The Research Group Crime & Society (CRiS) is part of the Faculty of Law and Criminology of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. We undertake critical and multidisciplinary research in Youth Criminology, Penology, Urban Criminology, and Policing and Surveillance. CRiS scholarship focuses on the experiences and perceptions of crime control actors and of those subjected to crime control.

Our researchers are committed to knowledge exchange with criminal justice practitioners, policy makers, and research subjects, to create collaborative, timely, and impactful research. We offer an intellectual and collegial academic environment to study crime control. Our research is frequently collaborative; undertaking comparative research projects with international visiting researchers

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Penality and

Society

We study penal practices and cultures in prison and in community sanctions, focusing on the experiences and perceptions of the punished subjects and of the decision makers. 

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Policing and

Surveillance

We focus on how policing practices and cultures are experienced and perceived by different actors, including the implications of new surveillance technologies to monitor public spaces. 

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Youth Justice

Studies

We study judicial and social responses to deviant behavior committed by young people, including their perceived experiences of the juvenile justice system and special protection. 

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Crime and

the City

We explore how urban spaces influence crime, its incidence, prevention, control and punishment.

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