Mareile Kaufmann

Mareile Kaufmann is a Professor at the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law at the University of Oslo, where she has been employed since 2021. Previously, she served as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the same department from 2016-2021. She also held research positions at the Peace Research Institute Oslo from 2011-2021. Her work focuses on digital criminology, surveillance practices, and the societal impacts of emerging technologies, with particular emphasis on data practices and their implications for law enforcement and security.

Professor Kaufmann's educational background includes:

• PhD in Resilience - Governance and in/security in interconnected societies (summa cum laude), Universität Hamburg, Germany (2016)
• Master in International Criminology, Universität Hamburg, Germany (2008)
• Bachelor in Cultural Studies, Sociology, European University Frankfurt [Oder], Germany (2006)

Her research interests center around digital criminology and the intersection of technology, security, and society. She examines how digital data practices shape contemporary forms of governance, surveillance, and policing. Her work combines theoretical insights with empirical research, drawing on interviews and collaborations with diverse groups including intelligence officers, forensic scientists, software developers, and social media users. She investigates how technologies like DNA analysis, predictive policing algorithms, and surveillance systems transform criminal justice practices and societal understandings of security. Her approach is interdisciplinary, bridging criminology, science and technology studies, and sociology of law to understand the complex relationships between digital technologies and social order.

Professor Kaufmann's recent publications reveal a sustained focus on the material and social dimensions of digital data in criminological contexts. Her work examines how data practices shape forensic science, policing, and surveillance, with particular attention to the ways digital information becomes actionable knowledge. She has made significant contributions to understanding the role of DNA in law enforcement, the politics of predictive policing algorithms, and methodological approaches to studying online communities. Her research demonstrates how digital technologies are not merely tools but active participants in reshaping criminological knowledge and practices. The interdisciplinary nature of her work is evident in publications spanning criminology, sociology, information studies, and forensic science journals.

Her notable scientific achievements include:

• University of Oslo Award for Young Researchers (2023)
• Sir Leon Radzinowicz Prize for the article "Predictive Policing and the Politics of Patterns"
• Lieselotte Pongratz Stiftung Publication Grant
• Übersee-Club stipend for gifted young academics

Professor Kaufmann actively supervises BA, MA, and PhD students in her areas of expertise and encourages students interested in digital criminology to contact her. She has secured significant research funding including an ERC Starting Grant for her project "Digital DNA" and a Research Council of Norway grant for "Bodies of Evidence." Her research has been consulted by various Norwegian governmental bodies including the Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board, the Norwegian Data Protection Commission, and the Norwegian Department of Justice and Preparedness. She serves on the editorial boards of Qualitative Research and the Nordic Journal of Criminology, and regularly peer reviews for research funding agencies and academic journals.

She leads several research initiatives including the ERC-funded project on "the changing relationships between digital technologies and DNA" and the Research Council of Norway-funded project "Bodies of Evidence." Her work connects with broader networks such as the Critical Data Network and the Nordic Center for Security Technologies and Societal Values (NordSteva).