The research group ECRIM (Criminology, Legal Psychology and Criminal Justice in the XXI century) is based at the Universidade da Coruña (UDC, A Coruña, Spain, EU), specifically in the Faculties of Law and Education Sciences.
Although initially it was made up of members of the UDC Criminal Law team, as of 2013 it underwent an important expansion, forming a new group with personnel from the areas of procedural, Roman and financial and tax law, and legal psychology of the same university. Currently, the group coordinator is Patricia Faraldo Cabana.
ECRIM is made up of about 30 members, with an average age of around 40 years, and with a relatively balanced composition in terms of gender. Although the group is formed mainly by teaching and research staff from the Universidade da Coruña, several members belong to other Spanish and Latin American universities (Universidade de Cádiz, Universidad de las Islas Baleares, Universidad de Alicante, Universidad Autónoma de Chile). Furthermore, some of the members carry out their main activity in the field of legal professions, as judges, prosecutors, lawyers and government advisers, both in Spain and abroad (European Union, Argentina). The vast majority of ECRIM members are PhDs, either in Law or in Psychology.

Our team

Research lines

ECRIM’s theoretical work is focused on a wide variety of research lines pertaining to the fields of criminological and criminal sciences. For a long time, the group has been researching on economic and corporate criminal law. Nevertheless, its theoretical work has been as well focused on the relation between globalisation processes and the criminal justice system, on issues of international criminal law, on fines and alternatives to imprisonment, on the analysis of Law and the penal system from a gender-based perspective, and on the analysis of the recent reforms in criminal and tax law. In addition, ECRIM’s members have analysed penal policies, and more precisely migration enforcement and bordered penality.

Within the realm of procedural law, ECRIM members’ research examines the current evolution of the criminal justice system and the judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters. Additionally, the research of our legal psychology sub-group is mainly focused on forensic and court psychology, prison psychology, child protection and the relation between violence and mass and social media.
The ECRIM addresses this wide range of topics mainly from criminal-policy and criminological points of view. This frame enables the analysis of the influence on the criminal justice system of the social, economic, cultural and political transformations which characterise the beginning of the 21st Century. In addition, ECRIM’s research is largely driven by an international perspective, which is evinced by frequent interventions of the group’s members in European and American conferences, as well as by international publications and participation in international research projects.

Beyond its theoretical contributions, the ECRIM has carried out consultancy research for public and private institutions, and some ECRIM’s members intensively collaborate with media outlets and Galician civil society organisations.

In a nutshell, the ECRIM is a dynamic and highly qualified research group that is aimed at grasping the role of penality in a constantly changing reality.

Our team

Ana Ballesteros Pena
Ana Ballesteros Pena
José Ángel Brandariz
José Ángel Brandariz
Miguel Caamaño Anido
Miguel Caamaño Anido
David Castro Liñares
David Castro Liñares
Miguel Clemente Diaz
Miguel Clemente Diaz
Borxa Colmenero Ferreiro
Borxa Colmenero Ferreiro
Beatriz Cruz
Beatriz Cruz
Pablo Espinosa Breen
Pablo Espinosa Breen
Patricia Faraldo Cabana
Patricia Faraldo Cabana
Cristina Fernández-Bessa
Cristina Fernández-Bessa
Sheila Fernandez Miguez
Sheila Fernandez Miguez
Xulio Ferreiro Baamonde
Xulio Ferreiro Baamonde
María-Ángeles Fuentes-Loureiro
María-Ángeles Fuentes-Loureiro
Julio García Camiñas
Julio García Camiñas
Carlos Martinez-Buján Pérez
Carlos Martinez-Buján Pérez
Roberto Andrés Navarro Dolmestch
Roberto Andrés Navarro Dolmestch
Ana María Neira Pena
Ana María Neira Pena
Luz María Puente Aba
Luz María Puente Aba
Eduardo Ramon Ribas
Eduardo Ramon Ribas
José A. Ramos Vázquez
José A. Ramos Vázquez
Adela Reig Botella
Adela Reig Botella
Silvia Rodríguez López
Silvia Rodríguez López
 Luis Rodríguez Moro
Luis Rodríguez Moro
 David Soto Díaz
David Soto Díaz
 Eva María Souto García
Eva María Souto García

The Research group on Criminology, Legal Psychology and Criminal Justice in the 21st Century, ECRIM, is based at the University of A Coruna (UDC, A Coruna, Spain, EU), more specifically at the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Educational Sciences.

The group was initially created by UDC Criminal Law researchers; however, since 2013 it has undergone a notable expansion, which led to the setting up of a new group together with UDC’s scholars of Procedural Law, other legal fields and Legal Psychology. The ECRIM is currently chaired by Professor Patricia Faraldo-Cabana.