: exploring the trade in counterfeit’.

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

*The Prison Research Network was set up in 2015 to be convened on a rotation basis, in 2023 by David Best to provide a forum for prison researchers to share information and experience about prisons with a view to developing critical analysis and debate across research, policy and practice communities. The Network had a busy 2023 with the membership doubling to 132 and 966 X followers, another increase after sustained efforts to use social media to promote prison research from members along with other interesting articles and events. The Network held the following events:

*The Early Career Researchers Network was launched in 2016 under the chair of Anna Sergi (Essex University) and chaired from 2020 to 2023 by Jayne Price at Chester alongside a steering group. The network was established with an aim to support post-doctoral researchers as they enter criminological working life, thus concentrating on events and initiatives of interest to this specific group. This year, the group built upon established networks by hosting online ‘writing retreats’ to enable ECRs to meet with others and progress their writing. This has proved useful for those that have participated and allowed for network building also. There have been challenges in arranging in person events due to the small number of members interested being located across the country making it financially not viable.

*The Historical Criminology Network (chaired in 2023 by Esmorie Miller, Lancaster University) was set up in 2018, by David Churchill. The Network is keen to maintain the international audience they have attracted with the online ‘Meet the Authors’ seminar series. The year 2023 marked the second iteration of the online event: ‘What is historical criminology? What does thinking historically about crime and justice entail? How is historical criminology currently practiced? What are the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches to historical criminology?’ These questions underscore the @BSC Error in formula ->#HCNet<- series. The aim has been to provide a platform supporting rich discussion about historical criminology, amongst those with an interest in academia and beyond. Ultimately, the aim is to promote new ideas on historical criminology, continuing to widen awareness and to generate rich conversation.

The 2023 speakers included:

Many speakers for the seminar series consented to be recorded to populate the website. The Network is considering adding a YouTube channel. The infrastructure of the network continues to develop with Ciarra Malloy (University of Sheffield) managing the Network X account. The Network has a strong relationship with other historical criminology networks, globally.

Both the BSC Conference (Preston 2023) and ESC Conference (Florence 2023) saw high numbers of historical panels as well as high numbers of attendees. Discussions were lively. The members’ list has increased (now 110).

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

*Set up in 2018, the Hate Crime Network is chaired by Dr Irene Zempi (Nottingham Trent University). The BSC Hate Crime Network is intended to provide a forum for those who are researching/working in the field of hate crime. In 2023, the Hate Crime Network organised a vast variety of activities including: Podcasts, PGR and ECR online events, webinars, an annual in-person conference, the launch of the ‘Sophie and Sylvia Lancaster Prize’ 2023, online writing groups and a newsletter, which provides an update on the latest news and events regarding the Network published every 3 months).

Podcasts included:

The Hate Crime Network also held a series of PGR and ECR online events including:

The Hate Crime Network also held webinars including:

‘Investigating the role of social media abuse in gender-based violence’ – Susan Watson, University of York.

And organised its 2023 annual conference "TRANSforming the Narrative: Challenging Transphobic Hate Crime" at Bournemouth University. Conference delegates considered the extent of transphobic hate crimes, the experiences of victims, and the responses by criminal justice and voluntary agencies. An important aim of the conference was to address prejudice towards Trans communities and demonstrate Allyship with Trans communities. The recording for this conference can be found here: https://youtu.be/BjLD8Z43ReE. The PowerPoint slides for this conference can be found here: https://www.britsoccrim.org/networks/hate-crimenetwork/.

In 2023, the Hate Crime Network also began online writing groups for academics, PhD students, early career researchers and anyone with writing goals. The writing groups are held on Microsoft Teams every two months. The events include dedicated time for writing, followed by a discussion, allowing attendees to talk about what they are writing, and receive support.

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TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

*The Race Matters Network was launched in 2019 chaired by Coretta Phillips (LSE) and Pamela Ugwudike (University of Southampton). In 2023, it was chaired by Monish Bhatia (University of York). The aim of the Network is to foster greater attention to the dynamics of race and racism in criminological projects and practice, including in the wider work of the BSC; offer support, solidarity and academic development to Black and minority ethnic scholars in criminology, as well as those working within the subfield of race and criminology; engage with local communities, practitioners and policy makers to influence, listen and inform around questions of race and racism; and to foster wider recognition of the contribution of Black and minority ethnic scholars to criminology, historically, nationally and internationally.

