We are an interdisciplinary research hub that explores and develops the relationships between criminal justice scholarship, research, policy, and practice.
The Institute of Criminal Justice is hosted by the Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology and led by Professor Jenny Fleming.
It was originally hosted by Southampton Law School, founded in 1986 by Andrew Rutherford (now Emeritus Professor of Law and Criminal Policy in the Law School), an active penal reformer as well as an academic. The Foundation Lecture on The Limits of Law Enforcement was presented by Norval Morris on 18 June 1986.
The Institute maintains an interest in exploring and developing the relationship between criminal justice research and scholarship and policy and practice. Fostering these connections remains a central aim of the Institute which is a genuinely inter-disciplinary research hub that seeks to reach out to colleagues of all disciplines (and indeed across all institutions) who feel that their research interests might include or complement criminal justice studies.
Scholars who feel that their research interests might include or complement criminal justice studies are invited to join as members and to attend our lively seminar series.
The Institute of Criminal Justice is a genuinely interdisciplinary research hub open to everyone interested in criminal justice and related issues.