History

The Crime and Justice Research Centre (CJRC) at Victoria University is unique in New Zealand in its capacity to provide research and consultancy services on crime and criminal justice responses. The Centre concentrates on policy-focused research, often evaluative in nature and done under contract to government and public sector agencies.

The Centre grew out of, and now sits alongside the Institute of Criminology in the School of Social and Cultural Studies. The Institute was established as a centre of excellence in teaching and research in 1975. A contract research group grew within the Institute in the 1990s, and its growing volume of work rang chords in the University which was seeking the offer of aid from the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology to establish a number of applied research centres. The CJRC was established as a result in mid 2002. It thus continues the tradition of research established by the Institute, albeit with its own branding and public face. Many Centre staff previously worked in the Institute’s contract research group, including the first Centre director, Gabrielle Maxwell .

The centre has a track record of achievement in both the policy and the academic arenas in New Zealand.  Staff members have international reputations as leaders in the fields of youth justice and restorative justice and have made contributions in other areas such as family law, family violence, policing, legal services and crime prevention. 

The centre aims to produce research reports and provide policy advice of the highest academic quality to increase knowledge and understanding of issues relating to crime and justice. It promulgates it findings, both within New Zealand and internationally, in practitioner, policy and academic forums.