In 2023, the Network held another substantial seminar series including:

The turnout for the Race and Justice Seminars has grown steadily, and along with criminology, sociology, and law colleagues, also attracts audiences from other disciplines, and also non-governmental organisations, and members of the public.

*The Green Criminology Research Network, was also set up in 2019 and chaired by Angus Nurse of Nottingham Trent University during 2023 with the aims of providing an arena to share information, experience and perspectives on environmental crimes and harms, advancing understandings and stimulating debate on environmental issues across the spheres of research, policy and practice and promoting the inclusion of environmental issues into criminological teaching and learning strategies, curricula and/or benchmarks. They currently have a membership of 86 members and 760 X followers.

*In 2020. the BSC launched the Vulnerability Network chaired by Harriet Pierpoint (University of South Wales) and Roxanna Dehaghani (Cardiff University). This network provides a forum for discussion on the complexities inherent to researching vulnerability within the context of crime and justice. In 2023, the Network organised a major two-day event ‘The Vulnerable Accused’ conference, at Cardiff University. The conference began with a keynote by Penny Cooper reflecting on progress made, lessons learned, and future endeavours. This was followed by three parallel sessions on topics such as neurodivergence, intellectual disability, accused children, confessions, cross-examinations, and rights and safeguards. The first day of the conference was brought to a close with the launch of the edited collection on Vulnerability, the Accused, and the Criminal Justice System (https://www.routledge.com/Vulnerability-the-Accused-and-the-Criminal-Justice-System-Multi-jurisdictional/ Dehaghani-Fairclough-Mergaerts/p/book/9781032070568). Day 2 began with parallel sessions on supporting and identifying vulnerability and vulnerable defendants, followed later by further parallel sessions on effective participation in police custody and policing, interviewing, and interrogation. Towards the end of the conference, the network held collaborative workshops to provide space to discuss themes emerging from the conference papers and to explore how to take collaborative work further. The Network are in the process of compiling a shared documents folder so that, subject to participants’ consent, they can share slides, papers, and other useful documents with all delegates, with the aim of informing best practice and further stimulating connections and conversations.

The conference brought together discussion across a number of disciplines, namely law, criminology, sociology, psychology, and speech, language and communication, and involved those in academia, policy, and practice.

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There are a number of outputs planned and underway, including a special issue, and extended abstracts (provided to delegates in advance of the conference) to be published on the Defending Vulnerability blog (https:// defendingvulnerability.wordpress.com). The VRN also moved to Mailchimp and issued a newsletter and appointed some new theme leads with a view to them developing events.

The growth in specialist networks in the last few years has represented a considerable increase in Society activity, improving the discipline of criminology’s research visibility and hence impact. Most of the networks have not just JISC mail lists of members – which are open to everybody not just BSC members – but also separate websites (for example, the Learning and Teaching Network https://bscltn.wordpress.com/ and the Women, Crime and Criminal Justice Network https://wccjn.wordpress.com/) and blogs and X accounts to engage with the wider world. The BSC welcomes expressions of interest for new specialist networks and is in the process of launching a Probation and Community Justice Research Network for 2024.

Prizes Committee

In 2023, the Society awarded its Outstanding Achievement Award to Loraine Gelsthorpe, Emerita Professor at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge for her extensive and wide-ranging research on criminological topics, enhancing the discipline’s interests on the national and international stage.

A former social worker, Professor Gelsthorpe has wide interests in the links between criminal justice and social justice, looking at race, gender and social exclusion, women and sentencing, and women, crime and criminal justice more generally. Her research includes a focus on the effectiveness of youth and community penalties and on pre-sentence reports. She also has a strong interest in research methodologies and research ethics; human trafficking and the criminalisation of migrants; and self-inflicted deaths under community supervision.

During her career, Professor Gelsthorpe has worked at the University of Lancaster, UCNW (Bangor) and at the LSE, which involved work with the Metropolitan Police and London boroughs on diversion from prosecution; men's prisons in the Midlands; and race and gender issues in pre-sentence reports. She began working for the University of Cambridge in 1991 and was the first female Director of the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge from 2017-2022.

