About the Conference

The World Criminology Conference 2027 invites scholars, researchers, doctoral students, policymakers, practitioners, and representatives of civil society from around the world to Maribor, Slovenia, for an inspiring international exchange on the future of criminology, criminal justice, social justice, and security.

The conference constitutes the XX edition of the long-standing series of world conferences organised by the International Society for Criminology (ISC-SIC), Paris, and will be co-organised with the University of Maribor and its Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security. The Faculty has hosted the biennial international conference Criminal Justice and Security in Central and Eastern Europe since 1996, creating a strong tradition of international criminological dialogue in Slovenia and the wider region. Members of the organising committee also come from the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Arts of the University of Maribor, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary criminological research and practice.

This jointly organised event represents both a substantive and geographical enrichment for the International Society for Criminology and the University of Maribor. It brings together global, European, regional, and local perspectives on crime, harm, justice, security, social control, and human rights in a rapidly changing world.

At the heart of the conference is a broad and timely question: how can criminology, criminal justice, policymaking, and practice respond to traditional and emerging forms of crime, insecurity, victimisation, and harm? The conference will address both established and new challenges, including informal and formal social control, crime prevention, policing, prosecution, courts, prisons, corrections, social justice, victim support, civil society responses, environmental harm, high-tech crime, artificial intelligence, digital security, and future forms of crime and control.

The conference will offer a vibrant space for critical, constructive, and forward-looking debate. It will encourage dialogue between theory, research, policy, and practice, while also creating opportunities for international networking, comparative reflection, and the development of new research and professional partnerships.

A special emphasis will be placed on the state of the art in criminology, criminal justice, and security research; the challenges and opportunities of doctoral studies; and the work of emerging scholars. Supporting a new generation of researchers who understand the past, critically examine the present, and are prepared to shape the future is one of the key values of this conference.

• 1996

  Comparing Firsthand Knowledge with Experience from the West - 1996

  The first biennial Policing in Central and Eastern Europe conference, subtitled »Comparing Firsthand Knowledge with Experience from the West«, took place in November 1996. It gathered eighty-two authors from twenty-three countries from five continents. Sixty-four papers were published in a conference proceeding Policing in Central and Eastern Europe: Comparing Firsthand Knowledge with Experience from the West. The conference proceedings were fully published on the NCJSR web page.
• 1998

  Organizational, Managerial, and Human Resource Aspects - 1998

  The second Policing in Central and Eastern Europe conference, subtitled »Organizational, Managerial, and Human Resource Aspects«, took place in November 1998. Eighty authors from seventeen countries presented their papers at the conference. Fifty-three papers were published in a conference proceeding Policing in Central and Eastern Europe: Organizational, Managerial, and Human Resource Aspects.
• 2000

  Ethics, Integrity, and Human Rights - 2000

  The third Policing in Central and Eastern Europe conference, subtitled »Ethics, Integrity, and Human Rights«, took place in September 2000. Eighty-two authors from twenty countries presented fifty papers. The papers were published in a conference proceeding, Policing in Central and Eastern Europe: Ethics, Integrity, and Human Rights.
• 2002

  Deviance, Violence and Victimization - 2002

  The fourth Policing in Central and Eastern Europe conference, subtitled »Deviance, Violence and Victimization«, took place in September 2002. Eighty authors from sixteen countries presented sixty papers. The papers were published in a conference proceeding Policing in Central and Eastern Europe - Deviance, Violence and Victimization.
• 2004

  Dilemmas of Contemporary Criminal Justice - 2004

  The fifth Policing in Central and Eastern Europe conference, subtitled »Dilemmas of Contemporary Criminal Justice« took place in September 2004. Ninety-three authors presented over a hundred papers. A conference proceeding, Policing in Central and Eastern Europe: Dilemmas of Contemporary Criminal Justice, was fully published on the NCJSR web page.
• 2006

  Past, Present and Futures - 2006

  The sixth Policing in Central and Eastern Europe conference, subtitled »Past, Present and Futures« took place in September 2006. Around a hundred papers were presented at the conference. A selection of the best papers was published in a special issue of the Journal of Criminal Justice and Security and in an edited book Policing in Emerging Democracies - Critical Reflections (2007).
• 2008

  Social Control in Contemporary Society - Practice and Research - 2008

  The seventh Policing in Central and Eastern Europe conference, subtitled »Social Control in Contemporary Society - Practice and Research« was held in September 2008. Around seventy participants presented more than a hundred papers. A graduate student session was introduced to the conference for the first time. A selection of the best papers was published in the Policing – An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, issue 3, 2009 and in the Journal of Criminal Justice and Security.
• 2010

