National and international criminologists descended to Hobart on Wednesday for the 29th ​Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology Conference. 

More than 300 delegates are taking part in the three-day conference, hosted by the University of Tasmania, to discuss the future and challenges of criminology and criminal justice. 

UTAS criminology professor and conference convenor Rob White said he was proud to be hosting the prestigious conference in Tasmania for the second time. 

“We have the lowest imprisonment rate in the country and that’s something we can be really proud of because it’s not costing us as much as the other states,” Professor White said. 

“It shows that we have a rehabilitation model, it shows that we’re taking things like family violence seriously but not necessarily locking people up as a result and that we support victims.

“All round, we’re both showcasing Australian and New Zealand criminology to the world, but we’re also showcasing Tasmania and what we are doing right.” 

Looking into the future of criminology and the criminal justice system around the world, Professor White said one of the biggest changes was that we are now living in a global community. 

“I think the key issue is that we’re living in a borderless society and it’s truly a global community,” he said.

“Crime itself is inherently transnational these days, whether it’s the movement of information and images, the movement of people, trafficked species, pollution or whatever. 

“We have to deal with crime as a global society but we have to do so with humanity and humaneness.”

ANZSOC president Rick Sarre said conferences such as this were an important tool to bring experts together to discuss ideas. 

“We try to ask what is the best way for us to bring evidence together and to make sure the evidence is getting through to the people who need to hear it,” Professor Sarre said.