Professor Gelsthorpe sits on various government advisory committees (including HM Chief Inspector of Probation’s Advisory Committee) and was one of two Deputy Chairs of the 2021 REF exercise (Social Policy/ Social Work sub-panel 20). She was President of the British Society of Criminology 2011 - 2015. With Professor Michele Burman (University of Glasgow), she chairs the European Society of Criminology's Gender, Crime and Criminal Justice Working Group and is co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal Criminology & Criminal Justice. She became Chair of the Probation Institute in April of 2023.

Professor Gelsthorpe is a psychoanalytical psychotherapist in her spare time, and a trustee of Pembroke House, a community centre in Walworth, South London.

The annual book prize, sponsored by Routledge, was awarded to Jasmina Arnež for her book ‘Negotiating Class in Youth Justice: Professional Practice and Interactions‘.

The book examines how class shapes interactions between professionals, parents, and young people in the youth justice system, utilising a mix of contemporary social theory and a wealth of empirical material. It suggests ways to neutralise the effects of class on youth justice interventions in structurally unequal societies and argues for reform based on conceptions of negotiated justice, relational agency, and autonomy in dependence.

The author develops a theoretical framework to explore how class is negotiated within youth justice, taking as its starting point the work of Bourdieu on habitus, Boltanski and Thévenot on the sociology of lay normativity, and Sayer’s work on moral understandings of class. This is combined with a detailed reading of empirical material gathered through focus groups, interviews with practitioners, parents and children, and participant observation of parenting courses. The result is an innovative revisiting of the part that social class plays in determining who is diverted into and away from youth justice and a sustained theoretical and empirical argument for the continued importance of class in criminological research.

The judges felt the book offers an original contribution to the fields of criminology, youth justice, and crime and the family. It provides an important source of knowledge for academics and practitioners interested in discussions on social class and indirect discrimination.

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TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

This year’s Postgraduate research poster prize was awarded to Anda Solea from the University of Portsmouth for her poster on ‘(Main)streaming Misogyny: An Analysis of the Manosphere on TikTok’. The award team felt that her poster was well structured and utilised infographics imaginatively to present an excellent and interesting case study researching communities of Incels on mainstream social media platforms.

The National Award for Excellence in Teaching Criminology 2023 was awarded to Danielle McDermott, Sarah Waite, Emma Tymon, Claire Vilarrubi and Andi Brierley of the Prisons and Custody Team at Leeds Trinity University for their Unlocked prison officer programme. In 2023, the Network launched a new network prize for outstanding contribution to the scholarship of teaching criminology and criminal justice, with the inaugural winner Ian Marder.

The winner of the Hate Crime Network ‘Sophie and Sylvia Lancaster Prize’ 2023 was Mark Walters for his book ‘Criminalising Hate: Law as Social Justice Liberalism’.

We congratulate all of our 2023 prize winners.

Publications Committee

The editorial team from Southampton and Cambridge Universities Loraine Gelsthorpe, Anita Lavorgna and Pamela Ugwudike continued as editors-in-chief of the Society’s journal Criminology & Criminal Justice. As always, we would like to thank the editorial team and also the reviewers for their prompt, rigorous and thoughtful reviews. The journal performed well across many metrics with a 5-year Impact Factor of 2.2 and a CiteScore of 4.6.

The most downloaded article in 2023 was again ‘Like mother, like child? Sex differences in the maternal transmission of offending among a Scottish cohort of pre-adolescent children’ by Babak Jahanshahi, Susan McVie and Kath Murray with 24,822 downloads followed by; ‘Student motivations for studying criminology: A narrative inquiry’ by Annie Bunce and Karen Bullock with 19,345. CCJ’s top Altmetric Score (mentions of journal articles across online platforms) for Content Published in 2023 was for the article ‘Image-based sexual abuse: Legislative and policing responses’ by Antoinette Raffaela Huber.

The BSC, together with our co-owners Sage, are monitoring the impact of Open Access policies on our potential journal subscriptions and publishing milieu while exploring how to extend the journal’s reach in terms of readership and contributors. The most cited article published in the last 3 years, sourced from CrossRef, was an open access article first published in September 2021 ‘A wee kick up the arse’: Mentoring, motivation and desistance from crime’ by Steve Kirkwood.

