Company registration number 03515512 (England and Wales)
Charity registration number 1073154 (England and Wales)
BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
ANNUAL REPORT AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Trustees
Prof B Goldson
Dr R C Vipond
Prof P Davies
Prof J Treadwell
Dr J Smith
Dr V Heap
Dr M C Duggan
Dr J Price
Dr E Miller
Dr M Bhatia
Dr C Barlow
Dr A A Nurse
Dr T Ayres
Mrs S Plimley
Prof L Gelsthorpe
Dr J Tangen
Dr A Meenaghan
Ms G V M Squire
Dr S E Watson
Mr M Soundararajan
Dr R E Keighley
(Appointed 6 February 2025)
Dr S Fohring
(Appointed 16 May 2025)
Dr C Lightowlers
(Appointed 12 March 2026)
Dr C Molloy
(Appointed 24 March 2026)
Secretary
Dr R C Vipond
Charity number
1073154
Company number
03515512
Registered office
Suite 501
The Nexus Building
Broadway
Letchworth Garden City
Herts
SG6 3TA
Independent examiner
TC Group
Suite 501
The Nexus Building
Broadway
Letchworth Garden City
Herts
SG6 3TA
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
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Kings Hill
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ME19 4JQ
BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
CONTENTS
Page
Trustees' report
1 - 13
Independent examiner's report
14
Statement of financial activities
15
Balance sheet
16
Notes to the financial statements
17 - 26
BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
- 1 -

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the Society's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" 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)".

Objectives and activities

 

The Society's objectives are to advance public education about crime, crim 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.

In this report, we want to celebrate the events and activities that our volunteers have organised with the BSC this year while acknowledging the troubling backdrop in terms of the UK Higher Education workplace context of many of our members, the continuing changes for academic publishing and the wider global context within criminal justice and social justice more broadly.

Membership

 

At the end of 2025, the Society had 978 members. This is a decrease of 16 members compared to December 2024. Figures included UK members with a current direct debit, institutional members, overseas members and honorary members receiving journal subscriptions. While there is a small decrease overall in membership numbers in 2025, the Society has continued to promote member cancellations in December to reduce the numbers cancelling later in the following year, so this decrease may be explained by members cancelling early for 2026. The Membership and Communications Coordinator 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 around 600 students on group schemes.

 

Of our members, 92% are based in the UK and 8% are based overseas. The majority of members (94%) are in the university sector; approximately 33% of these are postgraduate or undergraduate students. The other 6% of members are practitioners working in the public and independent sectors.

 

Governance and Management

 

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, 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 whom 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 2025, the whole Executive Committee continued to meet mainly via Zoom, taking interim decisions occasionally via email correspondence. The Executive Committee met once in person in London, but online meetings are expected to remain a regular feature of the Executive Committee meeting structure.

 

We would like to thank the trustees who have served the BSC and retired from the Executive this year and extend grateful appreciation to Gemma Birkett, Irene Zempi and Hannah Bows, who acted as Network Chairs, and to Machi Tseloni, who was latterly Chair of the Crime and Justice Statistics Network but previously served as Treasurer. We are very grateful for all members' time and commitment, recognising the increasing burden of their institutional workload expectations at this time.

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
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Achievements and performance

 

Professional Affairs & Ethics Committee

 

• Work has begun on a second iteration of the Criminology survey and analysis of HESA/JISC data to establish a disciplinary analysis of where criminology is taught, to and by whom, how and with what result in terms of degree category. Collecting HESA data including entry tariff, institution, mode of study, level of study and graduate outcomes for students and, for staff, institution and whether their contracts are teaching, research or both, will allow the focus of the survey to concentrate on more qualitative data about what it is like to work as an academic criminologist.

 

• The situation of criminologists working at a number of UK universities continued to cause concern in the face of a series of announcements of the need for cuts, severance packages and, in some cases, enforced redundancies impacting the Higher Education sector in general and, thankfully, more rarely, specifically criminologists or their departments more widely. The Society continues to intervene as requested and has been asked to write to individual Vice-Chancellors in support of members.

 

• The BSC continued to engage with the REF29 process, responding to consultations and encouraging members to put themselves forward for eventual panel and sub-panel roles, including through an online Q&A with Main Panel C Chair Jane Falkingham.

 

• 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 Professional Affairs and Ethics Committee is working to update the BSC Statement of Ethics, in particular addressing research either undertaken remotely or researching online activity and issues raised by members such as student–staff relationships and researchers with lived experience, as well as the impact of AI. A Code of Conduct will also form part of their work.

 

• The BSC awarded two Innovation Fund grants in 2025, one to the Narrative Criminology symposium 'Narrating Harm, Narrating Hope', which took place in June at Swansea University and was the subject of an innovative narrative blog on the BSC blogsite, and the other to 'Roundtable Discussion on Criminology and Criminal Justice Through the Lens of Queer Theory' at the Institute of Criminology (University of Cambridge), in May. Towards the end of 2025, the Executive Committee began a review of the Innovation Fund criteria to consider widening the remit beyond hosting events and to reconsider the nature of innovation.

 

Conference Committee

 

The 2025 annual conference, 'Criminology for Social Justice', was hosted by the University of Portsmouth in July. From postgraduate papers through to panels and plenaries, speakers explored contemporary debates. Streams and themes included policing, prisons, probation, violence, identity, young people, cybercrime, terrorism and vulnerabilities. Several of the BSC specialist networks were represented via meetings, roundtables and curated streams reflecting members' research on Women, Crime and Criminal Justice, Historical Criminology, Green Criminology, Learning and Teaching, Hate Crime and Race Matters.

 

There was a strong commitment among many of the papers to exploring how lived experience shapes our research trajectories, particularly in relation to trauma, harm and justice. This was particularly evident in the plenary sessions. Wednesday's session focused on the need to centre survivor voices in policy and practice, with Liz Kelly (London Metropolitan University) providing an incredibly detailed reflective account of her decades of work in the field of sexual violence. Anastasia Powell (RMIT University, Melbourne) supplemented this with a powerful reflection which synergised the personal and professional in advocating for trauma-transformative criminology.

