Asia must chart its own criminology path, say experts

Asian criminology must break free from Western dominance and develop theories rooted in the region’s own realities, leading experts told the 17th Asian Criminological Society Conference in Penang today.

GEORGE TOWN: Asian criminology must develop its own frameworks and perspectives instead of relying on Western models, experts said on the second day of the 17th Asian Criminological Society Conference today.

The conference, themed “Contemporary Insights on Crime Trends and Patterns: The Impact of Criminology”, has drawn more than 200 local and international delegates, including criminologists, legal experts, scholars and academics from across the region.

It is organised by Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Centre for Policy Research, the Asian Criminological Society, the Penang government, and the Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation (Penang). Twentytwo13 is the official media partner.

General Assembly of the Asian Criminological Society chairman Professor Dr Jianhong Liu said Asian criminology differs fundamentally from its Western counterpart.

“Asian criminology is in many ways special, very different. Western theories and Western practices ignore this side of the world. The Western counterpart do not talk about Asia,” Liu said.

He said the distinction is reflected even in the way Asian conferences are structured.

“This is only on the surface. The experts here are discussing matters where they live, where they face many challenges – practical, theoretical, methodological – because we want results based on the Asian context, not the European or American context,” he said, adding that participants have a deep understanding of Asia’s diversity.

“We want to find solutions to our problems based on our context, which is the mission of Asian criminology.

“We gather together, attend our sessions, and hear insightful presentations and talks specific to our context. We have our own context, objectives and challenges. We have a mission that other countries may not share,” Liu said.

Echoing the call for greater academic independence, Asian Criminological Society president Professor Dr Gerry Cano stressed the need to decolonise criminology across the region.

“As educators, researchers, and members of the great community of academia, we must always be reminded of this: When a singular geographical region monopolises global theory production, it triggers a deeply problematic structural condition – academic dependency.”

“For generations, criminologists across Asia have been conditioned to act merely as submissive consumers of theories and passive suppliers of local empirical data,” Cano said.

He warned against the uncritical adoption of foreign frameworks.

“We have fallen into a critical pattern of exporting our local realities to fit neatly into pre-existing Western theoretical boxes. If we continue to do that, we are marginalising, suppressing, and erasing our own rich history of indigenous intellectual traditions.”

Cano said Asia must establish concrete mechanisms for intellectual and structural empowerment as part of its decolonial strategy.

“Perhaps there is a need for us to build our own self-validating ecosystems of authority. It is for this reason that the formal conferment of the title ‘Asian Criminologist’ must serve as one of the active components in our decolonial strategy,” he said.

He said the Asian Criminological Society could establish an autonomous centre for academic and professional validation through the formal title of “Asian Criminologist”, adding that it would not be restricted to Asians.

Instead, he said, it would be open to any scholar contributing to criminological knowledge across Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia.

“Why these areas? Because these regions account for 54 per cent of the global population, or approximately 4.44 billion people as of this year,” he said.

The conference also featured a keynote address by senior consultant forensic pathologist Datuk Seri Dr Bhupinder Singh, who spoke on “Bridging Forensic Pathology and Criminology in the Pursuit of Justice”.

Bhupinder said the future of forensic science would include AI-assisted evidence analysis, advanced imaging technologies and integrated forensic databases.

He highlighted advances in DNA profiling, molecular diagnostics, forensic genomics, digital autopsies, CT and MRI scanning, advanced toxicology screening, and specialised databases for criminal pattern analysis.

He added that criminology, forensic science and evidence law continue to strengthen the effectiveness and fairness of the criminal justice system by providing essential methodologies and insights for the investigation, prosecution and adjudication of criminal cases.