University fails societal responsibility,plans to close CJRC

22 July 2011

University fails its responsibility to society with plan to close CJRC

“Victoria University’s plan to close its Crime and Justice Research Centre (CJRC) represents a real failure in its responsibility to New Zealand society,” says its Director, Dr Michael Roguski.

CJRC is unique in New Zealand, being the country’s only applied research centre dedicated to researching criminal justice issues. For fifteen years the Centre has generated research findings that have been highly influential in shaping social policy in the government of the day (please see attached factsheet).

Victoria University is currently planning to abolish CJRC on the grounds that it has insufficient revenue.

“There is actually no valid financial argument to support the proposed closure”, says Dr Roguski. “The Centre not only covers its costs, but also consistently generates surplus funds for the university.

“More importantly, closing CJRC would deprive NZ society of an invaluable source of criminal justice knowledge and research services.

“It would be a particular tragedy for marginalised sectors of society (victims of domestic violence, women prisoners, at-risk youth) whose voice is so often represented in CJRC’s research.

“We urge the university to withdraw its proposal, and instead work alongside CJRC to properly understand the financial dynamics of an externally funded centre and further enhance its contribution to academia, government and society. To do otherwise would represent a real failure by the university in its responsibility to New Zealand society”, Dr Roguski concluded.

ENDS

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