Institute of Criminal Justice Studies

Female forensics worker checking fingerprint on computer screen

Institute of Criminal justice studies (ICJS)

Explore the pioneering work we're doing within our Institute of Criminal Justice Studies

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Teaching | Research | Our staff | Explore our faculty | Contact us

The Institute of Criminal Justice Studies (ICJS) was founded in 1992 and is internationally-recognised for its study of crime, its causes, and the societal and personal impact it has. We're the largest criminology department in the UK and we have interdisciplinary expertise in criminological analysis, applied psychology, policing, community justice, penology, risk, security and international and comparative criminal justice.

Our courses and research range from criminology and criminal justice, to counter fraud, forensics, criminal psychology and cybercrime.

Our mission

To enhance and develop knowledge and understanding in the field of criminal justice and criminological studies
To further the development of human rights, equal opportunities, integrity and fair treatment within criminal justice and related areas
To further the development of democratic governance and accountabilities within criminal justice and related agencies
To promote the interests of disadvantaged communities and groups discriminated against, by and within, criminal justice and related areas
To promote the development of professionalism and professionalisation within criminal justice and related agencies

Teaching

We provide high quality teaching programmes and facilities, with our well-qualified teaching staff who all have, or are working towards, Fellowship of AdvanceHE.

We have secured strategic investment for the piloting and evaluation of technology enhanced active learning within our undergraduate campus courses.

We're also the main provider of Trainee Probation Officer education in England & Wales, and in 2019 we secured contracts to deliver Police Constable Degree Apprenticeships and degree holder conversion programmes for Hampshire, Sussex and Surrey police (with consortium partners).

We use the latest technologies to deliver eLearning via dedicated tablets combined with Masterclass sessions, and many of our teaching staff are leading research academics in their fields.

We also work closely with the School of Education & Sociology in the delivery of combined honours courses with Criminology, and with Portsmouth Law School.

To explore the full range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees we offer, visit the Criminology and forensic studies subject area page. You can also read about our short courses and CPD programmes in criminal justice studies, or find postgraduate research opportunities on our Criminology postgraduate research degrees page.

Facilities

The School invests in and engages with the latest technology to support our teaching and learning. We're home to facilities including:

The Forensic Innovation Centre
Hydra Immersive Learning Suite
Forensic Interviewing Suite
Technology Enhanced Active Learning

Research

We have a strong international reputation for research and innovation, which feeds into our teaching and makes a positive impact on society.

Areas of expertise

Explore the work we're doing across 7 areas of expertise in our Criminology research.

Counter fraud

We're looking into economic crimes such as fraud and corruption, assessing the existing methods used to fight them – and developing new ways to protect people and organisations from falling victim to them.

Man checking financial figures on calculator

Cybercrime

We're exploring the growing threat and impact cybercrime at all levels of society, investigating the methods and motives of the people who commit it, and finding new ways to deal with them.

Forensic interviewing

We're exploring new and better ways to gather quality, reliable information from crime scenes and witnesses' minds – and helping develop protocols and practices that ensure this human data is protected and interpreted correctly.

Woman writing crime studies notes on white board

Forensics

We're taking a closer look at how science can help identify, eliminate, reconstruct and inform the ways in which crime is investigated – including through fingerprinting and DNA recovery.

Missing persons

In our Centre for the Study of Missing Persons, we're identifying patterns of behaviour that precede a person going missing and working to change the policies and practices that determine how such cases are handled.

Penology

We're working to understand the role of punishment, and how it links with processes of justice and rehabilitation – and helping shape how criminal justice practitioners work, by linking theory to practice.

Policing

In the wake of a prolonged period of budget cuts, our work deals with the most-pressing issues facing the police service – from how police officers learn, to the individual factors that can influence an investigation.