  Social Control of Unconventional Deviance - 2010

  The eighth Policing in Central and Eastern Europe conference, subtitled »Social Control of Unconventional Deviance« was held in September 2010. Around a hundred participants presented ninety-eight papers. Plenary papers were published in the Journal of Criminal Justice and Security, issue 2010/4. Other papers were published in a peer-reviewed conference proceeding, Social Control of Unconventional Deviance, and in the Journal of Criminal Justice and Security, issue 2011/2.
• 2012

  Contemporary Criminal Justice Practice and Research - 2012

  The ninth Policing in Central and Eastern Europe conference was renamed Criminal Justice and Security in Central and Eastern Europe (subtitled Contemporary Criminal Justice Practice and Research). The conference was held in Ljubljana in September 2012. Ninety participants presented eighty-eight papers. Papers were published in a conference proceeding, Journal of Criminal Justice and Security, issue 2013/2, and Revija za kriminalistiko in kriminologijo (Journal of Criminal Investigation and Criminology), issue 2013/3.
• 2014

  Understanding Professionalism, Trust and Legitimacy - 2014

  The tenth conference Criminal Justice and Security in Central and Eastern Europe, subtitled Understanding Professionalism, Trust and Legitimacy was held in Ljubljana in September 2014. More than 100 participants form 17 countries attended the conference. Papers were published in the Journal of Criminal Justice and Security, issues 2014/4, 2015/1 and 2015/2.
• 2016

  Safety and Security and Social Control in Local Communities - 2016

  The eleventh biennial conference Criminal Justice and Security in Central and Eastern Europe, subtitled Safety and Security and Social Control in Local Communities, was held in Ljubljana in September 2016. More than 100 participants from 18 countries attended the conference. Papers by 78 authors were published in conference proceedings and included in the Thomson Reuters Conference Proceedings Citation Index, and 13 papers by 34 authors were published in the Journal of Criminal Investigation and Criminology (Social Science Citation Index, Scopus, etc.).
• 2018

  From Common Sense to Evidence-based Policy–making - 2018

  The twelfth biennial conference Criminal Justice and Security in Central and Eastern Europe, subtitled From Common Sense to Evidence-based Policy–making, was held in Ljubljana in September 2018. More than 130 participants from 15 countries attended the conference. The conference consisted of two plenary sessions, thirteen thematic sections and two roundtables where more than 60 contributions were presented together. The main topics discussed at the conference were: activities of national and international institutions for ensuring the safety of the population, analyzes of changes in the strengthening of control mechanisms, regional cooperation for the prevention of current threats in the Western Balkans, the deprivation of assets of unlawful origin, etc. 55 papers were published in conference proceedings, and four papers were published in the Journal of Criminal Investigation and Criminology (Social Science Citation Index, Scopus etc.).
• 2021

  Perspectives of Rural and Urban Safety, Security and Rural Criminology - 2021

  The thirteenth biennial conference Criminal Justice and Security in Central and Eastern Europe, subtitled Perspectives of Rural and Urban Safety, Security and Rural Criminology (2021). Around 170 participants from all over the world attended the conference online. More than 70 contributions were presented. A roundtable on publishing in intentional journals was organised by the GI-TOC. The selected peer-reviewed papers were published in international journals.
• 2023

  The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – Rural and Urban Safety and Security Perspectives - 2023

  The fourteenth biennial conference Criminal Justice and Security in Central and Eastern Europe, subtitled The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – Rural and Urban Safety and Security Perspectives (2023). Around 120 participants from all over the world attended the conference online. More than 70 contributions were presented. Roundtables on Community policing and the Development of Criminology in Southeastern Europe and Rural Criminology were organised. The selected peer-reviewed papers on rural policing were published in international publications such as Policing – An International Journal and an edited book The UN Sustainable Development Goals and Provision of Security, Responses to Crime and Security Threats, and Fair Criminal Justice Systems.
• 2025

  New Risks, Crime, Policing, Courts, Prisons and Security in the Post-COVID-19 Times - Challenges and Opportunities - 2025

  The fifteenth biennial conference ‘Criminal Justice and Security in Central and Eastern Europe, subtitled New Risks, Crime, Policing, Courts, Prisons and Security in the Post-COVID-19 Times - Challenges and Opportunities (2025)’. Around 130 participants from all over the world attended the conference. More than 80 contributions were presented. Roundtables on the Future of Criminal Justice and Security Studies, Policymaking, and Practice in Central and Eastern Europe were organised. The selected peer-reviewed papers on policing, crime, prisons, and security challenges were published in the Journal of Criminal Investigation and Criminology and the Journal of Criminal Justice and Security.