There were two Newsletters in 2023 – the summer Newsletter was on the theme of Prison University Partnerships with articles including ‘Collaborating across prison walls and borders: co-creating an all-island curriculum that builds empathy and mutual understanding between diverse communities of North and South of Ireland prison-university partnerships’ by Gillian McNaull, Shadd Maruna, Katharina Swirak, James Cronin, Maggie O’Neill and Kathleen White; and ‘Inside Out: The Start of a Journey Michael Akinfenwa. Co-authoring a book with a former Learning Criminology Inside student’ by Rose Broad, Emily Turner and Caroline Miles.

The winter newsletter was a Special Edition which contained articles by and was put together by the BSC Postgraduate community including articles ‘Have the Simpsons made another prediction? Codeine-containing cough syrups as the recipe for happiness’ by Cosimo Sidoti, University of Kent and ‘Why undertake research on Shamima Begum? Because women’s stories matter’ by Jeanne Duley, University of Glasgow.

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

The online Papers from the British Criminology Conference was also published. The journal was divided into two parts this year: panel and postgraduate papers. The panel section contained three papers presented as part of the main conference. Susan Watson’s timely paper explores the dynamics of gender-based violence in online spaces. She demonstrates that while there is support for regulation of social media platforms to protect women from technology-facilitated gendered violence at the grassroots, it remains unclear how legislation such as the recently enacted Online Safety Act 2023 will operate in practice to protect women from abuse. Rachel Stuart and colleagues explore the impact of COVID-19 on exacerbating harms against members of Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities, while demonstrating the importance of social and familial bonds to ensure the most socially excluded community members were still able to access information and support. Finally, Jen Neller explores the concept of hate crime through a framework of dignity violation, arguing that hate crime laws should sit apart from punitive ideologies and instead work alongside strategies aimed at reducing and ameliorating hatred and prejudice more effectively.

The second set of papers are from members of our BSC postgraduate researcher (PGR) community, as a way of sustaining the future of criminology through investing in our PGRs. The early postgraduate part of the conference was well attended, with a full house for the ‘Publishing’ workshop session hosted by BSC Publications Committee Chair Marian Duggan. During this session, PGRs were invited to assist with the production of this year’s Online Journal. Four excellent PGRs – Anda Solea, Natalie Quinn Walker, Lily Graham, and Chloe Butler – took this up and became part of the editorial team for this edition. Feedback from this new initiative was extremely positive with PGRs previously unfamiliar with the process of journal reviewing and editing reporting the experience educational and fun with the added benefit of the opportunity to engage with emerging research.

The second section began with Laura Polley’s paper exploring the evolution of OnlyFans and its positioning in relation to wider pornography landscapes, suggesting that this new medium may not be the game-changer for the pornography industry that media discourses present it to be. Next is Sarah Watson and colleagues examining the phenomenon of mass shootings and the policy implications of variable determinations followed by Jessica Rose Elias who adopts a zemiological approach in addressing the range of harms inherent in the ultra-fast fashion industry. Manikandan Soundararajan and colleagues demonstrate the complex dynamics of travel agents’ evolution to become involved in migrant smuggling in India, and finally Yasmine Ezzeddine and Petra Saskia Bayerl examine the impact of artificial intelligence on people’s behaviours while online. All submissions to the online journal went through rigorous peer review, with those deemed suitable for publication included in this year’s edition. Our thanks to the reviewers for their careful engagement with submissions and helpful suggestions for improvement, and to all who submitted pieces for consideration.

The bi-monthly bulletin was sent to 99.5% of all members and the average ‘open rate’ was just over 45% which is well above the industry standard for Membership Organisations (23%) and Education (23% open rate). The average open rate for all industries in 2023 was 21.3% (source: Mailchimp).

The BSC blog: https://thebscblog.wordpress.com/ continued to attract authors and readers, we received a number of good quality submissions during 2023. During the year we published 1 article per month and there were around 12,000 visitors.

