Faculty note: Prof. Austin presents at Midwest Sociological Society Meetings

Associate Professor Andrew Austin (Democracy and Justice Studies) presents “Foreign Bodies and the Queue: Shifting Priorities in the Norwegian Correctional System,” at the Midwest Sociological Society Meetings in Chicago on Wednesday, April 17, 2019. Austin traveled to Scandinavia in the summer of 2018 as preparation for a large research projects to explore crime control with a research focus on the rehabilitative strategies associated with the Nordic model, lauded for its low rates of recidivism. The trip involved meetings with researchers at the Norwegian Correctional Service in Lillestrøm, outside of Oslo, Norway. In Norway, there is particular attention focused on the problem of “the queue,” the long wait for convicted offenders to enter prison due to the limited capacity of correctional facilities and prohibitions on overcrowding. The situation has implications for foreign-born persons in light of trends in immigration in Europe. The paper he will present examines the intersections of demographics, politics, and criminal justice processes.