About the Institute
The Institute of Criminology has a worldwide reputation for excellence in both research and teaching.
Founded by Sir Leon Radzinowicz in 1960, it was one of the first criminological institutes in the UK and has exerted a strong influence on the development of the discipline. The tradition of competence and leadership continues to the present. The Institute's core academic staff (Sir Anthony Bottoms, Timothy Coupe, Ben Crewe, Manuel Eisner, David Farrington, Loraine Gelsthorpe, Adrian Grounds, Andrew von Hirsch, Friedrich Lösel , Alison Liebling, Katrin Müller-Johnson, Lawrence Sherman (Director), and Per-Olof Wikström) are all leading researchers in their fields. Additional distinguished academic and research staff complement and enhance the academic community, and Visiting Fellows from around the world often contribute to the teaching programmes.
Staff hail from multidisciplinary international backgrounds and have clear empirical and theoretical orientations. Their interests cover a broad range of topics: e.g., delinquent development, social contexts and crime, policing, criminal justice, penal theory, sentencing, prisons and corrections, sex offender treatment, forensic mental health, and criminological theories.
The Institute is home to four thriving Research Centres: the Jerry Lee Centre for Experimental Criminology, PADS+ (Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study), Penal Theory and Ethics, and Prisons Research. In recognition of their outstanding research, Cambridge criminologists have been awarded numerous prestigious international awards.