Public Relations Committee

As in previous years, in 2023 the Society gave advisory information to a number of journalists. We tend to average one media enquiry per month. If these enquiries cannot be addressed immediately by the office staff, they are referred to chairs of respective BSC Networks, members of the Executive Committee or individual members who are listed in the Society's 'Knowledge Bank'. This was developed from what was previously known as the media list in order to distinguish suggested topic specialists from BSC spokespeople.

The regular social media programme has continued in a bid to keep members and wider society informed of Society activity and criminological events and issues. Our X (formerly Twitter) following stood at 25,100 (December 2023), another year-on-year increase. We are monitoring our continued use of X and reviewing LinkedIn as a potential alternative going forward.

Our website receives an average of 20,000 visits per month (majority UK but also, in order of size, USA, Australia, China, Canada, India, Pakistan, and others). The BSC conference page continued to be the most visited page during the year.

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

We have also continued our monthly draw for free books in partnership with the main criminological publishers. This initiative, started in 2016, has proved popular with members (both early career and significantly more established).

Financial review

This year we have continued our policy of 'clarity in finance', to ensure that the Society's finances are presented in a transparent fashion so that the membership can easily ascertain the current financial position of the Society. To this end we have included detail on the nature of the expenditure and income streams of the Society, in particular the costs associated with the two membership journals. We have also included information in this section to further explain some of the figures in the financial report.

The Society's reported fund balances increased in 2023 from £179,189 at the end of 2022 to £214,395 as of December 31 2023, a level in keeping with the Society's regular expenditure plans and its reserves policy (see below). The increase is due to both savings made in venue hire, travel and subsistence due to the ongoing influence of changes in working practices during the pandemic and also noticeable increases in all three income streams.

We worked hard to increase memberships achieving a growth in subscription revenue to £81,055. Alongside long-term members we have a 25% flux and make continued efforts to attract and retain members in the face of increasing costs and financial uncertainty, introducing schemes to attract undergraduate and other groups. We also received £23,678 in profit share from our annual conference held at the University of Central Lancashire.

We should also report the ongoing financial success of our Journal Criminology & Criminal Justice which saw the Society receive a robust £40,765 in royalty income – an increase from 2022 in another very challenging year for academic publishing. Together with our publishing partner Sage, we continue to carefully monitor the impact on our finances as subscriptions pass from pay to read to pay to publish as a result of the government’s open access publishing agenda. In 2023, it cost £29,045 (including the renegotiated reduced unit cost) to print member copies of the British Journal of Criminology (a form of support for this prestigious journal to which the Society has historical links) and an inflationary £12,148 for Criminology & Criminal Justice.

Mindful of the continuing unpredictable financial climate, the Society has sought to review ongoing service commitments and through an increasingly streamlined record-keeping structure and administration sought to cut costs. The Trustees will be assessing the short and midterm impacts of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis as part of their wider strategic planning and will adjust spending plans accordingly.

In summary, the finances throughout 2023 have remained healthy. The Society continues to improve its educative, research and policy-related interests and, while ensuring the financial security of the Society, wishes to continue to develop a project-based long-term strategy to ensure that funds are spent wisely to ensure the health of the discipline of criminology, for the benefit of our members and wider society (see below).

As ever, we would like to thank our Executive Director Charlotte Harris and Membership and Communications Coordinator Steven Rawlings for their excellent work in continually improving the Society’s infrastructure and administration while progressing policy and wider interests. Particular efforts this year have centred on the conference experience and widening the membership offer to institutions and practitioners.

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Policy for holding reserves

The BSC has set its reserves at a level at least equivalent to three months’ operational expenditure and has done so having regards to its manner of operation and likely funding streams. The reserves level includes staff salary and pension costs and other general running costs on average based on median year-on-year increases, together with the potential for each of its regional groups and specialist networks to draw on the £1,000 annual budget agreed as policy, while acknowledging that many of them do not. The figure does not include the £5,144 designated funds which belong to the Youth Criminology/Youth Justice and Learning and Teaching Networks from sponsorship and profit from paid for events. The reserves amount also recognizes the imbalanced paymentdue dates of some of its main payments – i.e. the printing costs of journals both fall due in the early months of the calendar year.

