Public criminology
Public criminology is about sharing criminology research with people outside universities—like police, policymakers, journalists, and everyday readers. It grows out of public sociology and has long involved public actions related to crime and justice. Researchers use classroom teaching, public lectures, conferences, news reports, radio and TV, blogs, and government hearings to spread findings and invite public discussion.
The goal is for criminology to be done in dialogue with communities affected by crime and to help reshape how people see criminals and justice. Public criminology aims to close the gap between what scientific evidence shows and what the public thinks about crime and punishment, making research more useful for real-world decisions.
Overall, the response to public criminology has been positive, but there are concerns. Some worry about whether criminologists can actually influence policy. Others say early efforts overlook the political and economic forces that shape criminal justice. There are also barriers to participating in public criminology, such as funding, job opportunities, and training.
The idea draws on Michael Burawoy’s public sociology and earlier work by Eamonn Carrabine, Maggy Lee, and Nigel South. Uggen and Inderbitzin have urged a broader focus on informing public understanding of crime, punishment, and justice. Ian Loader and Richard Sparks have further connected public engagement to the value criminology brings to society. The Routledge Handbook of Public Criminologies (2020) surveys current practices and challenges.
Public criminology also looks back to earlier thinkers. For example, Clifford R. Shaw studied neighborhoods and crime in Chicago in the 1920s and involved residents in learning from and sharing findings with them, influencing community-based efforts. Internationally, centers like the Cambridge Institute of Criminology and the Home Office Research Unit helped shift criminology toward understanding crime trends, treatment of offenders, and reforms to law and procedure.
In practice, groups like The Marshall Project in the United States, and public criminology blogs and centers (such as the Center for Public Criminology at Arizona State University) work to connect public debate with current research. Individual researchers have used public criminology to reveal hidden information, while studies of community interventions show how well-intentioned efforts can also create stigma.
The overarching aim is to create inclusive, democratic spaces where research informs public discussion and policy, with the hope of preventing crime, making justice fairer, and improving the criminal justice system for everyone.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 18:34 (CET).