Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge

In the Radzinowicz Library, our students and staff will find artworks in a variety of mediums, produced by prisoners in collaboration with various prison art charities. But why do we buy these artworks? Why do we support the creative work of people in prison?

To answer this, we refer to a book in our collection, 'Insider Art' by Matthew Meadows. This volume takes us across His Majesty's Prison Estate, presenting the interests, hopes and fears of its inmates.

These are vividly rendered in mediums ranging from acrylic to ceramics to matchstick sculptures. All of them are the product of prisoners wanting to have control over their own journeys in life.

Grayson Perry candidly discusses this in the introduction, saying "what I see is the basic human desire to make something tangible out of thoughts and feelings. What is particular about the work by prisoners shown and discussed in Matthew Meadows' book is that this core spirit, this well of art, is somehow nearer the surface.

"Making art is no mere distraction, though it may usefully make time pass quicker. Making art is perhaps working out who you are, what you want and how you relate to the world."

If any of our students, staff, or other university members are interested, this book can be borrowed via our self-service or Click and Collect.

‘Super-connected' teenagers are a major influence on violent crime patterns, according to a new study.

Young people with the most connections to other suspected offenders of any age are almost five times more likely to carry knives than the average youth suspect, according to a new analysis of more than 200,000 UK police records.

The research by the Institute's Violence Research Centre, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, also found that more connected young people were more likely to become a victim of knife violence themselves. Nearly 60% of young victims of knife-related injury were suspects in another offence.

The research team used records from Cambridgeshire Constabulary between March 2018 and October 2021.

Professor Paolo Campana, who conducted the work with Cambridge’s Dr Noemi Corsini and Dr Cecilia Meneghini at the University of Exeter, said:

“Understanding where a young person sits within a crime network, and who they are connected to, should inform how and when we intervene. That means building the capacity to map and share network intelligence across police, youth services, schools and community organisations in a responsible way.

“Violence does not happen in isolation, and tackling youth violence means tackling the networks that sustain it.”

🔗https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/super-connected-teenagers-key-to-tackling-violent-crime-study-suggests

Join the Justice & Society Research Centre in one month's time, for the annual Postgraduate Theory & Methods Workshop.

➡️ This workshop's theme is 'Researching Gender-Based Vulnerabilities: Narratives of precarities and resistance from the field'. Our postgraduate research students will ask how gender interacts with vulnerabilities in a variety of contexts, both past and present. These include different countries' legal systems, norms of masculinities and gender-based violence, socio-economic deprivations, and historic race and caste-based discrimination.

➡️ By bringing in narratives from the field, we can better understand how gender is lived and viewed within societies. The workshop also includes a Masterclass on 'Qualitative data analysis methods and theory', which all qualitative researchers can learn from, whatever their field of research.

We encourage any student who wants to challenge gender-based vulnerabilities to attend this workshop. The schedule and registration link are below.

📅 13 July 2026

🔗 Register to attend by scanning the QR code in the image.

📧 Contact Yagmur at [email protected] or Monika at [email protected] for any queries.

One month to go until this year's Evidence-Based Policing Conference.

➡️ The theme for 2026, 'Beyond Borders: Evidence-Led Solutions for Global Crime and Policing Challenges', aims to expand the thinking around evidence-based policing. This year's conference will ask how it can address global crime and policing issues.

➡️ This year, the conference will also mark the 30th anniversary of the MSt in Applied Criminology and Police Management. Its longevity demonstrates the continued need for evidence-based policing. To reflect this, the conference will host 41 speakers from across the world, to discuss the role evidence-based policing plays in their areas of expertise. These include artificial intelligence in policing, counterterrorism, safeguarding, deterrence and police accountability.

If you are interested in the potential of evidence-based policing, we encourage you to attend.

🔗https://www.crim.cam.ac.uk/events/evidence-based-policing-conference-2026

Have you seen the Easter term edition of our alumni newsletter?

Celebrating 30 years of our MSt in Applied Criminology and Police Management, this term's edition features reflections from:

➡️ Barak Ariel and Manuel Eisner on the significance of the programme to the Institute.

➡️ Dr Heather Strang on her involvement in the programme including as Programme Director from 2012 to 2019.

➡️ Professor Sir Anthony Bottoms on the programme's formative years and the enduring relationships it has fostered between academia and the police service.

