Founded in 1965, the French Society of Criminology (Association Française de Criminologie, AFC) provides a forum for all persons and agencies actively engaged in research, teaching and practice in the fields of criminology, crime prevention and law enforcement. In the tradition of learned societies the AFC wishes to create an environment favourable to innovation and the advancement of knowledge by bringing together a variety of people with a variety of viewpoints: students, researchers, professionals as well as interested citizens. As an independent association the AFC is funded entirely through its membership fees (45 euros for agencies and benefactors, 23 euros for individual members, and 7.50 euros for students).
The society is governed by a Council of 21 members that meets twice a year. The Executive Board is chosen among members of the Council (President: Pierre V. Tournier, Vice-President: Jean-Marc Elchardus, Secretary General: Pascal Remillieux, Assistant Secretary General: Sonia Feltesse, Treasurer: Pierre Pélissier, Assistant Treasurer: Annie Kensey). The Board meets on a monthly basis. To date, the society numbers 440 members including 32 agencies.
At the occasion of its general assemblies the society organizes public discussions that are open to the general public. Recent topics include: Status and Role of the Office of Public Prosecution (Palais de Luxembourg, 1999); Changing Prisons: Scenarios for the Future (Palais du Luxembourg, 2000).
Delinquency and Precocity (Beauvais, 1994); Homicide (Ajaccio, 1995); Health
and the Prison System (Dijon, 1996); Crime and Culture (Besançon, 1998)
were the themes of recent conferences organized by the AFC. The last conference,
the thirty-third, was held in May 2001 at the University of Lille II (Institute
of Criminology, Françoise Lombard, Morgane Codron), in cooperation with
the Belgian Society of Criminology. Over 350 persons attended the various lectures
and workshops on the theme Mandatory Treatment or the Utopia of the Triple Entente
(court-imposed treatment for sex offenders, drug- and alcohol-related offences,
internment and other administrative measures).
In accordance with the guiding principles of the society, the questions were
examined in their theoretical, empirical and practical dimensions using the
input from different disciplines (philosophy, psychiatry, law, sociology, etc.).
The Proceedings of the conference will be published by Editions Dalloz in 2002.
When the Association "Research, Confrontations and Projects concerning
Penal Measures and Sanctions" ("Recherches, Confrontations et Projets
sur les mesures et sanctions pénales", RCP) joined the AFC in September
2000, a study group "Penal Measures and Sanctions" (mesures et sanctions
pénales, MSP) was constituted. Its main concern is with the upcoming
project of a French penitentiary law and with the application of the law of
15 June 2000, reinforcing the presumption of innocence and the rights of victims.
The group, led by Pascal Remillieux, Maud Dayet and Pierre Pélissier,
has made "55 propositions for the Elaboration of a Bill on Penal Measures
and Sanctions". These propositions have been largely disseminated at the
Ministry of Justice and among members of Parliament and the media. In addition,
a questionnaire has been prepared for all the candidates of the presidential
elections of April and May 2002. So far 5 of the 16 candidates have sent back
their answers.
At the beginning of 2002, a new "cycle" on the choice of a particular
sentence or measure was initiated.
In September 2001 a new working group was constituted to analyse political statements on insecurity, delinquency, crime and measure, and the media coverage of these topics ("Cellule d'analyse des discours sur l'insécurité, la délinquance, le crime et leur mesure", C.An.D.I.De). This group functions on the same model as the other working groups of the AFC: it is open to members and non-members alike. Its aim is clearly indicated by its title. In the present climate of important political elections where every, or almost every candidate declares that "the insecurity which drives the French to exasperation, will be at the heart of the debate", it is important that the voice of reason should be heard on these questions. With clear, simple and responsible arguments, we try to establish a counterweight to demagogical, opportunist or simply erroneous statements that come to our knowledge.
The AFC is a founding member of the "October 2001" Group which was
created on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the abolition of the death
penalty in France (Law of 9 October 1981). For this project, he AFC works in
partnership with ACAT-France (Christian Action for the Abolition of Torture),
the Association Louis Edmond Pettiti (Order of Barristers of the Appeal Court
of Paris), the National Organisation of Prison Visitors (ANVP), Together against
the Death Penalty (Ensemble contre la peine de mort), the Federation of the
Associations Reflection, Action, Prison and Justice (FARAPEJ), GENEPI (a national
student organization to teach and tutor inmates), GMP (a multiprofessional prison
group), the Human Rights League (HRL), the International Prison Observatory
(IPO) and Penal Reform International (PRI). Amnesty International (France) participates
as an observer.
On 6 October 2001, we organized with the National Assembly an international
colloquium which took place at the Hôtel de Lassay (seat of the French
Parliament) and welcomed over 250 participants. The colloquium was opened by
Raymond Forni, President of the National Assembly, and by Mme Marylise Lebranchu,
Minister of Justice. One of the key speakers was Robert Badinter, the former
Minister of Justice who had brought in the Abolition Bill in 1981. The theme
of the colloquium was: After the Abolition of the Death penalty, what sanctions
for the Worst Crimes? The Acts of the Colloquium will be published by Editions
Erès, collection Trajet (Toulouse) in 2002.