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
- 3 -

Thursday's session sought to advance justice responses in prevention, accountability and rehabilitation in interpersonal and sexual violence. Jane Monckton-Smith (University of Gloucestershire) drew from her extensive research and practice to critically explore whether Coercive Control theory can balance inequities for women and girls in the criminal justice system. Following this, Nicholas Blagden (Nottingham Trent University (NTU)) outlined the vital work he is involved in which seeks to rehabilitate and reintegrate people with sexual convictions, making the case for framing issues of correctional practice and community engagement through a lens of compassion.

 

Friday's session examined justice through an inclusive lens, focusing on race, gender and sexuality in criminology. Sarah Lamble (Birkbeck, University of London) drew from her forthcoming book to provide a careful and considered exploration of queer criminology in an era of culture war politics, while Onwubiko Agozino (Virginia Tech) took us on an incredibly comprehensive journey that outlined the key thinkers and experiences which have characterised his influential research on colonialism and criminology.

 

During the conference, the BSC Learning and Teaching Network recorded a series of podcast episodes for the 'Talking Teaching with Criminologists' podcast. These included 'Green Criminology' with Angus Nurse (Anglia Ruskin University), 'Teaching Terrorism' with Ashton Kingdon (University of Southampton), 'From Probation Practice to Pracademia' with Tom Brown (Sheffield Hallam University) and 'Teaching Criminological Theories in Complex Times' with Evelyn Svingen.

 

The Conference Committee spent the early months of the year evaluating the bids for hosting the conference for the years 2026–2028. The Committee was delighted to see the number and quality of bids, with new criteria relating to accessibility, inclusivity and flexibility of provision. An international bursary aimed at contributing to the costs of delegates from low- and middle-income countries attending the conference was trailed in 2025, with the introduction of reduced delegate fees from 2026 onwards.

 

Postgraduate Committee

 

The BSC has a thriving postgraduate researcher community, which is important for sustaining the future of criminology as a discipline dedicated to the critical examination of past, present and future issues. 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. Also 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 as well as the bursary fund.

 

Regional Groups and Specialist 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 returned to hosting face-to-face events in 2025, although many continued to offer 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. Because of the larger number and activities of the groups and networks, the Society has reviewed its guidance to their steering groups with a renewed focus on accessibility, inclusivity and diversity, but also administration and governance.

 

Regional events included two very different events:

 

• The BSC South West Regional Group organised another unusually themed day seminar, 'Ghosts of Futures, Pasts and Presents: The Hauntology of Crime, Harm and Criminology', in June at the University of Plymouth, with plenary speakers Esmorie Miller (Lancaster University) and Michael Fiddler (University of Greenwich). Inspired by Jacques Derrida's notion of hauntology and Mark Fisher's reinterpretation of the concept as a cultural condition of late capitalism, the conference explored themes of spectral forces that both shadow experiences of crime – ghostly remnants of past injustices, lingering traumas and unresolved conflicts – and haunt contemporary and future criminological thought and practice, in particular those that critique the neoliberal consensus that Fisher argues has trapped society in a perpetual present, devoid of the possibility of a different future and risking scholarly stagnation.

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
- 4 -

• The BSC Welsh Branch joined forces with the Welsh Centre for Crime and Social Justice for a two-day conference in May at Cardiff Metropolitan University, with pan-Wales papers including works in progress, completed research, policy ideas, theoretical and comparative work, practitioner-focused papers and issues for practitioners. The conference included a plenary by Harry Annison, 'Possible Futures for Penal Policy Change'.

 

The BSC now has 15 specialist networks, increasing its potential to reach out, influence and educate.

 

2025 Specialist Network events and activities included:

 

Crime and Justice Statistics Network

 

• The Crime and Justice Statistics Network (CJSN), established in 2009, transferred chair duties in 2025 from Machi Tseloni to Carly Lightowlers. The Network collaborated with ADR UK (Administrative Data Research UK) in disseminating information on justice administrative data and research opportunities. It also underwent a steering group refresh to include representation from England, Wales and Scotland, and the appointment of Emily Gray as Vice-Chair of the Network.

 

Women, Crime and Criminal Justice Network

 

• The Women, Crime and Criminal Justice Network, established in 2011 and chaired in 2025 by Gemma Birkett and subsequently by Alex Fanghanel and Madeline Petrillo, also spent time refreshing its governance and steering committee to bring in new perspectives and expertise, with members joining from across the UK and internationally. This has helped broaden the Network's reach and deepen its capacity to support collaboration between researchers, practitioners and policy communities.

 

The Network's keystone event, 'Bridging Policy and Research: New Directions for Women's Justice', took place in March 2025. The event focused on how to better connect research and policy in the area of women's justice, creating space for discussion, challenge and knowledge exchange. It was attended by more than 75 participants, reflecting strong interest and engagement across sectors.

 

The annual paper prize, sponsored by Emerald Publishing, ran again in 2025. The prize was awarded to A. Alili-Idrissi for the article 'Emerging Penality: Shifting Ideologies, Reconciliations and Clashes', published in the journal Theoretical Criminology. The winning paper was presented at the BSC conference, continuing the Network's commitment to recognising and showcasing outstanding scholarship in the field.

 

Alongside these activities, the Network refreshed its communications strategy to strengthen visibility and engagement. The use of the LinkedIn page has been central to attracting new members and promoting events. The mailing list currently has 235 subscribers, while the LinkedIn page has grown to 338 followers, indicating steady and ongoing expansion of the Network's community.

 

Critical Criminology Network

 

• The Critical Criminology Network, launched in 2015, was chaired in 2025 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 activities of the Network in 2025 centred around the co-hosting of the 2nd International Conference on Global Criminology and Victimology with RV University and the National Law University and Judicial Academy, India: 'Humanising Justice Practices: Global Perspectives on Building Inclusive Systems for Crime Prevention and Victim Advocacy'. These activities increased the international reach of the Society, reflected in delegate attendance at the main annual conference.

