Influential academic to speak in Sheffield

Pictured is Professor Phil Scraton arriving at the inquest of the Hillsborough Inquest.
The Hillsborough Inquest is taking place at Birchwood Park, Warrington. Families of loved ones who died in the terrible accident attended the inquest and are hoping to get justice for the 96 football fans that died.

rossparry.co.uk / Thomas Temple — Pictured is Professor Phil Scraton arriving at the inquest of the Hillsborough Inquest. The Hillsborough Inquest is taking place at Birchwood Park, Warrington. Families of loved ones who died in the terrible accident attended the inquest and are hoping to get justice for the 96 football fans that died. rossparry.co.uk / Thomas Temple

Professor Phil Scraton, criminologist and author from Queen’s University Belfast, will be a plenary speaker at the British Society of Criminology Conference, to take place at Sheffield Hallam University in July.

The conference, titled ‘Forging Social Justice: Local Challenges, Global Complexities’, is expected to attract hundreds of practitioners, policy makers, academics and students in criminology from across the world.

Professor Scraton produced two influential reports in 1990 and 1995 on the Hillsborough disaster, writing several academic papers and the highly commended book titled Hillsborough: The Truth.

His work was fundamental to the establishment of the Hillsborough Independent Panel by the Home Secretary, to which he was appointed to lead research.

He was primary author of the Panel’s ground-breaking report that resulted in a ‘double apology’ to the families and survivors from the Prime Minister and Government ministers, a new criminal investigation, an Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation, the quashing of the 96 ‘accidental death’ inquest verdicts and a review of emergency planning across the UK.

New inquests ran for two years resulting in a verdict of ‘unlawful killing’. The jury made 25 serious criticisms against all institutions involved, particularly the police, and exonerated fans. Professor Scraton was adviser to families’ legal teams throughout the inquests.

For conference information see www.bsc2017.org.uk.