Research course studies the effects of COVID-19 on the correctional system

Posted on Friday, May 8, 2020

The Department of Criminology is offering a directed research course, Criminalization in the Crisis: Impacts of COVID-19, this Spring-Summer term. Students will explore how the pandemic is affecting the flow of people into, within and out of Canadian jails, prisons and penitentiaries. Developments in public health, policing and courts that shape this process will also be examined.

Professor Justin Piché explains why he felt it was important to change the topic of his course: “With COVID-19 having a profound impact on policing, the judiciary and imprisonment, I wanted to put together a directed research course that would provide students with an opportunity to learn about and produce knowledge on emerging trends in criminalization and punishment. My hope is that the knowledge we will acquire and co-create together will make a difference in how communities and governments understand and respond to the pandemic in more inclusive, just and effective ways.”

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