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Institute & Association

Learn more about our history, goals and organisation.

The Criminological Research Institut of Lower Saxony

The Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony (KFN) is an independent, interdisciplinary research institute established in 1979 by the then Minister of Justice of Lower Saxony, Prof. Dr. Hans-Dieter Schwind. Its mandate is to carry out and promote practice-oriented criminological research as an independent research establishment. The institute works closely with the University of Göttingen on the basis of a cooperation agreement.

KFN is supported by a non-profit association. KFN is funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry for Science and Culture under the Ministry’s institutional funding programme.

The Institute

The KFN receives institutional funding from the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture for its basic financing.


In recent years, the KFN has also raised a considerable amount of third-party funding for almost all of the research projects it is currently working on. Third-party funding has come from the German Research Foundation (DFG), various foundations, federal and state ministries, crime prevention councils, cities, counties and municipalities.


Funding from state funds is an essential prerequisite for attracting third-party funding. It allows the KFN to attract top talents from various disciplines who themselves raise research funding and thus create new jobs for researchers.

Organs of the Association are:

Institute’s Board of Directors

The Executive Board is the association’s governing body within the meaning of Section 26 of the German Civil Code (BGB). It represents the association externally, manages the institute and bears scientific responsibility. It also regularly informs the committees, implements resolutions and can be expanded in the event of a change in management.

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees supervises the Board of Directors and decides on fundamental matters concerning the Institute. It appoints the Board of Directors, elects the Advisory Board and approves research plans and budgets. Its tasks also include auditing the annual accounts and approving the actions of the Board of Directors.

Current Members of the Association

Among other things, the Members of the Association pass resolutions on amendments to the Statute, the admission and exclusion of members, and the dissolution of the Association and the Institute. In addition, the Members may submit proposals to the Institute’s Board of Directors regarding research planning and research projects.

Advisory Board

The Advisory Board advises the Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees on scientific matters and issues statements on research work. The members are appointed partly by the association and partly by the Board of Trustees on the recommendation of the Board of Directors, and are appointed by the Ministry.

KFN-Statute

The Statute of the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony (KFN) form the legal basis for the association’s work. Among other things, they define the non-profit purpose, the tasks of the institute, and the structure and responsibilities of the association’s bodies.
The current version of the statutes dated 8 December 2023 is available here as a PDF:

PDF file
Board of Trustees

  • Höffler, Prof. Dr. Katrin, University of Leipzig
  • Holler, Prof. Dr. Anke, Vice-Chancellor of the Georg-August-University of Göttingen
  • Huster, Dr. Sebastian, Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture
  • Jehle, Prof. em. Dr. h.c. Jörg-Martin, Georg-August-University of Göttingen [advisory member]
  • Krahé, Prof. Dr. Barbara, University of Potsdam 
  • Lösel, Prof. em. Dr. Dr. h.c. Friedrich, University of Cambridge 
  • Meier, Prof. Dr. Bernd-Dieter, Leibniz University of Hannover
  • N. N. Chair of the Advisory Board
  • Speyer, Martin, Ministry of Justice of Lower Saxony
Current Members of the Association

  • Arloth, Prof. Dr. Frank, Senior Official of the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice
    and honorary professor at the University of Augsburg.
  • Baur, Dr. Alexander, Georg-August-University of Göttingen
  • Boetticher, Dr. Axel, Federal Judge retired
  • Brettel, Prof. Dr. iur Dr. med. Hauke, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
  • Dünkel, Prof. Dr. Frieder, University of Greifswald
  • Egg, Prof. Dr. Rudolf, Former Director Centre for Criminology, Wiesbaden
  • Höffler, Prof. Dr. Katrin, University of Leipzig [membership is suspended]
  • Jehle, Prof. em. Dr. h.c. Jörg-Martin, Georg-August-University of Göttingen
  • Kaspar, Prof. Dr. Johannes, University of Augsburg
  • Koller, Matthias, Chief Judge at Regional Court Göttingen
  • Krahé, Prof. Dr. Barbara, University of Potsdam [membership is suspended]
  • Limperg, Bettina, President of the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe
  • Lösel, Prof. em. Dr. Dr. h.c. Friedrich, University of Cambridge [membership is suspended]
  • Marks, Prof. h.c. (Odessa) Erich, CEO German Prevention Congress, Hannover
  • Meier, Prof. Dr. Bernd-Dieter, Leibniz University of Hannover [membership is suspended]
  • Schneider, Dr. Ursula, Judge at the Federal Court of Justice
  • Schwind, Prof. em. Dr. Hans-Dieter, University of Bochum (†)
  • Steinl, Dr. Leonie LL.M., Humboldt-Universität of Berlin
  • Thomsen, Prof. Dr. Stephan Lothar, University of Hannover
  • Wetzels, Prof. Dr. Peter, University of Hamburg
Advisory Board

