About Us

The Crime and Justice Research Unit (CJRU) of the Social Science Research Center of Mississippi State University was established in 1994 as a joint effort by faculty in the Department of Sociology and Social Sciences Research Center at MSU. Since then, the Unit has become a collaborative effort between those departments and the Legal Studies Department at the University of Mississippi. Our primary objectives are (1) to promote criminological and criminal justice research by Mississippi faculty and students and (2) assist the state of Mississippi by providing timely research around criminological topics to assist in policy- and decision-making throughout the state.  The unit also aims to create opportunities for students to engage in collaborative research projects.