History Long, long ago, in the year 2001, there were once a number of brilliant students who studied criminology at Erasmus University Rotterdam. These students had a plan. The plan to set up an association. A study association that is. Not just any study, no: criminology! The idea of the study association Criminologie In Actie was born in December 2001 in Antwerp, Belgium. The founders of the association attended a conference on diamond smuggling organized by the Dutch Society for Criminology with a number of other students. The congress was a success. Afterwards, the founders of the (as yet non-existent) CIA were asked by a number of people from Erasmus University Rotterdam to start a study association for criminology students at this university. Criminology is a multidisciplinary yet specialist field of study. Students who choose this course can be described as highly motivated. They generally have an insatiable 'hunger' for information and activities in the field of criminology. At the time of the founding of Criminologie In Actie, the study was new at Erasmus University. The association that was to be established had to offer students something criminologically interesting outside the lectures and textbooks and to bridge the gap between theory and practice. An enthusiastic team of students was put together and the association was set up. Today, the association is led by six different students each year. With the establishment of the study association, a number of ideas have been beautifully shaped over the years. An example of this is the CIA magazine, which has received much attention from its inception and continues to be read with enthusiasm by members, educators and others to this day. In the magazine you will find news about the association and its activities, interviews, items about study and articles about relevant scientific research. Over the years, the magazine has become an indispensable facet of the association. However, things like the very popular annual study trip are also an example of the far-reaching development that the association has gone through. In short, in recent years the foundations have been laid for the study association as it is today. For years, we have worked professionally to professionalize the association and to expand its number of contacts. Today Criminologie In Actie has a considerable number of active members, and the association is characterized by its informal atmosphere in which professional results are nevertheless achieved. A large number of activities are organized every year and this enables CIA to achieve its objectives. CIA through the years After the first year, in which the association was founded by Karin de Jong, Edwin de Wit, Paul Tjiam and Laura Rastovac, the CIA had around 350 members. Within a year it turned out to be possible to bind sociology students and lawyers to the association in addition to the criminology students. At the end of the second year, there were already 400 association members with only 200 criminology students at Erasmus University. Major events such as the Interurban Criminology Day already took place in the second year. With 120 students present, the first edition of this congress was a great success and to this day the study associations involved still manage to organize an equally successful and interesting program. There were also special excursions to the technical investigation department, the University of Brussels and various large companies. In the third year of the study association's existence, the study trip finally really crossed the border (no, Brussels is not 'real' after all): CIA traveled to Krakow! After two successful editions of the Beerfreax party, a third edition was also organized in collaboration with mother association JFR: a dazzling evening full of (gabber?!) music. During the fourth year of the association's life, after years of saving, for the first time a hefty expense was made for the members: the first CIA almanac was published. The study trip went to Portugal in year four, where the national drug policy (a complete decriminalization of all drugs) was examined. One of the highlights this year was the return of Professor Wouter Buikhuizen, who came to the Netherlands at the request of Professor Henk van de Bunt after a 26-year absence from the criminology scene to give a guest lecture for our students. After the first few years, in which the foundations were laid for the study association as it is now, continuity has been guaranteed by concluding major sponsorship contracts and holding successful events such as Beerfreax and celebrating the CIA's first lustrum. During this anniversary, Europol was visited, the first real CIA gala took place and a spectacular debate was organized about the lifting of the brothel ban. In recent years, Criminologie In Actie has also focused on 'empowering' criminology students: attention was paid to 'Working in Science' and business days, former student days and career orientation days were frequently organised. Also, the CIA magazine, which is printed in black-on-white-and-blue, has been highly professionalized over the years. The magazine has evolved from a double-folded A4 with a circulation of 150 copies (thanks in part to major sponsorship contracts) into, in the words of Professor René van Swaaningen, a real 'glossy'. The magazine is published every six months and the circulation is now 750 copies. Governing through the years During the past years of the association, a lot has been shifted with the available board positions. In addition to the permanent positions of chairman, secretary and treasurer, various other positions have existed, such as the 'Internal Commissioner' and the 'Media Commissioner'. There were boards consisting of four, five and six persons. The current six-person board of directors has only been maintained since the association's sixth year. In addition to organizational issues such as the above, joys and sorrows were shared by the board members within the various boards. A board year is a year of ups and downs, as Nienke de Munck (editor-in-chief of the 12th board) describes below: “In the past year, as editor-in-chief, I was primarily involved with everything related to CIA Magazine and its digitization. In addition, I helped organize the Professional Orientation Day that took place in Rotterdam during my year. I also worked with a committee on the renewal of the CIA's statutes and by-laws. You learn a lot in a board year. You have to work with your board mates that you may not know very well beforehand, you attend meetings and chair meetings of your own committee, you learn to lead and delegate, you master the art of planning in the shortest possible time. points and of course you gain detailed experience about everything that has to do with your specific function. In addition, you experience a lot of fun things. With monthly drinks, study trips, city trips, parties and Constitution drinks from other boards, you get to know fellow students better, make friendships for life and visit places you might never have been otherwise. Of course, not every moment during your board year is bright and sunny. You can sometimes have to deal with some setbacks, and at times it all seems to get too busy. But at the end of the year you can breathe a sigh of relief: the six of you did it. And then all the fantastic moments dominate!” Of course, not every moment during your board year is bright and sunny. You can sometimes have to deal with some setbacks, and at times it all seems to get too busy. But at the end of the year you can breathe a sigh of relief: the six of you did it. And then all the fantastic moments dominate!” Of course, not every moment during your board year is bright and sunny. You can sometimes have to deal with some setbacks, and at times it all seems to get too busy. But at the end of the year you can breathe a sigh of relief: the six of you did it. And then all the fantastic moments dominate!” In short: the previous boards led the association with pleasure, love, blood, sweat and tears and the current board does that now.
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