Welcome to the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law

The Institute consists of three research departments: Criminology, Public Law, and Criminal Law. The interdisciplinary Depart­ment of Criminology conducts cutting-edge longitudinal, experimental, and spatial research and aims to push the boundaries of theory development. The research program focuses on the role of individual dispositions and environmental fac­tors as they relate to crime and the application of novel technologies, such as virtual reality, to deepen our understanding of crim­i­nal decision-making and offender rehabilitation. The Department of Public Law concentrates on fun­damental ques­tions of con­sti­tu­tional and administrative law with an emphasis on public security law. It investigates how the legal system can optimize its response to risks, dangers, and threats in order to prevent the occurrence of criminal of­fenses and other kinds of harm. Research­ers in the Department of Criminal Law explore the foundations of criminal law, with special emphasis on the principles of crimi­nal­i­za­tion, the assessment of wrongs, and sentencing. Their interests extend beyond cur­rent national and international law and focus on how legal rules and criminal justice systems should develop in contemporary societies with increasing political, social, and cultural fragmentation.