Criminology students visit Slovenia for international crime and harm reduction discussions

International Fieldwork in Criminology

Students and staff from the Criminology Department, School of Justice Studies recently spent a week in Ljubljana, Slovenia to discuss crime and harm reduction with a range of governmental and non-governmental organisations. 

The trip, which was part of the level 6’s international fieldwork in criminology module, saw the students meet with the Slovenian Ministry of Health, Slovenian Probation Administration (Ministry of Justice), DrogArt, Stigma and the Peace Institute. 

A small group of students also got the opportunity to visit the Ig Prison for women and talk with prison staff about the support and treatment of mothers in prison, whilst another group gave a presentation on new psychoactive substances (NPS), to a class of Slovenian students at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Ljubljana. 

Dr Giles Barrett, Reader in Criminology and the module leader for the International Fieldwork in criminology said:  

“Year on year we have found this international module to be transformative in terms of students’ self-confidence and belief in their abilities. It was a huge miss for the student experience when this international-related field module was forced to move online during the pandemic. So once again for our students to get the chance to meet and speak with government and voluntary sector representatives in-person is both scary but also transformative. These opportunities to meet and converse with senior public officials would rarely happen in the UK context.” 

Final year Criminology student, Maris Cheatle commented:

“I really felt like this trip gave me a lot more confidence especially as I was worried that I would struggle with constant socialisation, but I felt like my social battery never ran out and I was really happy with my group and how we worked together. I’m also happy that I’ve gained some fieldwork research experience which I’m sure will be useful for my career path. I would definitely recommend this module to anyone, as part of the criminology course, as it caters to everyone from all backgrounds and can be a huge confidence booster.”  

Dana Connell who also took part in the field trip said:

“I have had an amazing week and experienced things I did not imagine I would when I first signed up to this module. Presenting to the University of Ljubljana and meeting with the Ministry of Health were life changing experiences that I couldn’t have done without the help of my lecturers and their confidence in me to complete these opportunities.” 

Find out more about Criminology courses or LJMU’s School of Justice Studies.