 

Historical Criminology Network

 

• The Historical Criminology Network was chaired in 2025 by Esmorie Miller (Lancaster University). The Network was established in 2018 by David Churchill (University of Leeds). As of 2025, membership had reached 100 and is global in character.

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
- 5 -

The Network maintains an online seminar series, 'Meet the Authors', attracting presenters and audiences from across the UK, continental Europe, North America, Australia, Africa and South America. 2025 marked the fourth iteration of the series, organising thematic, cross-disciplinary discussions. In conversation, members reflected on what the historical criminological lens can reveal about the links between inequalities in knowledge development and continuities of marginalisation. The series is part of the Network's efforts to draw together leading scholarly and activist voices in criminology and beyond, enriching research-led teaching and community engagement. Recordings of previous conversations can now be found on the BSC YouTube channel.

 

During 2025, the infrastructure of the Network continued to develop, with Ciara Molloy (University College Dublin) managing Network social media. The Network also continued to maintain a strong relationship with other historical criminology networks globally. This has become apparent in the increased number of historical criminology panels within larger conference settings: BSC (Glasgow 2024), ESC (Bucharest 2024), BSC (Portsmouth 2025) and ESC (Athens 2025). The next developmental aim is to expand the number of Network events, with a view to increasing BSC cross-network collaborations.

 

Incoming Chair Ciara Molloy (University College Dublin) has introduced writing retreats, welcoming interested participants every other Friday to write for two hours. The Network has also been commissioned by Routledge to produce a handbook on historical criminology, giving members and other interested parties more opportunities to contribute to historical criminological scholarship.

 

Hate Crime Network

 

• Established in 2018, the Hate Crime Network was chaired in 2025 by Rachel Keighley (University of Leicester). The BSC Hate Crime Network provides a forum for those researching and working in the field of hate crime. In 2025, the Network organised a wide range of activities including podcasts, postgraduate researcher (PGR) and early career researcher (ECR) online events, webinars, an annual in-person conference co-organised with the BSC Policing Network, the awarding of the 'Sophie and Sylvia Lancaster Prize', online writing groups, and a monthly newsletter providing updates on Network activities and developments. During the year, the Network also launched a new mailing list.

 

The 2025 winner of the Sophie and Sylvia Lancaster Prize was Moslem Boushehrian for the project and podcast 'Community Hour – Hate Crime Misperceptions'.

 

Podcast episodes released during 2025 included 'A Conversation with Jonathan Blyth about Anti-Racism and Social Justice Beyond Academia', in which Rachel Keighley and Jonathan Blyth discussed anti-racism and social justice work beyond academia; 'A Conversation with Moslem Boushehrian: Hate Crime Misperceptions', exploring Moslem Boushehrian's prize-winning project 'Community Hour – Hate Crime Misperceptions'; 'A Conversation with Abel González García', in which Rachel Keighley and Simone Taghavi discussed hate crime in Spain with the Director of Criminology at Universidad a Distancia de Madrid (UDIMA); and 'A Conversation with Dr Lauren Steckles-Young', exploring digital body politics and online hate, including research into platforms such as Reddit and Tattle Life.

 

The Hate Crime Network also held a series of research webinars, including 'Barriers to Hate Crime Reporting: Cultural Diversities in "Hard-to-Reach" Communities' with Moslem Boushehrian (University of Surrey); 'Minority Stress and its Relation to Mental Health and Family Functioning in Bisexual+ Mother Families' with Ellen Davenport-Pleasance (University College London); 'Question the Professor' with Professor Mark Walters (University of Sussex); 'Justifications of Misogynist Incels: Victimhood and Blame' with Lisa Sugiura (University of Portsmouth); 'Potential New Police Approaches to Dealing with Hate Crime, Specifically Disability Hate' with James Bird (West Midlands Police); 'Unpacking Experiences of Rural Racism' with Rachel Keighley (University of Leicester); 'Terrorism and Violent Extremism as Key Players in the Removal of Illegal Content from the Internet' with Paula María Núñez Guerra (Eurodefense Joven España; Universidad Complutense de Madrid); 'Black Men, Invisibility and Crime: Towards a Critical Race Theory of Desistance' with Martin Glynn (Birmingham City University); 'Juror Perceptions of Male Complainants of Sexual Violence' with Siobhan Weare (Lancaster University); and 'Hate Crimes in Romania: Comparative Analysis of the Roma Minority and General Population' with Simona Mihaiu (University of Bucharest; Romanian Academy).

 

The Hate Crime Network annual conference, co-hosted with the BSC Policing Network, explored 'Hate Crime Perpetrators: The Effectiveness of Criminal Justice Responses' and was hosted at Nottingham Trent University (NTU). The papers included:

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
- 6 -

• Plenary Lecture: Professor Jon Garland (University of Surrey) – 'Developing an Understanding of Hate Crime Perpetration and Criminal Justice Responses: Where Are We Now?'

 

• Panel Session 1: Hate Crime Offenders: Motivations, Context and Typologies of Offending

 

• Kate Barber (University of Reading) – 'Female Privilege' and the 'Matriarchy': Examining Legal Cynicism in Men's Rights Discourses as a Driver of Sexual Violence Against Women

 

• Jane Healy (Bournemouth University) and Valerie Houghton (Edinburgh Napier University) – 'Developing a Profile of Disablist Hate Crime Offenders'

 

• Mark Rusling (Antisemitism Policy Trust) – 'Breaking the Cycle? Learning from the Past to Improve the Present'

 

• Nicole L Asquith (University of Tasmania) and Justin Ellis (University of Newcastle) – 'The NSW Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ Hate Crimes (1970–2010) and Offender Accountability'

 

• Panel Session 2: Responses to Hate Crime Offending

 

• Loretta Trickett (NTU) – 'Improving Policing Through Hate Crime Risk Assessment'

 

• Megan McElhone (Monash University) – 'Anti-Muslim Hate and Britain's Racial Order: Political Relations and Institutional Responses'

 

• Daisy Matthews (NTU) and Larissa Sandy (University of Nottingham) – 'Creating Hostile Environments: Reframing Sex Work as a Form of Violence Against Women'

 

• Tiana Gaudette and Ryan Scrivens (Michigan State University) – 'Pathways Out of Hate Groups: Trends in the Empirical Literature and Future Directions'

 

The Network also launched a new webinar series, 'Meet the Authors', featuring discussions of books relating to hate crime research. Sessions included Piotr Godzisz's book 'Understanding and Addressing Anti-LGBTIQ Online Hate'; Rachel Keighley's book 'Researching Hate as an Activist: Exploring LGBTQ+ Online Hate, Its Impacts, and Our Responsibility Towards Equality'; and the edited collection 'Contemporary Issues in Transphobic Hate and Prejudice: Transforming the Narrative', edited by Ben Colliver, Jane Healy, Katie McBride and Gina Gwenffrewi.

