About the Institute of Criminology
The Institute of Criminology has a worldwide reputation for excellence in both research and teaching and is one of the first criminological institutes to have been established in Europe. It was founded by Sir Leon Radzinowicz in 1959 with funding from the Wolfson Foundation and has been highly influential in the development of criminology as a subject. The Institute is home to six Research Centres.
Many of our academic staff are international leaders in their fields, with a broad range of research interests as can be seen from their profile pages. In recognition of their outstanding research, academics and researchers from the Institute have been awarded numerous prestigious international awards over the years. Visiting Fellows and Scholars also contribute to the research community and to the teaching programmes.
The Institute is home to the Radzinowicz Library, which houses the most comprehensive criminology collection in the United Kingdom and is internationally recognised as a world-class criminal justice resource.
Institute Directors
- Professor Nigel Walker, 1973-1981
- Professor Donald West, 1981 - 1984
- Professor Sir Anthony Bottoms, 1984-1999
- Professor Michael Tonry, 1999-2005.
- Professor Friedrich Lösel, 2005-2012.
- Professor Lawrence Sherman, 2012- 2017.
- Professor Loraine Gelsthorpe, 2017-2022
- Professor Manuel Eisner, 2022 - Present