The Society’s main income streams are variable in nature with fluctuation in membership subscriptions and particularly annual conference income demonstrated in accounting records from previous years (this is in part deliberate as while the Society wishes to host its conference in all parts of the UK it recognises that some geographical areas are more intrinsically attractive, especially to overseas delegates, than others). Conference income is even more unpredictable in the current climate, with considerable uncertainty as to delegates’ ability to procure conference attendance off employers and the off-putting prospect of the major cost implication of almost all truly hybrid options. Royalty income is also unpredictable in the next few years as the effects of the Government’s Open Access policy become apparent. The trustees will review the amount of reserves that are required to ensure that they are adequate to fulfil the charity’s continuing obligations on a quarterly basis at their executive meetings.

Future of the Society

The Society relies on three main income streams – membership subscriptions, journal royalties and annual conference income – and each must be reviewed to ensure the continued financial health of the charity. This is said acknowledging that some of the current financial health of the society is linked to reduced expenditure in terms of Executive Committee meetings and events being predominantly online.

The Society has moved to a more proactive membership strategy. A membership recruitment drive was begun in 2016 starting with former members and reaching out to new groups such as undergraduates and practitioners. Increased numbers of members will both increase income but also make the Society more relevant and impactful in its dealings with policy and outfacing groups. We have negotiating with our partner publishers re online-only membership options thus reducing print costs to those who really want a print copy of either our journal Criminology & Criminal Justice, or the British Journal of Criminology. We are also seeking to further streamline new joiner payments with publication back copies expenditure.

We are continuously striving to improve our annual conference experience and make the BSC attractive in the face of increasing competition in this field. The Executive Committee is very aware of the costs of attending the Society’s conference and has been pursuing new ways to reduce fees and thereby increase access particularly to those who are deterred from attending by cost alone while also addressing the needs of potential delegates in other respects, including in the post pandemic period. While we may increase attendance and increase revenue in this way, while exploration is undertaken, this may have a negative impact on income levels.

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Structure, governance and management

The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:

Prof B Goldson Dr H L Pierpoint Prof A J Brimicombe (Resigned 11 May 2023) Prof A Wahidin (Resigned 20 September 2023) Dr R C Vipond Prof A Tseloni Prof P Davies Dr O Smith (Resigned 6 March 2023) Prof J Treadwell Prof S Walklate Dr J Smith Prof D Best (Resigned 22 April 2024) Dr J W Heydon (Resigned 7 August 2023) Dr V Heap Dr M C Duggan Prof A E Millie Dr J Price Mrs G Gallacher Dr H Bows Dr S Young Dr E Miller Dr I Zempi Dr M Bhatia Dr T W Cockcroft (Resigned 20 September 2023) Dr G A Birkett Dr C Barlow Dr C A O'Reilly Dr A A Nurse (Appointed 7 August 2023) Dr T Ayres (Appointed 6 November 2023) Mrs S Plimley (Appointed 22 April 2024)

The directors have conducted their own review of the major risks to which the charity is exposed and systems have been established to mitigate those risks. Significant external risks to funding have led to the development of a strategic plan, which will allow for the diversification of funding and activities. Internal risks are minimised by the implementation of procedures of authorization of all transactions and projects and to ensure consistent quality of delivery for all operational aspects of the Society. These procedures are periodically reviewed to ensure that they still meet the needs of the Society.

Each of the trustees has confirmed that there is no information of which they are aware which is relevant to the audit, but of which the auditor is unaware. They have further confirmed that they have taken appropriate steps to identify such relevant information and to establish that the auditor is aware of such information. The trustees' report, including the strategic report, was approved by the Board of Trustees. .............................. Prof P Davies pADonit

Prof P Davies Trustee 19/7/2024 Dated: .........................

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT

TO THE TRUSTEES OF BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of British Society of Criminology (the Society) for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the Society (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (the 2006 Act).

Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the Society are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the Society’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.