 

In 2025, the Hate Crime Network continued its monthly online writing groups for academics, PhD students, early career researchers and anyone with writing goals. The writing groups are held on Microsoft Teams each month. The sessions include dedicated writing time followed by discussion, allowing attendees to talk about their work and receive support. The writing groups continue to attract international attendees, including participants from the UK, Denmark, Hong Kong and the USA.

 

Race Matters Network

 

• The Race Matters Network was launched in 2019 and chaired by Coretta Phillips (LSE) and Pamela Ugwudike (University of Southampton). In 2025, 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 within 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 foster wider recognition of the contribution of Black and minority ethnic scholars to criminology, historically, nationally and internationally.

 

In 2025, the Network held a further online seminar series including:

 

Bharat Malkani (Cardiff University School of Law and Politics), 'Racial Justice and the Limits of Law', which used Critical Race Theory to understand the paradoxical relationship between law and the struggle for racial justice, exploring how campaigners and lawyers can make better use of the law in the struggle for racial justice.

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
- 7 -

Rhys Machold, 'The Fabrication of Homeland Security', based on the book 'Fabricating Homeland Security: Police Entanglements across India and Palestine/Israel' (Stanford University Press, 2024).

 

Green Criminology Research Network

 

• The Green Criminology Research Network, established in 2019 by James Heydon, was chaired in 2025 by Angus Nurse (Anglia Ruskin University). The Network has approximately 160 members on its mailing list and 74 followers on its Eventbrite page, up from 38 in 2024. Its primary activities are its bi-monthly webinars, annual conference, panels at the BSC Annual Conference, and collaborative or co-sponsored panels at the European Society of Criminology conference.

 

Webinars in 2025 included: 'The Theriocide-Ecocide Nexus in Industrial Animal Agriculture' with Brandon Rochester (York St John University); 'Constructionist Green Criminology for a Climate in Crisis' with James Heydon and Caitlin Bunce (University of Nottingham); 'Inside the Slippery World of Glass Eel Fishing and Trafficking: Lessons for Prevention' with Monica Pons Hernandez (University of Bergen); 'The Invisible Victims of Israel's Genocide on Gaza: Crimes Against Nature and Nonhuman Animals' with independent scholar Rimona Afana; 'The Social Perception of Environmental Victimization: A Visual and Sensory Methodological Proposal' with Lorenzo Natali (University of Milano-Bicocca); and 'Green Crimes, Blue Lights: Exploring the Intersection of Policing and Green Criminology in England and Wales' with Alice Weedy (University of Hertfordshire).

 

The Green Criminology Research Network annual conference, 'Environmental Harm and Victimisation', took place at the University of Portsmouth in October 2025. The theme was chosen to facilitate discussion of contemporary issues in environmental harm and victimisation and to consider further opportunities for developing the Network's work in this area.

 

Speakers included Stacy Banwell (University of Greenwich), presenting 'Life on Earth is in Crisis: An Intersectional Analysis of the Relationship between Anthropogenic Climate Change and Atrocity Crimes'; Emiline Smith (University of Glasgow), presenting 'Exploiting the Blue: Conceptualising Harms Against Ocean Ecosystems'; and Barrister Christina Warner, presenting 'Ruby's Law: Protecting Pets in Family Law'.

 

The Network held its annual Network meeting and organised four panels at the BSC Annual Conference, including 'Responding to "Dangerous Dogs"' and 'The Uneven Development of Green Criminology in Higher Education: Barriers, Institutional Priorities, and Future Directions' (roundtable discussion).

 

Vulnerability Research Network

 

• The BSC Vulnerability Research Network was established in 2019 by Harriet Pierpoint, Roxanna Dehaghani and Chris Bath from the National Appropriate Adults Network. In 2025, the Network was co-chaired by Professor Pierpoint and Dr Dehaghani, and its activities were coordinated by a steering group. The BSC funded student bursaries for attendance at the second Vulnerable Accused Conference in September 2025.

 

Probation & Community Justice Network

 

• The Probation & Community Justice Network was established in 2024 and chaired by James Tangen (University of Nottingham). The Network provides a forum to foster discourse and debate for academics at all stages of their careers and to provide opportunities for engagement with practitioners, policy makers and members of the public with an interest in probation and community justice.

 

The Network held its inaugural 1st Annual Conference, 'Where Next for Probation and Community Justice?', in January at Sheffield Hallam University. The event provided a forum for discussion of the future of probation and community justice and sought to advance the Network's aim of critically examining and stimulating debate about community justice research while providing a platform from which to promote academic contributions and interventions to contemporary debates about probation and community justice.

 

The growth in specialist networks in recent years has represented a considerable increase in Society activity, improving the visibility and impact of criminological research. Most Networks have not only JISC mailing lists—which are open to everybody, not just BSC members—but also separate websites, blogs and social media accounts to engage with the wider world. The BSC welcomes expressions of interest for new specialist networks.

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
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Prizes Committee

 

In 2025, the BSC awarded its Outstanding Achievement Award to Eugene McLaughlin, Professor of Criminology at City St George's, University of London, for his pioneering role in the development and promotion of academic criminology in the UK, together with his commitment to nurturing three generations of colleagues and students.

