Miranda Boone is Professor of Criminology and Comparative Penology at the Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology.

More information about Miranda Boone

Miranda Boone was appointed Professor of Criminology and Comparative Criminology at Leiden University on 15 May 2017. Before that, she was professor by special appointment of penal law and penology at the University of Groningen (2011-2017) and senior lecturer in criminal and criminal procedure law at Utrecht University (2003-2017). Together with Marloes van Noorloos, she coordinates the research programme Criminal Justice: Societally Effective Criminal Justice (2023-2029). Until January 2026, she was also coordinator of an interdisciplinary research project on conflict-solving justice in the context of the national Law Sector Plan in the Netherlands.

She is a criminologist and criminal law lawyer who conducts research at the interface of criminology and criminal law. Her research focuses mainly on sentencing and enforcement. She is qualified in developing, executing and leading international comparative research projects in the field of criminal justice. In particular, she investigates the decision-making processes in the application and enforcement of sanctions from both a social science and normative perspective.

She conducted research for the European Commission, NWO, the WODC, the probation service and Police & Science. Her inaugural lecture at Leiden University was about supervision by the probation service of suspects and convicts in society. She edited a textbook on the relationship between criminology and criminal law (Boone and Brants 2020, 3rd edition), and conducted a literature study into the living environment in penitentiary institutions (Boone, Althoff, Koenraadt 2016). Together with Jennifer Doekhie and researchers from Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, she is conducting multi-year research into decision-making following non-compliance with conditions in probation supervision.

In 2021 she received a grant from NWO to coordinate a five-year research project into differences in detention populations between Belgium and the Netherlands. Together with Thomas Ugelvick, she is a co-applicant for the ERC Advanced grant for Rehabilitation and Reintegration in Scotland, the Netherlands and Norway, received by Fergus McNeill in 2025.

Phd students

• Lorenz Pardon, Jail Craft of Prison officers in Post-Authoritarian Prisons. A Comparative Research in Belgium and the Netherlands (expected PhD defence date: spring 2026).
• Jill van Rijt, Normalisation in prison: a comparative study of normalization in Dutch and Norwegian prisons. Buitenpromovendus (expected PhD defence date: 2026).
• Hester de Boer, Explaining differences in prison populations: the Netherlands versus Belgium. The Netherlands (expected PhD defence date: 2026)
• Olivier Nuyts, Explaining differences in prison populations: the Netherlands versus Belgium. Belgium (expected PhD defence date: 2026)
• Vera Oosterhuis: Continuity of Forensic Care (expected PhD defence date: 2026).
• Emily Gossey, The Onboarding of Prison officers: a comparative research between Belgium and the Netherlands (expected PhD defence date: 2027)
• Manuela Dias. Harm reduction in practice. A comparative analysis of the Dutch and Brazilian approach towards drugs users (expected PhD defence date: 2027)
• Bram de Heide, Prison food: incarcerated persons’ food needs and satisfaction (expected PhD defence date: 2027)
• Thijs van Beek, Discretion in screening and the (un)intended consequences for applicants with and without a criminal record (expected PhD defence date: 2029)

See Miranda Boone's CV

Publications

Activities