Short bio
Luc Robert studied criminology (2001) and social and cultural anthropology (2003) at KU Leuven. He also holds a Ph.D. in criminology (2018) from KU Leuven, with a dissertation entitled: Maxing out in prison. A study of pre-release long-term prisoners (supervisors: Prof. Johan Goethals and Prof. Alison Liebling).
In 2003, Luc became a teaching assistant and researcher at the Leuven Institute of Criminology, until taking on a new challenge in Brussels. From September 2010 until the end of 2018, he was first a junior and then a senior researcher at the Operational Direction of Criminology at the National Institute of Criminalistics (Forensic Sciences) and Criminology (NICC) in Brussels. Luc was awarded a 3-year research grant from the Research Fund of Ghent University and has joined the IRCP in Ghent since January 2019. Since his new position in 2019, he became a visiting research fellow at the NICC, where he conducts an important part of his research.
Luc has conducted qualitative and quantitative research on a wide range of penological topics, including restorative justice in prisons, prison leave (decision making), prisoner and prison classification, release from prison, prison legislation, recidivism and reintegration, with a recent interest in questions of criminal careers, with a particular focus on sex offenders.
Work details
- EMAIL: luc.robert@ugent.be
- TELEPHONE: +32 9 264 69 30
- TELEPHONE SECRETARIAT: +32 9 264 69 30
- ADRESS: Universiteitstraat 4, Ghent, Belgium
- ORCID: 0000-0002-8740-4766
Selected societal impact activities
- Science communication e.g. Cinematek: introduction of the Woodsman (2018), interviews with newspapers about results of research and about certain incidents e.g. ‘Elke dag 9 verkrachtingen. Maar hoeveel daders voor de tweede, derde of vierde keer toeslaan? Dat weet justitie niet.’ (newspaper article)
- 2016-2017 – Policy advice e.g. member of inter-ministerial working group on recidivism, assistance to the Cabinet of the Minister of Justice in answering Parliamentary questions related to recidivism
- 15/09/2018 – De Standaard (newspaper) – Opinion piece in newspaper,
- 2017 – Collaboration with PANO on life sentence prisoners
Selected media
- 15/02/2018 – de Juristenkrant (magazine) – Interview: Voorwaardelijke invrijheidstelling: ‘Tijd om systeem fundamenteel in vraag te stellen’
- 26/05/2015 – VRT NWS – Meer dan de helft van de veroordeelden is recidivist
- 18/03/2015 – Eos wetenschap – Criminelen beteren hun leven na enkelband
Selected events
- 12/12/2018 – Antwerp – Pantopicon meeting over seksueel grensoverschrijdend gedrag, seksuele delinquentie en seksueel strafrecht
- 08/03/2018 – Brussels – Internatioinal Symposium Sex Offenders
- 3/12/2015 – Antwerp – Studienamiddag met boekpresentatie Quo vadis? Tien jaar basiswet gevangeniswezen en rechtspositie van gedetineerden
Expertise
- Penology
- Criminal careers
Selected projects
Selected publications
- Robert, L., Spaan, P., Blokland, A., Maes, E., Pauwels, L., Blom, M. & Wartna, B.S.J. (2018). Hoe ‘anders’ zijn de criminele carrières van seksuele delinquenten? Een vergelijking van seksuele met niet-seksuele delinquenten op basis van nationale veroordelingsdata in België en Nederland. Panopticon, 39(6), 519-539.
- Daems, T. & Robert, L. (Eds.) (2017). Europe in Prisons. Assessing the Impact of European Institutions on National Prison Systems. Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Robert, L., Maes, E., Blokland, A. & Wermink, H. (2017). ‘Virtual’ versus ‘real’ prison: which is best? Comparing the re-incarceration rates after electronic monitoring and imprisonment in Belgium. In: A. Blokland & V. van der Geest (Eds.), The Routledge International Handbook of Life-Course Criminology. (pp.417-435). London: Routledge.