Call for Book Chapters Handbook on Social Work and Criminal Justice

Title of Edited Book
Handbook on Social Work and Criminal Justice (Elgar Handbooks on Social Work Series)

The Editor
Prof. Wing Hong Chui is Chair Professor of Social Work and Criminology and Head in the Department of Applied Social Sciences at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is currently the President of the Hong Kong Association of Schools of Social Work.

Description of the Book
Handbook on Social Work and Criminal Justice is a comprehensive edited volume exploring how social work operates within criminal justice systems. It centres on social justice, human rights, and the tension between care-versus-control. Adopting a critical, interdisciplinary approach, it challenges punitive logics and promotes reform, deinstitutionalisation, community support, and rights-based responses for marginalised groups.

This intersection between social work and criminal justice marks where welfare, law, and public safety meet. Social workers engage with individuals affected by crime, punishment and legal processes while trying to reduce harm, support recovery, and promote fairness.

The Handbook moves from theory to practice thematically. It begins with theoretical and critical perspectives, then covers work in police, probation, prison, youth justice, restorative justice, and victim advocacy. This structure shows how justice system parts connect and how social work varies across settings.

Proposed Chapter Themes/Topics

• When Social Work Meets Criminal Justice
• The contemporary relationship between social work and criminal justice globally and locally
• The philosophical foundations of social work and criminal justice
• Critical role of social workers within criminal justice systems
• Social Work in the Pre-trial, Trial, and Post-Trial Stage
• Changing landscape of social work practice and service needs across the pre-trial, trial, and post-trial stages
• The application of rights-based, trauma-informed, culturally competent and restorative approaches
• Strategies for strengthening fair treatment and advancing social justice
• Diversion from prosecution and custody
• Preparing for Criminal Justice Social Work Practice
• Preparing social work students and practitioners for criminal justice roles
• Global and local standards for social work education and ethical practice in criminal justice
• Continuing professional development in criminal justice social work

Each chapter should be between 7,000 and 8,000 words, inclusive of abstracts, tables, figures, appendices and references.

Key Dates  

Submission Guidelines
1. Interested authors should submit a 250-word abstract, plus 5 key words, together with the authors’ names, titles, email addresses, postal addresses, and a short biography for each author (no more than 100 words) to the editor via:  kai-leung-ken.chang@polyu.edu.hk

The corresponding author should be identified (by an asterisk, for example). The editor will review all submitted abstracts and will invite potential authors to submit their full-length chapters if the abstracts are accepted.

2. Authors should submit their abstracts and chapters to the editor via emails.

3. All submission should reflect research and scholarship that has been conducted in an ethical manner and will be vetted by the editorial team.  The formatting and word count will be sent to potential authors.