Justin Piché

Justin Piché, PhD is Full Professor in the Department of Criminology at the University of Ottawa and Director of the Carceral Geography (Col)laboratory. His research examines the material and symbolic dimensions of criminalization and punishment, focusing on carceral infrastructure, resistance to penality, and justice alternatives.

• Affiliations:
  • Co-editor, Journal of Prisoners on Prisons (University of Ottawa Press)
  • Founding member, Criminalization and Punishment Education Project (CPEP)
  • Board member, Érudit Criminologie
  • Member, Coalition Against the Proposed Prison (CAPP)
  • Prison Pandemic Partnership (2020-2023)
• Grants:
  • SSHRC Partnership Development Grant 890-2024-0011 (Disaster Prisons Partnership)
  • SSHRC Insight Grant 435-2022-0585 (Locating Penitentiaries in Canada)
  • SSHRC Insight Development Grant 430-2022-0037 (Escape Rooms and Prison Tourism)
  • SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant 892-2023-0034

Research Trends (2023-2024): Critical analysis of carceral tourism, prison infrastructure impacts, and pandemic-era penal policies, emphasizing human rights and community-based alternatives.

• Awards:
  • 2012 SSHRC Aurora Prize
  • 2016 Young Researcher of the Year
  • 2020 Media/Community Activities Award
  • 2024 John Keith Irwin Distinguished Scholar Award
• Degrees:
  • PhD in Sociology (Carleton University, 2012)
  • MA in Criminology (University of Ottawa, 2006)
  • B.Soc.Sci. in Criminology/Sociology (University of Ottawa, 2003-2004)