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
THE LATEST FROM OUR RESEARCH GROUP
News
Vacature Praktijkassistent Criminologie (40%)
Momenteel zijn we op zoek naar een praktijkassistent 'Criminologie' aan de Faculteit Recht en Criminologie, vakgroep Criminologie van de Vrije Universiteit Brussel.-
Vacature: Mandaatassistent 'Penologie'
Momenteel zijn we op zoek naar een mandaatassistent 'Penologie' aan de Faculteit Recht en Criminologie, vakgroep Criminologie van de Vrije Universiteit Brussel. 
Onderzoeker in de kijker - Sofie De Kimpe
Sofie De Kimpe, professor politiestudies, heeft al een indrukwekkende carrière achter de rug en blijft een belangrijke stem in politieonderzoek. We spraken haar over haar favoriete onderzoeksprojecten en haar visie op de toekomst. Hoe ben je in dit vakgebied terechtgekomen? Wat trok je erin aan?
Events
Practical info29/05/2026 - 14:00 - 29/05/2026 - 15:30Research seminar: Mechanics of power relations between policing and news media
Dr Cian Ó Concubhair is Assistant Professor (tenured) in Criminal Justice at Maynooth University. He is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin (LLB) and the University of Oxford (BCL and DPhil). He researches across criminal law, criminology, policing and news media.
Practical info28/05/2026 - 14:30 - 28/05/2026 - 17:00PUBLIC DOCTORAL DEFENCE: LORENZ PARDON
We are pleased to invite you to the public defence of CRiS-researcher Lorenz Pardon's doctoral thesis in Criminological Sciences 'Jail Craft of Prison Officers in Post-Authoritarian Prisons: A Comparative Research in Belgium and the Netherlands'
Practical info20/04/2026 - 12:00 - 20/04/2026 - 14:00Research seminar - Digital Criminology Working Group - Prof. Dr. Valerie Steeves
Research seminar
The Digital Criminology Working Group is excited to announce the following lunch seminar with Professor Dr. Valerie Steeves (University of Ottawa, Canada). The talk will discuss Participatory Action Research with young people: Lessons learned from the eQuality Project.