 

Professor McLaughlin is best known for his work on the mediatisation of crime and criminal justice and the politics of police reform. His current research explores institutional scandals, trial by media and contemporary cults. He has authored, co-authored or co-edited numerous books, articles, chapters and influential textbooks, including: 'The SAGE Dictionary of Criminology' (4th edition, 2019), co-edited with John Muncie; 'Understanding Deviance' (7th edition, 2016), co-authored with David Downes and Paul Rock; 'Criminological Perspectives' (3rd edition, 2013), co-edited with John Muncie; and 'The SAGE Handbook of Criminological Theory' (2010), co-edited with Tim Newburn.

 

Professor McLaughlin's academic career includes positions at the University of Hong Kong, the Open University and the University of Southampton. He has also held visiting positions at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies. Professor McLaughlin was co-editor of the journals Theoretical Criminology and Critical Social Policy and has served on the editorial boards of the journals British Journal of Criminology, Media, Crime and Culture, Journal of Criminology, Howard Journal of Criminal Justice and Criminal Justice Matters.

 

The Outstanding Achievement Award is decided following nominations from the British Society of Criminology membership. One of Professor McLaughlin's nominators, Dr Gemma Birkett, said:

 

"Eugene has made a seismic contribution to British criminology on a number of different fronts. His scholarship has produced a host of landmark theoretical, conceptual and empirical insights, while he has been central to the development of British criminology more widely through his textbooks and other popular writings. Achieving all of this in his own unstintingly modest way, Eugene has always made time to encourage fellow criminologists in the development of their own ideas. The number of nominators, and the various ways that Eugene is connected with them – supervisor, mentor, co-author, etc. – attest to his kindness and generosity. He is everything one could ask for in a scholar, colleague and friend."

 

The annual book prize, sponsored by Routledge, was awarded to Sian Lewis for 'Mind the Gender Gap: A Mobilities Perspective of Sexual Harassment on the London Underground' (Emerald Publishing). Drawing on women's lived experiences, the book offers a novel conceptual framework for understanding harassment in public space built around the concepts of space, mobilities, rhythm and temporalities. The book is available open access online. The prize aims to recognise the achievements of new or aspiring members of the criminology profession and was open to those publishing their first solo-authored book in 2025.

 

We congratulate all of our 2025 prize winners.

 

Publications Committee

 

The editorial team from the Universities of Southampton and Cambridge - 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 the reviewers for their prompt, rigorous and thoughtful reviews. Professors Gelsthorpe and Ugwudike will continue as editors until December 2027 and the BSC will be starting the search for continuing editorship at the end of 2026.

 

The journal performed well across many metrics, with a 2024 Impact Factor of 1.3 (the latest available at the time of writing), a 5-Year Impact Factor of 1.8 and a 2024 CiteScore of 4.5. The 2025 Impact Factor will be released at the end of June 2026.

 

The most downloaded article in 2025 was 'The Effectiveness of Restorative Justice Programs: A Meta-Analysis of Recidivism and Other Relevant Outcomes' by Elizabeth A. Schultheis, Tanya Rugge, Lindsay Fulham and Julie Blais, which received 22,241 downloads in 2025. This was followed by 'The Rise of Paedophile Hunters: To What Extent Are Cyber-Vigilante Groups a Productive Form of Policing, Retribution and Justice?' by Anna Tippett, which received 11,738 downloads in 2025.

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
- 9 -

The top Altmetric score was achieved by the article 'Why Have We Funded This Research?: On Politics, Research and Newsmaking Criminology' by Kath Murray.

 

The BSC, together with our co-owners Sage, continues to engage with the ongoing impact of Open Access policies on journal subscriptions and the wider publishing environment while exploring how to extend the journal's reach in terms of readership and contributors. The costs of printing and posting printed copies of journals have increased dramatically over the last two to three years and the BSC is discussing how to address this through online alternatives and differential subscriptions from 2027 onwards with its publishing partners.

 

There were two BSC Newsletters in 2025. The Summer Newsletter was themed 'The Value of Voluntary Sector Services' and included the following articles:

 

• 'Aurora's Multi Specialist Armed Forces Advocates' – Jacki Tapley (University of Portsmouth), Zoe Jackson (Aurora New Dawn) and Laura Robinson.

 

• 'More Than a Gap-Filler: The Voluntary Sector as a Driver of Systemic Adaptation' – Chloe Purcell (Safe Project) and Sylwia Kieran (City St George's, University of London).

 

• 'Strength, Solidarity, and Satisfaction: Recognising the Contributions of Domestic Abuse Specialists During the Pandemic' – Marian Duggan (University of Kent), Camille Stengel (NESTA) and Alana Pollock (University of Kent).

 

• 'Moving from "Buzzword" to Practice: Cultural Competency within DVA Advocacy' – Shane Thiara (University of Kent).

 

The Winter Newsletter was an open-call issue exploring a range of insights into criminal and social justice, with a strong theme of balance evident in several submissions, particularly regarding efficiency and ethical practice. It included articles from international contributors across a range of career stages:

 

• 'Are the Recent Mistaken Releases Just a Tip of the Iceberg Regarding the Criminal Justice System in the UK?' – Tania Loureiro (University of Aberdeen).

 

• 'Yet Another Problem for Scholarly Communication in Criminology: The Case of a Spanish Journal Turned into a Paper Mill' – Fernando Miró-Llinares (Miguel Hernández University of Elche) and David Buil-Gil (University of Manchester).

 

• 'Digital, Data and Technology-Driven Police Reform, and the Problem of Hyperreality' – David Lydon (Canterbury Christ Church University).

 

• 'A Police Detective's Perspective on Investigating Interview Techniques' – Kasey Alexander (University of Kent).

 

• 'When to Stop Digging? Ethical Dilemmas Researching Crime Histories' – Nigel Brearley (Independent Academic).

 

• 'Improving Progression Opportunities in Criminology Education on the Isle of Wight' – Mike Sizer-Green (Isle of Wight College and Doctoral Researcher, University of Portsmouth).

 

The online journal 'Papers from the British Criminology Conference' was also published. This year's 30th anniversary edition offered a selection of papers from the plenary, panel and postgraduate sessions, alongside two reflective submissions and the winning Postgraduate Poster.

