ERNST MORITZ ARNDT UNIVERSITY OF GREIFSWALD – DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINOLOGY Dr. Ineke Pruin

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Criminology in Germany –current debates

Dr. Ineke PruinDepartment of Criminology

University of Greifswald/Germany

Vilnius, June 27

ERNST MORITZ ARNDT UNIVERSITY OF GREIFSWALD – DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINOLOGY Dr. Ineke Pruin

• June 2012: Symposium on the „State of Criminology in Germany“, organized by the Max-Planck-Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law in Freiburg.

• Leading German criminologists discussed about the development of criminology in Germany.

• Topics: criminological research, criminology as a discipline at German universities, teaching criminology, the self-concept of criminology...

Current debate about Criminology in Germany

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ERNST MORITZ ARNDT UNIVERSITY OF GREIFSWALD – DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINOLOGY Dr. Ineke Pruin

• Number of Departments of Criminology at German law faculties has been reduced within the last 20 years. Appr. 25% of all law faculties do not have a Department of Criminology any more.

• There are no Departments of Criminology at faculties for Social Sciences and overall criminology plays a little role at faculties for Social Sciences.

• The number of empirical research projects is not satisfying.

• There is no discussion in Germany about the self-concept of criminology (in contrast to England and USA).

(Albrecht MschKrim 2013)

Main concerns

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ERNST MORITZ ARNDT UNIVERSITY OF GREIFSWALD – DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINOLOGY Dr. Ineke Pruin

• Almost all professors in criminology (at law faculties) have to teach penal law and procedural law in addition to criminology, juvenile justice and prison law. This reduces the time for empirical research and internationally recognized publications (Boers 2013).

• There is a number of relevant empirical criminological studies of high quality (e.g. longitudinal studies, transitional justice, international comparisons) (Boers 2012) and there are also important publications in cooperation with the government (e.g. Periodische Sicherheitsberichte) (Kerner 2012, Albrecht/Quensel/Sessar 2013).

Results I

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ERNST MORITZ ARNDT UNIVERSITY OF GREIFSWALD – DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINOLOGY Dr. Ineke Pruin

• There are currently 3 Master programs in criminology in Germany (Bochum, Greifswald, Hamburg). At most faculties students can choose criminology as their main optional subject (“Schwerpunktbereich”) and many students attend the courses.

• Criminological research topics are seen as very relevant in society (e.g. youth violence, terrorism, human trafficking etc.)

Results II

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ERNST MORITZ ARNDT UNIVERSITY OF GREIFSWALD – DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINOLOGY Dr. Ineke Pruin

• The memorandum highlights the importance of criminology as an independent discipline and postulates to itensify criminological teaching at law and Social Sciences faculties. Criminological curricula shall introduce practical training and interdisciplinary learning projects.

• Universities shall introduce interdisciplinary Departments of Criminology with interdisciplinary research teams.

• Criminology shall not leave the traditional research fields (violent offences, drug crime, victimology, sentencing) but broaden it`s focus on (inter alia) economic offences, corruption, deviant behaviour in general etc.

„Freiburger Memorandum“ (10 theses)

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ERNST MORITZ ARNDT UNIVERSITY OF GREIFSWALD – DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINOLOGY Dr. Ineke Pruin

Prof. Dr. Kirstin Drenkhahn. FU Berlin:

• Free professorships for criminology are staffed with researchers with a main interest in Penal theory and dogmatics and only do very little research in criminology.

• Number of professors for criminal law is too low, thus they need the criminologists to fulfill their workload (lectures and examinations).

• No uniform understanding/concept of criminology at law faculties: Criminology as an independent discipline or as a “auxiliary” science for criminal law (data etc.)?

Drenkhahn Neue Kriminalpolitik 2013

Reactions

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The perfect German criminologist

„Die eierlegende Wollmilchsau“

ERNST MORITZ ARNDT UNIVERSITY OF GREIFSWALD – DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINOLOGY Dr. Ineke Pruin

Prof. Dr. M. Bock, University of Mainz:

• Criminologists do not listen and talk to the concerns and questions of practitioners and politicians.

• This is why practitioners and politicians are not interested in criminological research results.

• This results in a diminishing importance of criminology at German universities.

Bock, Neue Kriminalpolitik 2013

Reactions 2

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ERNST MORITZ ARNDT UNIVERSITY OF GREIFSWALD – DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINOLOGY Dr. Ineke Pruin

PD Dr. Florian Knaur, HU Berlin:

• The German Constitutional Court and the European Court for Human Rights have appreciated criminological research results in recent years (e.g. BVerfG v. 31.5.2006 on youth prison laws or ECHR v. 17.9.2009 on preventive detention.

• Evidence-based sentencing practice.

Knaur, Neue Kriminalpolitik 2014

Reactions 3

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ERNST MORITZ ARNDT UNIVERSITY OF GREIFSWALD – DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINOLOGY Dr. Ineke Pruin

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Criminology as vocation or profession?

ERNST MORITZ ARNDT UNIVERSITY OF GREIFSWALD – DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINOLOGY Dr. Ineke Pruin

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Thank you for your attention!

For further information:

Dr. Ineke Pruin

Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University of Greifswald

Department of Criminology

Domstr. 20

D-17487 Greifswald/Germany

E-mail: ineke.pruin@yahoo.de

Internet: http://jura.uni-greifswald.de/duenkel

Tel.: ++49-(0)176-31383740