Skip to Content
Skip to main content
LOGO(small) - Queen's University Belfast
  • Our facebook
  • Our twitter
  • Our
  • Our
SEARCH SEARCH
LOGO(large) - Queen's University Belfast

School of

Social Sciences, Education And Social Work

  • Home
  • Study
    • Undergraduate
    • Postgraduate Taught
    • Postgraduate Research
    • Scholarships
    • Open Learning
  • Employability
    • Our Graduates
  • Research
    • Research Centres and Institutes
    • Research Areas
    • Our Impact
    • Environment/Support
    • Collaborations and Current Projects
    • Visiting Scholars
  • People
    • People A-Z
    • Criminology Staff
    • Education Staff
    • Social Policy Staff
    • Social Work Staff
    • Sociology Staff
    • Emeritus Professors
    • Professional Support Staff
    • Job Opportunities
  • About
    • Location
    • Facilities
    • Diversity and Inclusion
  • News
    • Newsletter
    • Archive 2019
    • Archive 2018
    • Archive 2017
    • Archive 2016
  • Events
  • Home
  • Study
    • Undergraduate
    • Postgraduate Taught
    • Postgraduate Research
    • Scholarships
    • Open Learning
  • Employability
    • Our Graduates
  • Research
    • Research Centres and Institutes
    • Research Areas
    • Our Impact
    • Environment/Support
    • Collaborations and Current Projects
    • Visiting Scholars
  • People
    • People A-Z
    • Criminology Staff
    • Education Staff
    • Social Policy Staff
    • Social Work Staff
    • Sociology Staff
    • Emeritus Professors
    • Professional Support Staff
    • Job Opportunities
  • About
    • Location
    • Facilities
    • Diversity and Inclusion
  • News
    • Newsletter
    • Archive 2019
    • Archive 2018
    • Archive 2017
    • Archive 2016
  • Events
  • Our facebook
  • Our twitter
  • Our
  • Home
  • School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work
  • Subject Area
  • Criminology

Criminology

PHOTO: young male behind fence

Criminology at Queen’s is internationally recognised for its research contributions and teaching excellence.

Criminology asks difficult questions about the criminal law and its enforcement. What is crime? Who is a criminal? Does punishment deter crime or create more harm? There are few more interesting places to study these dynamics of crime and justice than Northern Ireland, and Queen’s University Belfast has a long history of outstanding research and teaching on the subject with particular expertise on the lives of young people in conflict with the law. In all of our work, we seek to better understand the behaviours of the criminal justice system and other state actors and their role in combatting or exacerbating this offending. With an overarching social justice perspective, our research situates these questions in the wider socio-political contexts in which they occur.

What is Criminology?

Dr John Topping, Queen's University Belfast, asks the question 'What is Criminology?'

KEY THEMES

  • Crime and Substance use
  • Criminology of War/Conflict
  • Desistance from Crime
  • Gender and Justice
  • Police Practice and Reform
  • Prisons and Penal Reform
  • Psychology of Crime
  • Security Governance
  • Young People and the Justice System

Academic Staff

NameArea of ExpertiseEmailTelephone
Dr Michelle Butler Prisons; Psychology of Crime; Penal Reform michelle.butler@qub.ac.uk  +44 (0)28 9097 3956 
Dr Mary-Louise Corr  Young People in Conflict with the Law; Youth Justice; Domestic Violence; Homelessness; Marginalised youth; Biographical Research. m.corr@qub.ac.uk  +44 (0)28 9097 5370 
Dr Teresa Degenhardt Criminology of War; Policing/Military Continuum; Social Control t.degenhardt@qub.ac.uk  +44 (0)28 9097 1244 
Dr Sarah Jankowitz Peacebuilding, Reconciliation and Transitional Justice; Victims of Harm; Gender and social justice sarah.jankowitz@qub.ac.uk  +44 (0)28 9097 3196 
Professor Shadd Maruna Prisons & Penal Reform; Psychology of Crime; Penal Reform; Desistance from Crime s.maruna@qub.ac.uk  +44 (0)28 9097 5986 
Dr Siobhan McAlister Young People in Conflict with the Law; Youth Marginalisation; Sensitive Research; Children’s Rights. s.mcalister@qub.ac.uk  +44 (0)28 9097 5918  
Dr Andrew Percy Quantitative Criminology; Adolescent Development; Longitudinal Research; and Alcohol and Drug Use. a.percy@qub.ac.uk  +44 (0)28 9097 5261 
Dr John Topping Police Practice; Police Reform; Security Governance and Stop/Search. j.topping@qub.ac.uk   +44 (0)28 9097 3630 

