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  • Criminology
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  • 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.

Over 88% of research submitted by colleagues from Criminology, Social Policy, Sociology and Social Work to the Social Policy and Social Work Unit of Assessment (UoA) was judged to be World Leading or Internationally Excellent. An endorsement of the quality of our research and its impacts in areas such as the penal system, mental health and trauma; work once again achieved through work undertaken in partnership with the health, social care and criminal justice sectors. We are delighted that Social Work and Social Policy (including Sociology and Criminology) has been ranked at 12th in the UK (Times Higher Education Social Work and Social Policy UoA table).

11th

IN THE UK

(TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES GOOD UNIVERSITY GUIDE 2022)
13th

IN THE UK

(GUARDIAN UNIVERSITY GUIDE 2022)

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

Name Area of Expertise Email Telephone
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 Kevin Hearty Transitional Justice; Victimology; Political Violence; Critical Criminology; Human Rights; Policing.  k.hearty@qub.ac.uk +44 (0)28 9097 1176
Dr Sarah Jankowitz Peacebuilding, Reconciliation and Transitional Justice; Victimology; 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  
Professor 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 Gillian McNaull

Criminalisation of women; the harms of imprisonment; transformative justice; the political economy of imprisonment.

gillian.mcnaull@qub.ac.uk +44 (0)28 9097 5910
Dr David Scott

Young People in Conflict with the Law; Youth Justice; Mental Health; Diversion and Liaison Services; Evidence Based Practice.

david.scott@qub.ac.uk +44 (0)28 9097 5759
Dr Brendan Sturgeon

Peacebuilding; Social-Spatial Segregation; Evidence based practice; Service design and Evaluation.

b.sturgeon@qub.ac.uk +44 (0)28 9097 5052
Dr Colm Walsh

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

 
colm.walsh@qub.ac.uk +44 (0)28 9097 3174

 

KEY RESEARCH PROJECTS

User Voice, Only Offenders Can Stop Re-Offending
Prisons and Mental Health
Coping with the COVID Crisis in Prison

This project examines the impact of the Covid lockdown on the well-being of prisoners in England and Wales. Prisoners have faced considerable health risks during the pandemic and have had their visits, education, and opportunities for meaningful activity highly constricted during the pandemic. A co-production with the User Voice organisation, this user-led participatory action research project aims to allow prisoners to tell their own story of this lockdown experience.


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.


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 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

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

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Subject Area
  • Subject Area
  • Criminology
  • Education
  • Social Policy
  • Social Work
  • Sociology

Latest News

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    Dec 13, 2021
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