About us
The Institute of Criminology and Social Prevention (IKSP) is a research organisation within the justice department. Its subject of activity is criminological research based on an interdisciplinary approach, specifically research, study and analytic activities in the field of criminal and security policy, efficacy of penal legislation, victimology and penology, control of crime through repression and prevention, manifestations and causes of crime and pre-crime and related socio-pathological phenomena.
The Institute's main objective is to contribute to formulating criminal and sanction policies, the functioning of the criminal justice system and creation of quality legislation, focused on the more effective control of crime. The specific position of the IKSP is given by the fact that the Institute is the only specialised workplace in the Czech Republic that consistently conducts criminological research.
The founder of the Institute is the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic, which approves the Institute's plan of research tasks. The Institute is a separate organisation unit of the government. It is financed primarily from the government budget through the budget chapter of the Czech Ministry of Justice with supplements from other sources designated for financing of research and development of research organisations. The Institute's tasks are assigned by the Minister of Justice through the Deputy Minister, or by the Czech government.
The Institute of Criminology and Social Prevention is the second oldest criminological institute in Europe. It was founded in 1960 as an expert workplace for the former prosecution department as well as the justice and interior departments; shortly after its foundation it adopted the name Criminological Research Institute. The present name, accepted in 1990, accentuates prevention as an effective means of controlling crime and the links between criminological research and the application of its results in prevention and criminal policy. The Institute has shifted under the competence of the Czech Ministry of Justice since 1994.
Users
The Institute provides its findings particularly in the area of criminology and penal policy to the relevant state institutions and other users and recommends conceptual, legislative, organisational and other adequate measures for these and related areas.
The factual and theoretical database created by the IKSP is provided both to the state bodies and institutions and to the academic community for teaching of criminology at universities, for education in social care and other related fields at universities and specialised secondary schools. The users of IKSP research include mainly organisations and institutions of the justice department (Czech Ministry of Justice, judicial bodies, Prison Service, Probation and Mediation Service, Justice Academy and others), followed by the interior department, in particular the bodies of the Czech Police and Police Academy of the Czech Republic, inter-departmental bodies such as the Republic Committee for Crime Prevention and through it state administrative authorities and local government bodies on a regional and municipal level that participate in implementing the Crime Prevention Strategy, other government advisory bodies and also departments of education, youth and sports and labour and social affairs. The research results are available to the Czech Parliament and Czech Government Office. Additionally, the results of IKSP's research activity are published on the IKSP website and are freely accessible to the general public.
For foreign research sites and international governmental and non-governmental organisations, IKSP is the usual partner for acquiring relevant research findings on the state and development of crime and related phenomena in the Czech Republic.
IKSP contributes to educating the employees of judicial bodies in cooperation with the Judicial Academy, and also cooperates with Czech law faculties, the Police Academy of the Czech Republic, the Philosophical Faculty and Faculty of Social Studies of Charles University in Prague, other universities, higher specialised school, etc. in preparing future lawyers, employees of law enforcement agencies and specialised social workers.
IKSP is a member of international scientific or expert organisations (International Society for Criminology, International Association of Penal Law, World Society of Victimology, ISPAC, European Crime Prevention Network). It cooperates with other international and domestic scientific or expert organisations (European Society of Criminology, CEP, PRI, Czech Sociological Society, Czech National Group of the International Association of Penal Law, etc.). IKSP is among the initiators for the foundation of the Czech Society of Criminology.
Research activities
The Institute conducts research based on middle-term plans which stem primarily from conceptual documents of the Government of the Czech Republic or the Ministry of Justice concerning the Institute's subject of activity and from suggestions formulated by the main research project stakeholders.
The main research tasks for the current period were stipulated and approved by the Ministry of Justice in the Middle-Term Plan of Research Activities of ICSP for 2020-2023. This plan respects the Justice Department’s basic priorities concerning criminal policy and the operations of departmental organisations. The plan takes into account the government's conceptual documents, such as the Prison Conception until 2025, Conception of Development of Probation and Mediation until 2025, The Crime Prevention Strategy in the Czech Republic, the Czech Security Research Program and others. Based on evaluation of actual knowledge at disposal, conceptual documents and the Justice Department’s research needs, after consultations with main research project stakeholders and by taking into account the real ICSP’s capacity, four key areas of research were formulated and approved: A. Penal Policy; B. Penological Research; C. Crime Trends; D. Serious Crime. Following research tasks were established within the framework of the above-mentioned research focus areas.
Basic thematic strands of research:
A. Penal Policy
This strand of research will be filled with the following tasks:
- Factors of Recidivism and the Process of Desistance in the Context of Conditional Release from the Custodial Sentence.
- Application of Conditional Release in Practice.
- Electronic Surveillance Implementation in the CR.
- Minors under 15 Years of Age in the Justice System in the Context of the Act on Criminal Liability of Juveniles for Wrongful Acts and on Juvenile Justice.
B. Penological Research
This strand of research will be filled with the following tasks:
- Implementation of the New Differentiation in the Czech Prison System (Prison Types Reduction).
- Penological Research on Inmates’ Preparation for Release.
- Interconnection between Penitentiary and Post-Penitentiary Care for Sentenced Drug Users.
- Analysis of functioning of the institute of security detention.
C. Crime Trends
This strand of research will be filled with the following tasks:
- Annual Analytical Review of Registered Crime Rates and Penal Policy Development.
- Research on Victims of Crime.
- Public Opinion on Selected Crime and Crime Prevention Issues.
D. Serious Crime
This strand of research will be filled with the following tasks:
- Criminological Research on Offenders and Victims of Domestic and Gender-Based Violence in the CR.
- The Cyber-Crime Trends Review.
Publication activity
IKSP publishes an internal series of ca. 200 copies of the individual titles. The publications are provided to the users of IKSP research results, in particular state institutions, specialised libraries and libraries at selected universities and scientific institutions. The results of IKSP research are published in the "STUDIES" series. The "SOURCES" series includes primarily the translations of foreign legal regulations, international documents, foreign scientific studies and other important legal and criminological materials.
The IKSP series is available in full-text format on this website (in Czech language; for English summaries see Publications. Research findings are also published in specialised periodicals (Česká kriminologie, Trestněprávní revue, Kriminalistika, Trestní právo, Státní zastupitelství, Bezpečnostní teorie a praxe etc.) and other specialised publications.
Organisation structure
The number of IKSP employees is stipulated at 24 people. IKSP is divided into the research section, economic division and secretariat. Research projects are solved within research teams under the leadership of responsible researchers.
IKSP management:
Director: JUDr. Petr Zeman, Ph.D.
Secretary: Mgr. Jan Rozum
Head of the Research Section: Mgr. Jakub Holas
Head of the Economic Division: Mgr. Bc. Kateřina Juricová