 

The journal opened with Lisa Sugiura's welcome speech to delegates, followed by Anastasia Powell's plenary calling for a trauma-transformative criminology. The subsequent section included Raphael Schlembach's exploration of 'policing by deception' and the moral disengagement characterising undercover police officers' accounts of sexual relationships with activists; David Pritchard's reflection on the methodological and ethical challenges involved in researching the far-right; and Maria Kaspersson's methodological exploration of giving voice to women sentenced for infanticide in Sweden.

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
- 10 -

The BSC has a thriving postgraduate researcher community, which is important for sustaining the future of criminology as a discipline dedicated to the critical examination of past, present and future issues. An important part of this is the annual Postgraduate Poster Prize, judged by a BSC panel. We were delighted to feature this year's winning poster by Claire Chapman on autistic women's experiences of victimisation, trauma and support.

 

The postgraduate section included Maria-Christina Galanaki's paper examining ideology and denial among the far-right in Lesvos; Laura Sibret's preliminary insights into resource gaps and support needs for Minor Attracted Persons; and Tahreem Tahir, Kelly Bracewell, Joanne Westwood and Charlotte Barlow's discussion of key conceptual and practical challenges in policing cyberstalking.

 

The journal also included two reflective pieces. The first, by Bethan Archer, reflected on the creation, implementation and review of a creative criminology assessment. The second, by Laura Briody, explored issues of positionality, ethics and values during postgraduate research collaboration with the police, and the disruption that personnel changes can cause to research projects.

 

We thank everyone who submitted articles for consideration for the journal, which we endeavour to produce in a collegiate and supportive manner. As usual, all submissions to the online journal underwent a rigorous peer-review process and we thank all reviewers for their careful engagement with submissions and constructive suggestions for improvement.

 

The bi-monthly bulletin was sent to 99.5% of all members and the average 'open rate' was 40%, which is above the industry standard for membership organisations (30%) and education providers (35%). The average open rate across all industries in 2025 was 35% (source: Mailchimp).

 

The BSC blog (https://thebscblog.wordpress.com/) continued to attract authors and readers, receiving a number of high-quality submissions during 2025. During the year we published one article per month and recorded around 15,000 visitors.

 

The BSC's Summer and Winter Newsletters and the Conference Proceedings (online journal) were sent to 99.5% of members via Mailchimp. The open rates were:

 

Summer Newsletter – 35.2% (54.9% in 2024)

Winter Newsletter – 47.3% (54.5% in 2024)

Conference Proceedings – 48% (68.1% in 2024)

 

The 2025 editions of the Newsletter and Conference Proceedings were viewed approximately 500 times each on the BSC website. However, each edition is subdivided into multiple articles that can also be viewed separately, meaning the total number of views is likely to be substantially higher.

Public Relations Committee

 

As in previous years, in 2025 the Society provided 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 the Chairs of the relevant BSC Networks, members of the Executive Committee or individual members who are listed in the Society's 'Knowledge Bank'.

 

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 23,500 in December 2025, a decrease of 1,500 followers compared to 2024. This was expected as BSC members and other followers have been moving away from X to other platforms.

 

The BSC Executive Committee made the decision to develop the BSC's presence on Bluesky in 2025 and the Society now has a Bluesky account. Progress in developing a following on Bluesky has been slow, mainly due to the relatively small number of people currently using the platform. We currently have 282 followers.

 

Our website receives an average of 20,000 visits per month, primarily from the UK but also, in order of visitor numbers, from the USA, Australia, China, Canada, India, Pakistan and elsewhere. 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 2025
- 11 -

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

 

Financial Review

 

The Society's reported fund balances increased in 2025 from £236,484 as at 31 December 2024 to £249,365 at the end of 2025, a level in keeping with the Society's regular expenditure plans and its reserves policy (see below). The increase is due to continued savings made in venue hire, travel and subsistence resulting from changes in working practices since 2020, which have offset a reduction in income and increased costs relating to two of our income streams – membership and conference activity.

 

We worked hard to maintain memberships in the face of challenges within the UK Higher Education sector, which has affected learned societies across the board, achieving subscription revenue of £71,106 (compared to £76,810 in 2024). Alongside long-term members, we continue to experience approximately 25% annual membership turnover and make ongoing efforts to attract and retain members in the face of increasing costs and financial uncertainty, including schemes aimed at undergraduates and other groups. We also received £20,248 in profit share from our annual conference held at the University of Portsmouth.

 

We should also report the ongoing financial success of our journal Criminology & Criminal Justice, which generated £44,481 in royalty income for the Society—an increase on 2024 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 move from a 'pay to read' model to a 'pay to publish' model as a result of the Government's Open Access publishing agenda.

 

Of equal concern going forward are the increasing costs of printing and posting print issues. In 2024, it cost £28,366 (including the renegotiated reduced unit cost) to print member copies of the journal British Journal of Criminology (a form of support for this prestigious journal to which the Society has historical links) and £11,550 for Criminology & Criminal Justice, both of which represent reductions from the previous year as a result of a drive towards online-only subscriptions.

 

From 2027, the Society will see a considerable increase in the cost price of printed editions of Criminology & Criminal Justice (CCJ), which will likely necessitate an increase in the member subscription rate for those who continue to want this member benefit. This matter will be discussed at the AGM. The Trustees will be assessing the short- and mid-term impacts of this on other spending plans.

 

In summary, the Society's finances remained healthy throughout 2025. The Society continues to develop its educational, research and policy-related interests and, while ensuring its financial security, wishes to continue developing a project-based long-term strategy to ensure that funds are spent wisely and support the continued health of the discipline of criminology for the benefit of members and wider society.

 

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 again centred on the conference experience and ensuring the future of our journal.

 

Policy for Holding Reserves

 

The BSC has set its reserves at a level equivalent to at least three months' operational expenditure and has done so having regard to its manner of operation and likely funding streams. The reserves level includes staff salary and pension costs and other general running costs, based on average year-on-year increases, together with the potential for each of its regional groups and specialist networks to draw upon the £1,000 annual budget agreed as policy, while acknowledging that many do not.