Scott Rouse FCA UHY Hacker Young

Suite 501 The Nexus Building Broadway Letchworth Garden City Herts SG6 9BL

22 July 2024 Dated: .........................

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Unrestricted Designated
funds
funds
Notes
£
£
Income from:
Donations and legacies
3
747
-
Charitable activities
Conference income
23,678
-
Subscriptions
81,055
-
Journals income
4
(6,428)
-
Post-grad bursary scheme
1,500
-
Investment income
5
2,513
-
Total income
103,065
-
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
-
-
Charitable activities
Regional groups' spending
6
870
-
Prizes and sponsorship
6
117
-
Support and governance costs
7
62,051
-
Network expenses
6
4,821
-
Post-grad committee
6
-
-
Innovation fund
6
-
-
Total charitable expenditure
67,859
-
Total resources expended
67,859
-
Net income for the year/
Net movement in funds
35,206
-
Fund balances at 1 January 2023
174,045
5,144
Fund balances at 31 December 2023
209,251
5,144		 Total
2023
£
747
23,678
81,055
(6,428)
1,500
2,513
103,065
-
870
117
62,051
4,821
-
-
67,859
67,859
35,206
179,189
214,395		 Total
2022
£
806
19,371
76,966
(10,853)
-
487
86,777
-
1,450
407
59,444
3,979
458
1,144
66,882
66,882
19,895
159,294
179,189

The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006.

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2023

2023 2022
Notes £ £ £ £
Current assets
Debtors 12 18,564 890
Cash at bank and in hand 200,122 182,409
218,686 183,299
Creditors: amounts falling due within
one year 13 (4,291) (4,110)
Net current assets 214,395 179,189
Income funds
Restricted funds 14 5,144 5,144
Unrestricted funds 209,251 174,045
214,395 179,189

For the year ending 31 December 2023 the company was entiltled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The Trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and for the preparation of accounts.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

19/7/2024

The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on .........................

.............................. Prof P Davies Trustee

Company Registration No. 03515512

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

1 Accounting policies

Company information

British Society of Criminology is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Suite 501, The Nexus Building, Broadway, Letchworth Garden City, Herts, SG6 9BL.

1.1 Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Society's [governing document], the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019). The Society is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

The Society has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.

The financial statements have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a true and fair view. This departure has involved following the Statement of Recommended Practice for charities applying FRS 102 rather than the version of the Statement of Recommended Practice which is referred to in the Regulations but which has since been withdrawn.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the Society. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

1.2 Going concern

At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Society has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

1.3 Charitable funds

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.

Designated funds are subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the designated funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.

1.4 Incoming resources

Income is recognised when the Society is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received.

Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the Society has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.

Conference income is recognised in the period which the conference takes place.

Membership subscriptions are recognised in the period to which the subscription relates,

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

1 Accounting policies

(Continued)

1.5 Resources expended

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.

Resources expended are included in the Statement of Financial Activities on an accruals basis.

1.6 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments.

1.7 Financial instruments

The Society has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

Financial instruments are recognised in the Society's balance sheet when the Society becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Basic financial assets

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Impairment of financial assets

Financial assets, other than those held at fair value through income and expenditure, are assessed for indicators of impairment at each reporting date. Financial assets are impaired where there is objective evidence that, as a result of one or more events that occurred after the initial recognition of the financial asset, the estimated future cash flows have been affected.

If an asset is impaired, the impairment loss is the difference between the carrying amount and the present value of the estimated cash flows discounted at the asset’s original effective interest rate. The impairment loss is recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year.

If there is a decrease in the impairment loss arising from an event occurring after the impairment was recognised, the impairment is reversed. The reversal is such that the current carrying amount does not exceed what the carrying amount would have been, had the impairment not previously been recognised. The impairment reversal is recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year.

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

1 Accounting policies

(Continued)

Derecognition of financial assets

Financial assets are derecognised only when the contractual rights to the cash flows from the asset expire or are settled, or when the Society transfers the financial asset and substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to another entity, or if some significant risks and rewards of ownership are retained but control of the asset has transferred to another party that is able to sell the asset in its entirety to an unrelated third party.

Basic financial liabilities

Basic financial liabilities, including trade and other payables, accruals, are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.

Trade payables are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Accounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade payables are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Derecognition of financial liabilities

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the Society’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.

1.8 Taxation

The company is exempt from corporation tax, it being a company not carrying on a business for the purposes of making a profit.

1.9 Employee benefits

The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.

Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the Society is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.

1.10 Retirement benefits

Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.

2 Critical accounting estimates and judgements

In the application of the Society’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

3 Income from donations and legacies
Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds funds
2023 2022
£ £
Donations and gifts 747 806
4 Charitable activities
Journals Total Total
income 2022
£ £ £
SAGE journal and other royalty receipts 40,765 40,765 32,226
Amounts payable to SAGE for printing (12,148) (12,148) (9,048)
Amounts payable to OUP for printing (29,045) (29,045) (28,031)
Amounts payable to CCJ editing team (6,000) (6,000) (6,000)
(6,428) (6,428) (10,853)
Analysis by fund
Unrestricted funds (6,428) (6,428) (10,853)
5 Income from investments
Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds funds
2023 2022
£ £
Interest receivable 2,513 487

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

6 Charitable activities

Regional
groups'
spending
Prizes and
sponsorship
Member
services
Network
expenses
Post-grad
committee
Innovation
fund
£
£
£
£
£
£
Prizes and sponsorship
-
117
-
-
-
-
Travel and refreshments
870
-
-
4,821
-
-
870
117
-
4,821
-
-
Support costs (see note 7)
-
-
56,501
-
-
-
Governance costs (see note 7)
-
-
5,550
-
-
-
870
117
62,051
4,821
-
-
Analysis by fund
Unrestricted funds
870
117
62,051
4,821
-
-
870
117
62,051
4,821
-
-
For the year ended 31 December 2022
Unrestricted funds
1,450
407
59,444
3,979
458
1,144
1,450
407
59,444
3,979
458
1,144		 Total
£
117
5,691
5,808
56,501
5,550
67,859
67,859
67,859		 Total
2022
£
311
-
311
56,066
8,404
64,781
66,882
66,882

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

7 Support costs

Support costs
Staff, training and office costs
Travel expenses
Insurance
Printing, postage and stationery
Telephone and fax
Subscriptions
Sundry expenses
Accountancy
Legal and professional
Bank charges		 Support
costs
Governance
costs
£
£
54,513
-
17
-
503
-
374
-
357
-
595
-
142
-
-
3,885
-
1,164
-
501
56,501
5,550		 2023
£
54,513
17
503
374
357
595
142
3,885
1,164
501
62,051		 2022
£
52,215
10
493
337
162
540
150
3,600
1,429
508
59,444

The vast majority of time and expenditure relates to the provision of services to the society's members. It is therefore reasonable to allocate all support costs and governance costs to that activity as shown in note 6.

8 Trustees

None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration during the year.

9 Employees

The average monthly number employees and consultants during the year was:

2023 2022
Number Number
Administration 2 2

The key management personnel of the charity comprise the trustees and the Executive Director. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £31,949 (2021: £31,158).

There were no employees whose annual remuneration was more than £60,000.

10 Taxation

The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.

11
Financial instruments
Carrying amount of financial assets
Debt instruments measured at amortised cost
Carrying amount of financial liabilities
Measured at amortised cost		 2023
£
200,522
4,291		 2022
£
182,409
4,110

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

12
Debtors
Amounts falling due within one year:
Trade debtors
Prepayments and accrued income
13
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Accruals and deferred income		 2023
£
400
18,164
18,564
2023
£
4,291		 2022
£
-
890
890
2022
£
4,110

14 Restricted funds

The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.

At 1
Previous year:
At 1		 January
2023
At 31
December
2023
£
£
5,144
5,144
January
2022
At 31
December
2022
£
£
5,144
5,144

15 Unrestricted funds

The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.

At 1 January Incoming Resources At 31
2023 resources expended December
2023
£ £ £ £
General funds 174,045 103,065 (67,859) 209,251

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

15 Unrestricted funds (Continued)
Previous year: At 1 January Incoming
Resources		 At 31
2022 resources expended December
2022
£ £ £ £
General funds 154,150 86,777 (66,882) 174,045
16 Analysis of net assets between funds
Unrestricted Designated Total
funds funds
£ £ £
Fund balances at 31 December 2023 are represented by:
Current assets/(liabilities) 209,251 5,144 214,395
209,251 5,144 214,395

17 Related party transactions

No guarantees have been given or received.

During the year the Trustees received expenses amounting to £17 (2022: £10). These expenses were reimbursed to cover travel and subsistence costs to attend Executive Committee meetings and run the committees and networks.

In addition, G Gallacher received free registration to the annual conference.