Mission
Background
The Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR) was established in 1992 by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and the Ministry of Justice. At that time the Research and Documentation Centre (WODC) of the Ministry of Justice had a dominant position in Dutch research on crime and law enforcement while universities were weakened by a great numbers of budget cuts. Policy oriented research had become common practice and more fundamental research had almost diminished. The NSCR was founded to fill this gap.
The NSCR enjoys the hospitality of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The establishment of the NSCR has provided an impulse to the fundamental, independent and interdisciplinary study of crime and law enforcement, from which also the Ministry of Justice is ultimately able to profit. The NSCR has a governing board, a Scientific Advisory Committee and, three broadly constituted consultative committees.
From 1999 a major reorganization took place starting with a completely new research programme focusing on the interaction between crime and law enforcement, with a renewed research staff and with a changed organizational structure.
The NSCR aims at:
- studying - in a fundamental, interdisciplinary manner - the interaction between crime and law enforcement with an accent on research in which processes are followed through time (although the NSCR also carries out contract research for a variety of clients, alongside the regular research programme);
- carrying out research, both independently and in collaboration with (para-)university organizations and publishing on these matters in scientific media;
- participating in research schools and in the training of young researchers;
- developing a national and international network of scientific researchers in the field of crime and law enforcement, in co-operation with other universities and research institutes by organizing (inter-)national conferences, seminars, symposia, workshops and lectures on topical matters.
NSCR undertakes research that is preferably longitudinal in nature (that is to say, the developments are are followed through time as far as possible), whereby attention is paid to the interaction of relevant factors and a monodisciplinary approach is avoided as far as possible. For that reason research is conducted in collaboration with others outside the NSCR as much as possible, and for that reason members of the staff of the institute come from diverse disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, pedagogy, biology, criminal law, political studies, public administration, and ofcourse criminology. This is the case with the governing board, the senior researchers, post-doc researchers, junior researchers and those working on a PhD-thesis. There are also frequently students doing an internship. The NCSR also has support personnel. From 1999 prof. Gerben J.N. Bruinsma is the scientific director. He has been professor of criminology at Leiden University till August 2009. From September 2009 he has become professor of environmental criminology at the Vrije University of Amsterdam.There are in total more than 45 members of staff.
Collaboration
As stated above collaboration with other researchers in the Netherlands and abroad is very important to the NSCR. This primarily concerns specific projects. In part collaboration with others is institutionalised. The NSCR, together with Erasmus University Rotterdam, the University of Leiden and the Free University of Amsterdam, participates in the Research School Safety & Security in Society. The establishment of this research school provides post-graduate students with a place to continue their education, whilst a structural collaborative link from which the NSCR can profit, has been created in various domains. The NSCR also contributes to the new course Criminology (bachelor and masters) that has been set up in the three universities named above. Together with a large number of foreign scientific organizations, the NSCR is also involved in the International Crime Victim Survey, the International Workshop on Research into Juvenile Criminology, the International Homicide Research Working Group, the International Research Group on Crime and Punishment Trends, the European Homicide Working Group, Eurogang and the International Violence against Women Survey.
Along with contacts with the academic world, contacts with the 'field' are also intensive. Working contacts with police, the judiciary, social services and various social organizations ensure that theoretical reflection goes hand in hand with research into day-to-day practice.
Activities
In addition to doing fundamental research the NSCR also undertakes a number of other activities which all concern the dissemination of knowledge in the field of crime and law enforcement. The NSCR organizes national and international conferences, workshops and lectures at fairly regular intervals. Staff members of the NSCR give a large number of lectures each year, they are available to answer any questions raised by the media, and a number of them appear regularly as expert witnesses in criminal and civil cases.