Who we are

The Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR) aims to:

• Produce high quality, internationally recognised research in relation to crime and criminal justice;
• Advance understanding of crime and criminal justice through theoretical, empirical and applied research;
• Work with communities, policy makers and the wider public to collaboratively build just societies;
• Support the development criminological research capacity across Scotland and provide an inclusive forum for this regardless of SCCJR membership.

We undertake a wide range of projects and produce different forms publications to achieve our core objectives:

Our work focuses on the following core research topics;

• Evidence, statistics and trends
• Organised and White-Collar Crime
• Research methods and criminological theory
• Gender, crime and criminal justice
• Young people and youth justice
• Violence, drugs and alcohol
• Criminal justice process and institutions.
• Crime, violence and inequality
• Criminal justice and health
• Globalisation, harm and social injustice
• New media, surveillance and technology
• Punishment, citizenship and communities

We intend that our research makes a difference — both in advancing our academic disciplines and in constructively contributing to public debate and policy and practice development in relation to crime and criminal justice. We have prepared a number of ‘impact case studies’ to give examples of how we have done this in some key areas.

Other evidence of our day-to-day engagement with public debate, policy and practice can be found in our news section.

While we have a particular kind of expertise to bring to public debate, policy and practice, we also recognise the expertise of others; expertise that comes from a wide range of different engagements in the field, whether political, professional or personal. We have learned that the impact of our work has been greatest where we have worked with others, through developing and maintaining strong relationships; and that one of our key contributions is to help people frame, analyse and respond to issues in new ways, informed by theory and research from around the world. Consequently, we are always looking for opportunities to work with others, whatever the nature of their engagement with this field. You can find out more about how to engage with us in our section Work or study with us. For academic colleagues from around the world, there are opportunities for associate membership and through our visiting fellowship programme.

Members of the SCCJR recognise the precarity experienced by Early Career Researchers and commit to supporting and collaborating with them in ways that facilitate their professional development as independent scholars, prioritise their well-being, and protect them from exploitation and the harms of insecure employment.

Through the SCCJR ECR Group we have developed a Statement which outlines the practical ways in which the Centre will support our early career colleagues.

The ECR Statement can be read in full here.

This Centre is lead by a partnership between Glasgow, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier, Stirling and Strathclyde Universities. We also work in alliance with a wider consortium of individuals and groups in Aberdeen, Dundee and St Andrew’s Universities and have worked in partnership with a range of higher education institutions and research centres.