The International and Comparative Criminology Research and Policy Institute is dedicated to conducting innovative research in the field of international and comparative criminology and fostering collaboration in the area of criminal justice research. Today’s world is increasingly interconnected: phenomena that occur far away have direct and indirect consequences on the processes that take place nearby. In this context, international and comparative criminology becomes fundamental for broadening our understanding of crime-related issues across the world and refining our theoretical accounts of the macro- and micro-level processes that shape crime and social and political reactions to crime. Identifying the contexts in which certain phenomena are more salient and examining the emergence, implementation, and effectiveness of different policies that have been implemented across settings becomes a crucial task for criminological research and practice. Thus, the goal of the Institute is to advance our understanding and knowledge of crime-related processes and develop policy and practice recommendations aimed at reducing criminological problems from an international and comparative perspective. To that end, the Institute welcomes multidisciplinary research and promotes working relationships in the fields of criminology, education, political science, sociology, international relations, and other related areas.

PROJECTS

• Sylwia J. Piatkowska, Jack Mills*, Silvia Gomes, and Raquel Oliveira. “Media, Hate Crimes, and COVID-19: A comparative study between UK and the US.”

HIGHLIGHTED/FEATURED LINKS

• Article: The Great Opportunity: How Covid Transformed Global Crime https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/27/the-great-opportunity-how-covid-transformed-global
• Article: World’s Crime Fighters Push Back against COVID-19’s ‘Divisions and Inequalities’ https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/03/1087252

FEATURED RESEARCH

• Piatkowska, Sylwia J. 2020. “Poverty, Inequality, and Suicide Rates: Cross-National Assessment of the Durkheim Theory and the Stream Analogy of Lethal Violence.” The Sociological Quarterly, 61(4): 787-812.
• Lehmann, Peter S., Cecilia Chouhy, Alexa J. Singer, Jessica N. Stevens, and Marc Gertz. 2020. “Out-Group Animus and Punitiveness in Latin America” Crime & Delinquency. 66(8): 1161-1189.
• Singer, Alexa J., Cecilia Chouhy, Peter S. Lehmann, Jessica N. Walzak, and Marc Gertz. 2020. “Economic Anxieties, Fear of Crime, and Punitive Attitudes in Latin America” Punishment & Society. 22(2): 181-206.
• Walzak, Jessica N., Cecilia Chouhy, Alexa J. Singer, Peter S. Lehmann, and Marc Gertz. 2020. “The Blurred ‘Blue line’: A cross national comparison of the sources of public support for extralegal policing” Policing & Society, Published Online First.
• Piatkowska, Sylwia J. and Andreas Hövermann. 2019. “A Culture of Hostility and Crime Motivated by Bias A Cross-National Multilevel Analysis of Structural Influences.” International Criminal Justice Review, 9(2): 141–167.

DIRECTOR | Sylwia J. Piatkowska, Ph.D.

CO-DIRECTOR | Cecilia Chouhy, Ph.D.

CONTACT INFORMATION
For more information on the International and Comparative Criminology Research and Policy Institute, contact Drs. Sylwia J. Piatkowska or Cecilia Chouhy.