UNYP co-hosted the first Crime Symposium

The University of New York in Prague, in cooperation with the Tarleton State University and the Institute of Criminology and Social Prevention of the Czech Republic, organized a symposium entitled “Crime, Conflict and Violence in a Global Society” on September 11. The symposium was an opportunity for scholars to come together to reflect on the role that the different forms of violence have in our societies. Four different discussion panels studied the impact of crime in our societies and how governments should continue to prioritize violence-related issues.

The first of the panels studied crime and criminal justice issues, and included presentations from two Czech scholars, Dr. Scheinost and Dr. Buriánek, who described trends in crime and juvenile delinquency in the Czech Republic respectively. The third member of the panel was Dr. Cox from the Department of Public Administration, who dissected the factors underpinning the crisis in police recruitment in many US cities.

The second panel was devoted to the study of public policy and the fight against drug delinquency. The first speaker was Dr. Zábransky, who described the legislation on the therapeutic use of marijuana and its evolution in the last years. He was followed by Dr. Štefunková, who discussed anti-drug legislation in the Czech Republic and the impact of its application. The last panelist was Dr. Shelley, who discussed opioid-related delinquency in the United States.

The third panel focused on sexual assaults and violence, and featured two presentations. The first one was delivered by Dr. Zeman, and described the profile of sex offenders in the Czech Republic. The second one, presented by Dr. Dobbs, studied self-reported sexual assaults on the social network Twitter during the US presidential campaign.

The fourth panel studied global conflicts and social change. Dr. Záhořík kicked off by discussing the local, regional and global ramifications of the political violence in Ethiopia. The second presenter, Dr. Morrow, analyzed constitutional choices in Muslim societies and their impact on democracy. The third panelist, Oscar Hidalgo-Redondo, discussed the demise of the Basque terrorist group ETA in the light of the different strategies used by the Spanish government, and the lessons that can be drawn and applied to other cases of political violence. The final presenter, Dr. Costelloe, discussed realities and myths in relation to migrants in United States of America.

The symposium featured a moderated discussion in which two students from the International and Economic Relations bachelor program, Diana Ghalib and Jakub-Jozef Malhocký, assessed the incidence of violence in the lives of young people.

The concluding event of the day was a keynote presentation in the American Center, in which Dr. Copeland, the director of the Institute of Homeland Security, Cyber Crime and International Criminal Justice Studies of the Tarleton State University, discussed arms trafficking in the dark web.

The symposium was a very productive occasion, and we hope it will spur future academic cooperation between the three institutions organizing the event. The University of New York in Prague is proud of having hosted this symposium, which is just the first of many academic activities over the 2017/2018 academic year as we strive to consolidate the University of New York in Prague as the leading academic institution offering university programs in the English language in the Czech Republic.

Written by

Oscar Hidalgo-Redondo