UT and OSCE support scientific research on crime, society, criminal law and justice reform.
The Faculty of Law, University of Tirana, in cooperation with the OSCE Presence and the University of Pavia, organized the international scientific conference "Crime, society, criminal law and reform in justice", on June 10, 2024. The participants extensively discussed the current trends of crime and the response of criminal justice to crime, through prevention, counteraction, awareness and rehabilitation of perpetrators, including students of the Master's in Criminology who have done scientific research, other students of this program, academic staff of the Faculties of Law and Social Sciences , well-known researchers, judges, prosecutors and doctoral candidates.
"The main goal of the conference is the involvement of young researchers to be part of quality scientific activities. The establishment of the Research Center of Criminology will increase the training of young researchers and there will be opportunities to benefit from funds in study projects", said the rector of the University of Tirana, Prof. Dr. Artan Hoxha.
The Dean of the Faculty of Law, Dorina Hoxha, said that the priority of the center's scientific activities will be the study of the causes and prevention of criminality, in all its dimensions.
Mauro Puzzo, head of the OSCE Presence Department for the Rule of Law and Human Rights, the director of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs at the American Embassy in Albania, John Kastning, as well as University academics, participated in the conference. of Pavia and the Institute of Criminology of the University of Cambridge.
The conference was organized as part of the OSCE Presence project "Establishing a Master's Program in Criminology", which is financially supported by the United States Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and implemented in close cooperation with the Faculty of Law of the University of Tirana and with the support of the Faculty of Social Sciences, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior.
The Master's in Criminology, the first of its kind in Albania, is a multidisciplinary, research-oriented program. It offers a comprehensive and integrated curriculum that enables careers in various areas of the justice system. The program enables students to explore the interrelationships between crime, justice and society, in a comparative context, as well as the promotion of restorative justice for victims and victim-centred responses. Through the master's program, Presence aims to improve the investigative capacities of professionals, academics and policy makers in Albania in identifying the root causes of crime.
One of the achievements of the project is the establishment of the Criminology Research Center at the Faculty of Law. Through the Centre, scientific research will be subject to quality control and compliance with the legal framework, to provide accurate analysis on the root causes, patterns, drivers of crime and crime prevention. Research in criminology lies at the heart of criminology theory, influences the development of social, public and security policies, and informs the practice of criminal justice.