  • Brettfeld, Prof. Dr. Katrin, Universität Hamburg
  • Dünkel, Prof. Dr. Frieder, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald
  • Egg, Prof. Dr. Rudolf, ehem. Leiter Kriminologische Zentralstelle e.V. Wiesbaden
  • Haverkamp, Prof. Dr. Rita, Universität Tübingen
  • Kemme, Prof. Dr. jur. Dipl. Psych. Stefanie, Universität Münster
  • Kölbel, Prof. Dr. jur. Ralf, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
  • Spiel, Prof. Dr. Dr. Christiane, Universität Wien
  • Thomsen, Prof. Dr. Stephan Lothar, Leibniz Universität Hannover
Founding Members of the Association

  • Böhm, Prof. Dr. Alexander (Mainz)
  • Kaiser, Prof. Dr. Günther (Freiburg)
  • Kerner, Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen (Heidelberg)
  • Müller-Luckmann, Prof. Dr. Elisabeth (Braunschweig)
  • Grützner, Wolfgang als Deputy of the President oft the Department for Law Enforcement (Celle)
  • Schöch, Prof. Dr. Heinz (Göttingen)
  • Schwind, Prof. Dr. Hans-Dieter (Bochum)
  • Steinhilper, Dr. Gernot (Hannover)
Former Members of the Association

  • Böhm, Prof. Dr. Alexander (Mainz)
  • Dencker, Prof. Dr. Friedrich (Hannover)
  • Greve, Prof. Dr. Werner (Hildesheim)
  • Grützner, Wolfgang, President oft the Department for Law Enforcement (Celle)
  • Henze, Horst, State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice of Lower Saxony (Hannover)
  • Hoops, Andrea, State Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony (Hannover)
  • Horstkotte, Dr. Hartmuth, Judge at the Federal Supreme Court (Berlin)
  • Jeserich, Hans-Dieter, President oft the Department for Law Enforcement (Celle)
  • Jesse, Jörg, ehem. Ministry of Justice of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
  • Kaiser, Prof. Dr. Günther (Freiburg)
  • Kerner, Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen (Tübingen)
  • Lange, Dr. Josef (Hannover)
  • Litten, Dr. Rainer, State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice of Lower Saxony (Hannover)
  • Müller-Luckmann, Prof. Dr. Elisabeth (Braunschweig)
  • Oehlerking, Dr. Jürgen, State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice of Lower Saxony (Hannover)
  • Otte, Stefanie, State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice of Lower Saxony (Hannover)
  • Pfeiffer, Prof. Dr. Christian (Hannover)
  • Robra, Rainer, Head of Section Criminal Law at the Ministry of Justice of Lower Saxony (Hannover)
  • Rüping, Prof. Dr. Hinrich (Hannover)
  • Scheibel, Wolfgang, State Secretary (Hannover)
  • Schreiber, Prof. Dr. Hans-Ludwig, State Secretary (Hannover)
  • Steinhilper, Dr. Gernot (Hannover)
  • Walter, Prof. Dr. Michael (Köln)
  • Wegener, Hartmut, Sozial Department Counsellor (Lüneburg)