 

The figure does not include the £4,834 designated funds belonging to the Youth Criminology/Youth Justice and Learning and Teaching Networks from sponsorship and profit generated through paid-for events.

 

The reserves amount also recognises the imbalanced payment due dates of some of its major commitments. For example, the printing costs of journals both fall due in the early months of the calendar year.

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
- 12 -

The Society's principal income streams are variable in nature, with fluctuations in membership subscriptions and particularly annual conference income demonstrated in accounting records from previous years. This is in part deliberate, as the Society wishes to host its conference throughout all parts of the UK while recognising 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 regarding delegates' ability to secure employer funding for conference attendance and the significant additional costs associated with almost all genuinely hybrid conference models.

 

Royalty income is also likely to be unpredictable over the coming years as the effects of the Government's Open Access policy become more apparent.

 

The Trustees review the level of reserves required to ensure that they remain adequate to fulfil the charity's continuing obligations on a quarterly basis through Executive Committee meetings.

 

Future of the Society

 

The Society relies on three principal 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 should be viewed in the context that some of the Society's current financial strength is linked to reduced expenditure resulting from Executive Committee meetings and events being held more frequently online. These savings are likely to be offset in coming years by the substantial increase in printing and postage costs associated with journal issues, a member benefit attached to almost all membership categories. Catering and employment costs are also continuing to rise across the sector.

 

The Society has moved to a more proactive membership strategy. A membership recruitment drive begun in 2016 reached out to those who attend or speak at events and to new groups such as undergraduates and practitioners. Increased membership will not only increase income but also make the Society more relevant and impactful in its dealings with policy makers and external stakeholders.

 

We have negotiated with our publishing partners regarding online-only membership options, reducing print costs while still providing print copies of Criminology & Criminal Justice and the British Journal of Criminology to those members who wish to receive them. We have also further streamlined new joiner payments to avoid expenditure on publication back copies.

 

We are continuously striving to improve the annual conference experience and maintain the attractiveness of the BSC in an increasingly competitive environment. The Executive Committee is very aware of the costs associated with attending the Society's conference and has been pursuing new ways to reduce fees and thereby increase access, particularly for those who are deterred by cost alone, while also addressing delegates' wider expectations and ensuring that the conference remains intellectually stimulating and innovative.

 

While some of these developments may increase attendance and revenue, they may also have a short-term impact on income levels while new approaches are explored.

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
(Resigned 10 March 2026)
Dr R C Vipond
Prof A Tseloni
(Resigned 15 March 2026)
Prof P Davies
Prof J Treadwell
Prof S Walklate
(Resigned 16 March 2026)
Dr J Smith
Dr V Heap
BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
- 13 -
Dr M C Duggan
Prof A E Millie
(Resigned 2 April 2026)
Dr J Price
Mrs G Gallacher
(Resigned 24 March 2026)
Dr H Bows
(Resigned 28 May 2025)
Dr E Miller
Dr I Zempi
(Resigned 24 January 2025)
Dr M Bhatia
Dr G A Birkett
(Resigned 24 January 2025)
Dr C Barlow
Dr A A Nurse
Dr T Ayres
Mrs S Plimley
Prof L Gelsthorpe
Dr J Tangen
Dr A Meenaghan
Ms G V M Squire
Dr S E Watson
Mr M Soundararajan
Dr R E Keighley
(Appointed 6 February 2025)
Dr S Fohring
(Appointed 16 May 2025)
Dr C Lightowlers
(Appointed 12 March 2026)
Dr C Molloy
(Appointed 24 March 2026)

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 through the implementation of procedures governing the authorisation of all transactions and projects, together with mechanisms designed to ensure consistent quality of delivery across all operational aspects of the Society.

 

These procedures are periodically reviewed to ensure that they continue to 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.

Dated: 30 July 2026
Prof P Davies
Trustee
BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT
TO THE TRUSTEES OF BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
- 14 -

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 2025.

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.

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:

1

accounting records were not kept in respect of the Society as required by section 386 of the Companies Act 2006.

2

the financial statements do not accord with those records; or

3

the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 other than any requirement that the financial statements give a true and fair view, which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

4

the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

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
TC Group
Suite 501
The Nexus Building
Broadway
Letchworth Garden City
Herts
SG6 3TA
Dated: 3 August 2026
BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
- 15 -
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Total
funds
funds
2025
2024
Notes
£
£
£
£
Income from:
Donations and legacies
3
498
-
498
649
Charitable activities

Conference income

4
20,248
-
20,248
27,025

Subscriptions

4
71,106
-
71,106
76,810

Journals income

4
(4,207)
-
(4,207)
(9,926)
Investment income
5
4,081
-
4,081
4,842
Total income
91,726
-
91,726
99,400
Expenditure on:

Raising funds

-
-
-
-
Charitable activities

Regional groups' spending

6
2,276
-
2,276
1,859

Prizes and sponsorship

6
399
-
399
347
Support and governance costs
7
68,336
-
68,336
64,688

Network expenses

6
6,134
-
6,134
5,273

Innovation fund

6
1,700
-
1,700
-
Total charitable expenditure
78,845
310
79,155
72,167
Total resources expended
78,845
310
79,155
72,167
Net income/(expenditure) for the year/
Net movement in funds
12,881
(310)
12,571
27,233
Fund balances at 1 January 2025
236,484
5,144
241,628
214,395
Fund balances at 31 December 2025
249,365
4,834
254,199
241,628
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 2025
31 December 2025
- 16 -
2025
2024
Notes
£
£
£
£
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
11
87
174
Current assets
Debtors
13
22,068
1,037
Cash at bank and in hand
247,981
256,861
270,049
257,898
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
14
(15,937)
(16,444)
Net current assets
254,112
241,454
Total assets less current liabilities
254,199
241,628
Income funds
Restricted funds
15
4,834
5,144
Unrestricted funds
249,365
236,484
254,199
241,628

The company is entitled to the exemption from the audit requirement contained in section 477 of the Companies Act 2006, for the year ended 31 December 2025.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476.

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

The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on 30 July 2026
Prof P Davies
Trustee
Company Registration No. 03515512
BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
NOTES TO THE  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
- 17 -
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 3TA.