Research Staff 

   
Dr Brendan Marsh Marie Curie Research Fellow  b.marsh@qub.ac.uk email only 
Dr Gillian McNaull   gillian.mcnaull@qub.ac.uk +44 (0)28 9097 5910
Dr Colm Walsh

Youth violence; psychological trauma; masculinity; evidence based practice; service design and evaluation.

 
colm.walsh@qub.ac.uk  

 

KEY RESEARCH PROJECTS

School children raising their hands
Crime and Social Justice
Transgenerational Legacy and Young People

This project examines the legacies of the Conflict, and their impacts, on children and young people in Northern Ireland and the border regions of Ireland. The research engages with children and young people, parents, community and departmental representatives, regional and statutory bodies. A young person’s advisory group works alongside the QUB team.

More information


two children using laptops
Crime and Social Justice
P4P: Participation for Protection

Funded by the European Commission and led by Siobhan McAlister, this project involved working with partners in six European countries to devise training materials to enhance child-informed responses to victims of violence. Data was collected from over 1300 children, and resources co-designed with advisory groups of children and young people.

More information, including downloadable resources


Police officer
Crime and Social Justice
Police Stops

Police stop and search powers remain as one of the most contested aspects of policing practice.  No less in Northern Ireland, the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s (PSNI) use of the powers remain at one of the highest levels in U.K policing with fewest outcomes.  Particularly focused on children and young people, this research continues highlight the problematic nature of stop and search within the post-conflict setting of Northern Ireland.

Police Stop & Search Powers: Understanding Nature & Extent of Adversarial Contact Between PSNI and the Public (Knowledge Exchange Seminar Series (KESS))

The ‘usual suspects’? Young people’s experiences of police stop and search powers in Northern Ireland (Ark Research Update)


STUDY

Students in a seminar group
UNDERGRADUATE AND POSTGRADUATE PATHWAYS

We offer an array of course choices in criminology at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Criminology | BA
Criminology and Sociology | BA
Criminology and Social Policy | BA
Youth Justice | MSc
Social Science Research / MRes
Criminology Integrated PhD


ENGAGEMENT

Student reading a brochure in the Student Guidance Centre
IMPACT THROUGH INDUSTRY LINKS

The Criminology team in the SSESW continue to lead research and public policy debate both locally and internationally as part of their world-class research profile. They work with external bodies and agencies on a regular basis as part of their research and advisory roles. This includes active engagement with criminal justice agencies across the U.K and beyond, as well as with voluntary and community sector bodies, including Niacro, Committee on the Administration of Justice, Community Restorative Justice Ireland, and dozens more.

Recent examples of community engagement work include:

‘Young People, Policing and Stop & Search’ – organised by the Crime and Social Justice Group which included inputs from Anne Skelton of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, and the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland

ESRC knowledge exchange with Include Youth on media and young people

Northern Ireland’s first ever “Learning Together” course involving students from QUB learning criminology alongside students from Hydebank Wood Secure College. 

Read more Read less

In This Section
Subject Area
  • Subject Area
  • Criminology
  • Education
  • Social Policy
  • Social Work
  • Sociology
Queen's University Belfast - Logo (small)
Contact Us

69-71 University Street
Belfast
Northern Ireland
BT7 1HL

GET DIRECTIONS

E-mail: ssesw@qub.ac.uk

Tel:+44 (0)28 9097 5941/3323/5117

Subjects

  • Criminology
  • Education
  • Social Policy
  • Social Work
  • Sociology

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Study
  • Employability
  • Research
© Queen's University Belfast 2021
Privacy and cookies
Website accessibility
Freedom of information
Modern slavery statement
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion