"Human Sciences Happy Hour in Phnom-Penh"
Come and join us, let’s learn about each other experience and strengthen the Cambodian Human Sciences network !
Once a month - 6pm – Baitong Restaurant
(7 Street 360/ Norodom Bd, Beung Keng Kang I)
Friday 6 th Januray 2012, at 6pm
Crime and Criminal Violence in Cambodia: A Historical Perspective
Dr. Thierry Bouhours
Empirical studies and theoretical analyses of long-term trends in criminal violence have been done in western countries but rarely in other parts of the world. The research conducted by Dr Bouhours and Prof Broadhurst attempts to fill this gap through an examination of the evolution of crime and criminal violence in Cambodia from the start of the 20th century to the present. Different sources and methods of criminal data recording were used between 1900 and 2008 and the diversity of these sources and recording methods presents complex and challenging measurement problems. The types of available data are presented, and how one should understand, compare, and interpret them in order to produce a valid estimate of the evolution of criminal violence in Cambodia during its colonial and post-colonial history is discussed. Preliminary results are presented and, drawing from functionalist and conflict macro-social criminological perspectives, patterns of criminal violence during the modern history of Cambodia are analysed.
Dr Thierry Bouhours holds a PhD in Education and Criminology from Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia. Since January 2007, he has been working with Professor Roderic Broadhurst on the Australian Research Council (ARC) project Building Rule of Law Capacity in a Transitional State: Lessons from the Australian Criminal Justice Assistance Programme in Cambodia. In 2009, Thierry Bouhours joined the ARC Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security at the Australian National University, Canberra. As part of the ARC project, Thierry conducted a crime victimisation survey in Kampong Cham and archival research at the Phnom Penh archives and the Archives d'Outre Mer in Aix en Provence. Thierry also supervised a Cambodian doctoral student, Dr Chenda Keo, who examined human trafficking in Cambodia focusing on offenders. With Professor Broadhurst and Ms Brigitte Bouhours, Thierry is currently completing a monograph on a modern history of crime and criminal violence in Cambodia.
