Criminology in Europe

Dr. Aleksandras Dobryninas is Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Department of Criminology at the Institute of Sociology and Social Work, Faculty of Philosophy, Vilnius University. Graduating from Vilnius University as a mathematician (1977), he holds doctoral degrees in Philosophy (1985) and Sociology (habilitation procedure, 2005). His research interests lie in the areas of theoretical aspects of criminological knowledge, corruption, violent crime, media and crime, and confidence and trust in criminal justice institutions. He is the author, co-author, and editor of various academic publications on criminological, sociological and philosophical issues, such as ‘Foundation of Criminology: Logical and Philosophical Aspects’ (1990), ‘Virtual Reality of Crime’ (2001), ‘Lithuanian Map of Corruption’ (2004), ‘Criminological Theories’ (2008), ‘Confidence and Trust in Lithuanian Criminal Justice System’ (2012), ‘Perception of Criminal Justice in Society’ (2014), and ‘Homicides in Lithuania; (2018). Together with his colleagues he started and implemented at Vilnius University the first, and still unique for the Baltic countries, master studies programme in sociology and criminology (1999), the joint programme for interdisciplinary (covering fields of criminal law, psychology, and sociology) studies in criminology (2008), and the bachelor studies programme in criminology (2017). Aleksandras Dobryninas has vast national and international experience in conducting policy research and organising public awareness and advocacy campaigns on the abolition of the death penalty (Lithuania, Albania, Armenia, FRY, China, Vietnam) and corruption (Lithuania, Tajikistan). He was the first Chairperson of the Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (TILS), which was established in 2000. In 2010, together with his colleagues, he took part in the organisation and establishment of the Lithuanian Criminological Association—the first professional criminological organisation in Lithuania and the Baltic countries—and later of the academic criminological journal Kriminologijos Studijos/Criminological Studies. Aleksandras Dobryninas has been a member of ESC since 2002. Between 2009 and 2012 he served as an ESC board member. He also was a chair of the Organising Committee of the 11th Annual ESC conference in Vilnius (2011).