M. (Martina) Althoff, Dr

Martina Althoff is an Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of Groningen, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology. She studied Sociology at the Westfälische Wilhelms Universität in Münster (Germany). She received her Master degree (Magister Artium) in 1988. She went on to study Criminology at the University of Hamburg. After graduation (Diplom) in 1990 she won an EU-fellowship to conduct research at the University of Cambridge (UK). In 1997 she received her PhD degree from the University of Bremen. Her doctoral thesis analyses the social construction of xenophobia („Die soziale Konstruktion von Fremdenfeindlichkeit“). She worked in Germany at the universities of Siegen, Bremen and Hildesheim.

Her main interest are the social reactions to (violent) crime as well as gender aspects of violence. Althoff's research included media hypes and media reporting on crime, and the effects of detention and sanctions policies. Together with Janine Janssen, she edited the special number "Gender (h)erkennen in recht en criminaliteit" (Justitiële Verkenningen 5, 2013). She also co-wrote the book with Miranda Boone and Frans Koenraadt "Het leefklimaat in justitiële inrichtingen" (Social climate in detention) (Boom 2016) and published the international volume "Stories of Crime and Punishment" with Bernd Dollinger and Holger Schmidt (Palgrave 2020).