➡️ Professor Lawrence Sherman on how the MSt was instrumental in developing the key tenets and research methods of evidence-based policing.

➡️ Former students on what the programme has meant to them.

We also have our usual round-up of recent research news and events.

If you have not read our latest edition, now is your chance.

🔗https://news.cam.ac.uk/t/cr/AQiQkhIQnY2JARiO4aIVYjm74lSgUTn_st2fzmHQwrCNafSDgmBdEoiJI1p8gKA

How can cultural contexts affect diagnoses such as psychopathy?

PhD student Cheryl Peng is currently researching how psychopathy is understood in China.

➡️ Her findings so far show that there is no direct equivalent of 'psychopath' in Mandarin. Additionally, common indicators of psychopathy in the West, such as seeing crying as a weakness, are common attitudes in China. This makes it harder to diagnose psychopaths using a Euro-American approach.

➡️ In response, Peng is devising a new psychometric tool for diagnosing psychopathy in China, one which accounts for Chinese cultural attitudes. Her hope is that it will become a tool used in forensic and psychiatric settings, to enable more effective diagnosis.

🔗 https://www.crim.cam.ac.uk/news/phd-researcher-designing-new-tool-identify-psychopathy-china

Our annual Evidence-Based Policing Conference returns to the University of Cambridge this year, for four days of research-led discussion and knowledge exchange.

Under the theme of 'Beyond Borders: Evidence-Led Solutions for Global Crime and Policing Challenges’, we will bring together global leaders in policing, criminology, and criminal justice.

This year’s conference also marks the 30th anniversary of the MSt in Applied Criminology & Police Management. Professor Lawrence Sherman, a pioneer of evidence-based policing, helped establish this course to generate discussion on the subject.

To continue that goal, this year’s conference will host 41 experts in evidence-based policing, discussing how it applies to their research and practice. Their expertise ranges from artificial intelligence and machine learning in policing, to counterterrorism, safeguarding, and police legitimacy.

If you are a senior professional interested in evidence-based policing, the MSt will start taking applications for next year's cohort in September 2026. Many of the ideas developed by MSt students have been adopted in policing, with positive results. Do not hesitate to apply and test your own ideas.

📍 Cambridge Faculty of Law, Sidgwick Site
📅 13 July – 16 July 2026
🕘 09:00- 17:00

Book your place at the conference: https://www.crim.cam.ac.uk/events/evidence-based-policing-conference-2026

Learn more about the Policing MSt: https://www.crim.cam.ac.uk/mst-applied-criminology-and-police-management-police-executive-programme

This year's Criminology PhD Conference on 28-29 April brought together researchers from around the world, to explore criminology's potential to confront pressing legal and ethical issues.

Under the banner of 'Critical Crossroads? A criminology that confronts', PhD students discussed what criminology has to say about issues such as colonialism, displacement, and systemic injustices.

What perspectives were being ignored? How might they offer more insight into the issues at hand? Attendees explored and debated these questions through a mix of topical papers and presentations from invited guests.

🔗 https://www.crim.cam.ac.uk/news/annual-phd-conference-asks-how-criminology-can-confront-injustice-and-marginalisation

One week to go until Professor Federico Varese's discussion about 'Russia in Four Criminals'.

What roles did a mobster, an oligarch, a prison drug-dealer and a malware engineer play in reshaping Russia after the USSR's collapse? And why is it important for us to understand their influence? Join Varese, and journalist and author michela wrong, to explore these questions.

📅 4 June 2026
🕰️ 17:30-19:00

🔗https://www.crim.cam.ac.uk/events/book-discussion-russia-four-criminals-federico-varese-discussion-michela-wrong

On 4 June, come hear Professor Frederico Varese from Sciences Po speak about 'Russia in Four Criminals'.

Varese's latest book argues that Russia's transition from the USSR to the present day can be explained through four individuals, all involved in organised crime.

Their stories show how modern Russia became entwined in corruption and organised crime. Even more importantly, they show how the West has failed to grasp Russia as a country, and the consequences for our defence and security.

It is worth attending for anyone who cares about these issues.

📅 4 June 2026
🕰️ 17:30

🔗https://www.crim.cam.ac.uk/events/book-discussion-russia-four-criminals-federico-varese-discussion-michela-wrong