Mason will start the fall semester as scheduled on Monday, August 24, with a mix of in-person instruction, expanded online classes, and research activities. Visit Mason’s Safe Return to Campus Plan.
The criminology, law and society faculty have combined expertise in a number of substantive and methodological areas, including justice health, public opinion research, policing, corrections, juvenile justice, and law in action. Faculty members receive many research awards from governments and foundations. Please see individual faculty pages for information on current projects.
Two centers and one research lab, listed below, are affiliated with the department and give faculty and students the opportunity to participate in research that will be used to advance knowledge and improve the administration of justice. For more detailed information on each center, click on its link.
The Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy (CEBCP) seeks to make scientific research a key component in decisions about crime and justice policies by advancing rigorous studies in criminal justice and criminology and proactively serving as an informational link to practitioners and the policy community.
The Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence (ACE!) seeks to conduct research and assist policy makers and correctional practitioners with using evidence-based practices and treatments in crafting new policies that are focused on preventing criminal behavior, instead of responding to it.
The Modeling Decision-Making in the Legal System (MoDiLS) laboratory conducts multi-method research on decision-making in the criminal justice system, examining whether decisions are knowing, intelligent, voluntary, and reliable in interrogation situations, guilty plea negotiations, and in mental health courts. The lab also emphasizes research on wrongful convictions and methods to prevent miscarriages of justice.
