Research and Publications

criminology

The Chair’s main areas of research include municipal crime prevention. This field encompasses a wide range of relevant research questions involving a diverse array of stakeholders. A research project has already been carried out on issues relating to graffiti prevention.

In addition, the Chair is dedicated to issues in the field of economic criminology. In particular, research into potential factors influencing non-compliance amongst employees within a company (including those below management level) is a key focus here. Of particular interest at present is the interplay between compliance, job satisfaction and compliance culture. The Chair also examines how compliance can be utilised as a driver for integration, organisation and productivity within a company (“Compliance as an Opportunity”).

Another area of research interest lies in the field of psychological violence within the context of closed power structures. This involves both the criminological investigation of structural catalysts and inhibitors of violence, and the approach of criminal law to violence within such systems.

Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure

Outside the field of criminology, the Chair addresses issues relating to digitalisation in criminal proceedings, with a particular focus on the framework conditions and limitations of conceivable automation of the process . In the field of sentencing law, there is a particular interest in research into measures to assist in the investigation and prevention of crime (so-called ‘leniency schemes’).

Sports Criminology Research Network

In recent times, there has been an increase in victim accounts and allegations of significant interpersonal violence in sport, particularly within the organisational structures of elite sport. To investigate this and other phenomena, a research network on ‘Sports Criminology’ was formed in 2024. The junior professorship is one of the founding members of this research initiative. Further information on this can be found here (external link, opens in a new window).

• “King’s Evidence as an Instrument of Criminal Prosecution – a Theoretical and Empirical Analysis” – German-Japanese Symposium “Law & Behaviour”, University of Augsburg, 17 February 2014
• “Legal Aspects of the Winnenden Massacre” – German-Japanese Symposium “Law & Behaviour”, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 27 March 2015
• “King’s Evidence – a controversial instrument in contemporary European criminal policy” – Criminology Symposium, Stockholm, 9 June 2015 (jointly with Johannes Kaspar)
• ‘The Crown Witness Scheme in Legal Practice – Initial Empirical Findings on Assistance with Investigation and Prevention under Section 46b of the German Criminal Code’ – 14th Annual Conference of the German Society of Criminology, University of Cologne, 25 September 2015 (jointly with Johannes Kaspar)
• “The Formation of Values and Its Influence on Deviant Behaviour” – German-Japanese Symposium “Law & Behaviour”, Georg-August University of Göttingen, 25 February 2016
• “How to Get the ‘Hell’s Angels’ to Sing – The Key Witness Scheme in the Criminal Code” – “Königsbrunner Campus” lecture series, Königsbrunn, 27 April 2016
• “Problems of the Institutional Unity of the Police, the Public Prosecution Service and the Courts: The Case of Judge Dredd” – “Science Fiction, Fantasy and the Medieval World” lecture series, University of Augsburg, 14 November 2016
• “Is there a collective sense of justice amongst the population?” – 55th Colloquium of the South-West German and Swiss Criminological Institutes and Chairs, Meßstetten-Tieringen, 12 July 2019
• “Fear of crime in the political debate” – Panel discussion on the occasion of the 36th Autumn Colloquium of the DAV Criminal Law Working Group, Munich, 9 November 2019
• “The key witness in the Criminal Code – Assistance with investigations under Section 46b of the Criminal Code from a dogmatic and empirical perspective. A workshop discussion” – University of Augsburg, 12 February 2020
• “Thoughts on the Current Draft Law Against Right-Wing Extremism and Hate Crime” – German-Japanese Symposium “Law & Behaviour”, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, 18 February 2020
• “The Problem of Illegal Graffiti in Augsburg. Research Project as Part of the 1st University Workshop ‘Criminological Research’” – 1st Meeting of the Bavarian Criminological Forum, Fischbachau, 13 March 2020
• “Graffiti Prevention through Support for Property Owners. Results of the ‘Criminological Research’ Workshop” – 56th Colloquium of the South-West German and Swiss Criminological Institutes and Chairs, Augsburg, 25 June 2021 (via Zoom)
• “The public’s demand for punishment and its significance in juvenile criminal proceedings” – 31st Youth Court Conference, Bonn, 18 September 2021 (via Zoom)
• “Promising effectiveness booster or problematic automatic classification tool? Reflections on the use of artificial intelligence ‘on the bench’ in criminal proceedings” – 8th Symposium of Young Criminal Law Scholars, Munich, 9–11 September 2021
• “Cat King 2.0? Conspiracy narratives in the light of Section 17 of the German Criminal Code (StGB)” – Lecture as part of the lecture series “Crisis resilience of the law? Lessons from the coronavirus crisis”, University of Augsburg, 25 November 2021
• “When technology makes fairer decisions than a judge” – panel discussion at the June 2022 conference of the European Law Students’ Association (ELSA), Passau, 26 June 2022
• “Due Diligence and a New Focus on Compliance in Mergers and Acquisitions. M&A Transaction Processes as Catalysts for Non-Compliance at the Micro Level” - 6th Symposium “Mergers & Acquisitions at the Intersection of Law and Economics – Current Findings from Research and Practice”, Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg, 13 October 2022
• “Anti-Semitism and criminological victim research”, lecture as part of the Action Week against Anti-Semitism, Augsburg, 20 October 2022 (jointly with Victoria Woelfel)
• “‘Electronic pickpocketing’ through contactless payments using a debit card without a PIN”, Higher Regional Court of Hamm, decision of 7 April 2020 – 4 RVs 12/20” - Young Forum of German-Chinese Criminal Law Scholars 2022–2023, Munich/Augsburg, 23 January 2023 (via Zoom)
• “Employees as a compliance risk” – lecture as part of the Faculty Seminar of the Faculty of Law, Regensburg, 17 July 2024