On 9 October, the Group organized a rally, attended by 300-400 persons, on the
Place du Panthéon, in honour of abolitionists all over the world. The
organizers for the AFC were Jean-Marie Thiedey and Anna Pitoun. Flowers were
put on the grave of Victor Hugo by a delegation of young people, the presidents
of the founding associations of the Group and numerous members of Parliament
(National Assembly, Senate and European Parliament).
The Group will pursue its action on a European level (Contact person for the
AFC: Sonia Feltess).
The Society wishes to develop high level learning tools accessible to all. It has thus organized, in 2001, a cycle of lectures on the topic of: Introduction to the History of Criminology and the Sciences of Deviance, under the responsibility of Laurent Mucchielli (researcher at the CNRS/ CESDIP, member of the administration of the AFC) and in collaboration with noted French experts in the field. The lectures took place on a monthly basis at the Library of Police Literature of the City of Paris (BILIPO).A new cycle of conferences is planned for 2002 on the topic of: What Future for Criminology, what Future for the Sciences of Deviance?
Since 1987, the Society awards every second year the French prize in criminology,
named after the French sociologist Gabriel Tarde. The jury of nine members is
presided by Mme Françoise Tulkens, judge at the European court of Human
Rights, and extraordinary professor at the Université de Louvain-la-Neuve
(Belgium). Juliette Laganier is in charge of the secretariat. The prize winner
of the session 1998-1999 was Charlotte Vanneste for her doctoral dissertation
in criminology: Les chiffres des prisons de 1830-1995, des mécanismes
économiques à leur traduction pénale" ( prison numbers
from 1830-1995, the effects of economic mechanisms on penal practice), published
by l'Harmattan, 2001. For the session 2000 to 2001 the prize was awarded to
Hélène L'Heulillet, teacher at the IUFM (Institut universitaire
de formation des maîtres) and lecturer at the Université Paris
X, Nanterre, for her doctoral dissertation in philosophy: Basse politique, haute
police. Une approche historique et philosophique de la police (Low Politics,
High Police. A historical and philosophical approach of the Police), published
by Fayard, 2001. The prize is funded by the Ministry of Justice.
The XXXIV French Congress of Criminology should take place in May 2004 in Sarlat
(Dordogne), birthplace of Gabriel Tarde, 100 years after his death. To mark
the occasion, the congress will have a strong international dimension. Its tentative
title is: "1904-2004, One Hundred Years of Criminology".
Applications for this new grant began on 1 December 2001. The grant was created to lend support to initiatives favouring the reintegration of prisoners. A member of the AFC, M. Zoummeroff , retired industrialist and collector of books on criminal justice, had the idea of creating this grant in June 2000 and proposed to personally assure its financing. An international jury was appointed by the members of the Board. The jury is presided by Pierre Landreville, professor of criminology at the Université de Montréal (Canada). Secretary :Yves Prigent.
One of the priorities of the AFC for the years to come is to develop its activities in the different regions of France, in association with existing regional associations of criminology. A first "regional delegation" has been constituted in Strasbourg (Hélène Olivares). This delegation organized, together with FARAPEJ, an international workshop on The European Prison Rules. The workshop took place in November 2001 at the Court of Human Rights and the Faculty of Law. Other regional delegations are about to be constituted.
The AFC wishes to support the group participation of its members at different
international congresses (numerous possible themes) taking place in 2002 and
2003: collective travel organization, cheaper group tickets, possible subventions
for students, collective organization of scientific participation. We hope thus
to develop our international relations and to make sure that there is a French,
and also French speaking, participation at these meetings which are of importance
to all those interested in the phenomenon of crime.
4 to 6 September 2002: 2nd Congress of the European Society of Criminology in
Toledo, Spain (contact person AFC: Sonia Feltesse)
13-16 November 2002: Annual congress of the Americaqn Society of Criminology
in Chicago, USA (contact person AFC: Annie Kensey).
17-22 August 2003: 13th Congress of the International Society of Criminology
in Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia (contact person AFC: Pascal Remillieux)
Finally, the AFC has its own home page (Pierre Pélissier, Hélène
Martineau and Samantha Morlieult-Enderlin) and an information bulletin which
appears four times a year (AFC_INFO). It has an edition of 3000 copies and is
distributed to our members, our parteners and to the media. Many documents concerning
our activities are translated into English (the translation group is coordinated
by Anny Kensey). The AFC publishes also a list of its members.
April 2002
AFC c/o M. Pierre Pélissier, 19, rue Ginoux, 75015 PARIS
Tél. 33 (0)1 42 63 45 04, tournier@ext.jussieu.fr, www.afc-assoc.org
No Siret 438 165 409 00014