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" 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)". 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 in 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 2025
1
Accounting policies
(Continued)
- 18 -
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
Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

Computers
Straight line over 3 years

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.

1.7
Impairment of fixed assets

At each reporting end date, the Society reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible and intangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).

If the recoverable amount of an asset is estimated to be less than its carrying amount, the carrying amount of the asset is reduced to its recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognised immediately in income/expenditure for the year, unless the relevant asset is carried at a revalued amount, in which case the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation decrease.

 

Recognised impairment losses are reversed if, and only if, the reasons for the impairment loss have ceased to apply.

1.8
Cash and cash equivalents

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

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
NOTES TO THE  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
1
Accounting policies
(Continued)
- 19 -
1.9
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.

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.

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
NOTES TO THE  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
1
Accounting policies
(Continued)
- 20 -
1.10
Taxation

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

1.11
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.

1.12
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.

3
Income from donations and legacies
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
funds
funds
2025
2024
£
£
Donations and gifts
498
649
BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
NOTES TO THE  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
- 21 -
4
Income from charitable activities
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
funds
funds
2025
2024
£
£
Journals income
SAGE journal and other royalty receipts
44,481
39,854
Amounts payable to SAGE for printing
(11,550)
(13,660)
Amounts payable to OUP for printing
(28,366)
(30,120)
Amounts payable to CCJ editing team
(8,772)
(6,000)
(4,207)
(9,926)
Conference income
20,248
27,025
Subscriptions
71,106
76,810
87,147
93,909
5
Income from investments
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
funds
funds
2025
2024
£
£
Interest receivable
4,081
4,842
BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
NOTES TO THE  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
- 22 -
6
Charitable activities

Regional groups' spending

Prizes and sponsorship

Member services

Network expenses

Innovation fund

Total
Total
2024
£
£
£
£
£
£
£

Prizes and sponsorship

-
399
-
-
-
399
347

Travel and refreshments

2,276
-
-
-
-
2,276
1,859
Network expenses
-
-
-
6,444
-
6,444
5,273

Innovation fund

-
-
-
-
1,700
1,700
-
2,276
399
-
6,444
1,700
10,819
7,479
Support costs (see note 7)
-
-
62,861
-
-
62,861
58,719
Governance costs (see note 7)
-
-
5,475
-
-
5,475
5,969
2,276
399
68,336
6,444
1,700
79,155
72,167
Analysis by fund
For the year ended 31 December 2025
Unrestricted funds
2,276
399
68,336
6,134
1,700
78,845
Restricted funds
-
-
310
-
310
2,276
399
68,336
6,444
1,700
79,155
For the year ended 31 December 2024
Unrestricted funds
1,859
347
64,688
5,273
-
72,167
Restricted funds
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,859
347
64,688
5,273
-
72,167
BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
NOTES TO THE  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
- 23 -
7
Support costs
Support costs
Governance costs
2025
2024
£
£
£
£
Staff, training and office costs
57,421
-
57,421
54,110

Travel expenses

1,985
-
1,985
1,491

Insurance

514
-
514
510

Printing, postage and stationery

100
-
100
80

Meeting venue hire

1,258
-
1,258
811

Telephone and fax

352
-
352
411

Subscriptions

1,110
-
1,110
742

Sundry expenses

34
-
34
477
Depreciation
87
-
87
87
Accountancy
-
3,876
3,876
3,937
Legal and professional
-
1,258
1,258
1,587
Bank charges
-
341
341
445
62,861
5,475
68,336
64,688

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:

2025
2024
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 £35,201 (2024: £33,057).

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.

BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
NOTES TO THE  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
- 24 -
11
Tangible fixed assets
Computers
£
Cost
At 1 January 2025
261
At 31 December 2025
261
Depreciation and impairment
At 1 January 2025
87
Depreciation charged in the year
87
At 31 December 2025
174
Carrying amount
At 31 December 2025
87
At 31 December 2024
174
12
Financial instruments
2025
2024
£
£
Carrying amount of financial assets
Measured at amortised cost
269,434
257,261
Carrying amount of financial liabilities
Measured at amortised cost
15,937
16,444
13
Debtors
2025
2024
Amounts falling due within one year:
£
£
Trade debtors
20,248
400
Other debtors
1,205
-
Prepayments and accrued income
615
637
22,068
1,037
14
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
2025
2024
£
£
Trade creditors
11,550
12,034
Accruals and deferred income
4,387
4,410
15,937
16,444
BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
NOTES TO THE  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
- 25 -
15
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 January 2025
Resources expended
At 31 December 2025
£
£
£
Network external funding and conference income
5,144
(310)
4,834
Previous year:
At 1 January 2024
Resources expended
At 31 December 2024
£
£
£
Network external funding and conference income
5,144
-
5,144
16
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 2025
Incoming resources
Resources expended
At 31 December 2025
£
£
£
£
General funds
236,484
91,726
(78,845)
249,365
Previous year:
At 1 January 2024
Incoming resources
Resources expended
At 31 December 2024
£
£
£
£
General funds
209,251
99,400
(72,167)
236,484
17
Analysis of net assets between funds
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
funds
funds
2025
2025
2025
£
£
£
At 31 December 2025:
Tangible assets
87
-
87
Current assets/(liabilities)
249,278
4,834
254,112
249,365
4,834
254,199
BRITISH SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY
NOTES TO THE  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025
17
Analysis of net assets between funds
(Continued)
- 26 -
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
funds
funds
2024
2024
2024
£
£
£
At 31 December 2024:
Tangible assets
174
-
174
Current assets/(liabilities)
236,310
5,144
241,454
236,484
5,144
241,628
18
Related party transactions

No guarantees have been given or received.

During the year the Trustees received expenses amounting to £1,749 (2024: £1,084). These expenses were reimbursed to cover travel and subsistence costs to attend Executive Committee meetings and run the committees and networks.

 

In addition, Prof P Davies, Prof J Treadwell, Dr M Duggan, Mr M Soundararajan and Mrs G Gallacher received free registration to the annual conference.

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