Austrian Center for Law Enforcement Sciences

ALES is the interdisciplinary research center for modern law enforcement, covering all aspects of police law, criminal law, criminal procedure law, and correctional law. It also addresses issues in criminology and legal psychology. In particular, our research focuses on the interconnection of these research areas, as well as their intersections with other security-related topics and cross-cutting issues.

1. Research

We conduct research projects on various security-related topics, either independently or in collaboration with other research institutions and stakeholders. This research covers the following subject areas:

• Criminal policy measures
• Police law and all aspects of police work (criminal investigation, general public safety, domestic security, administrative police)
• Issues in Substantive Criminal Law
• Issues in Criminal Procedure
• Issues in the Corrections System
• Crime Prevention
• The Work of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and Criminal Courts
• Impact Research
• Cross-cutting Issues (e.g., data protection law, the use of artificial intelligence, human rights, media relations and public outreach)

We examine existing practices and processes within the executive and judicial branches and identify opportunities for improvement; we develop implementation proposals tailored to the needs of public safety in Austria; and we serve as a knowledgeable point of contact for all matters related to law enforcement. We conduct both legal-theoretical and empirical research. Here you will find an overview of some of the research projects we have carried out to date, which demonstrate the breadth of our services.

2. Training and Continuing Education

   We offer training and continuing education opportunities for stakeholders. This includes our own courses covering all our research fields, as well as our participation in existing training programs and international collaborations.

    

3. Events

   We regularly organize conferences and symposia on current topics within our research areas. These include the ALES Annual Conference and individual events on specialized topics. In addition, we participate as experts in events organized by other institutions and host conferences and symposia in collaboration with other research institutions.