About the Journal

Criminological Activity is an international journal of research and practice founded and published by the Research Institute of Criminology of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The Institute provides scholarly and editorial oversight of the journal.

The journal publishes original research articles, reviews, theoretical and methodological papers, and short scientific communications on applied criminology, the prevention of offences, the organisation and evaluation of preventive activities, law enforcement practice and public safety.

The journal was registered on 21 October 2024 (registration number C-5669658; certificate No.448602).

Print ISSN: 3060-5024

The journal aims to advance evidence-based criminological practice, disseminate research findings that contribute to crime prevention and improve the effectiveness of preventive measures, and strengthen national and international research cooperation. The journal welcomes researchers and practitioners from different countries, with particular attention to Uzbekistan and Central Asia and to the significance of this research for international scholarship and practice.

Quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, comparative legal and theoretical research is accepted. A manuscript must contain a clear research question or objective, a description of methods and sources, a discussion of limitations and a scholarly contribution that goes beyond a descriptive account of legislation or institutional activities. Studies evaluating prevention programmes and practical interventions must explain the evidence supporting conclusions about their effectiveness and the conditions for their potential application in other legal, social and institutional settings.

Subject Area

Social Sciences.

Subject Categories

The journal’s scope aligns with the following categories of the All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) used in Scopus:

  • Law, ASJC 3308.

  • Sociology and Political Science, ASJC 3312.

The journal’s principal research specialisation is applied criminology, the prevention of offences, law enforcement and the evaluation of measures to ensure public safety. These subject categories describe the journal’s research profile and do not indicate its inclusion in Scopus.

Research Areas

  • Applied criminological research, crime analysis methods and the evaluation of preventive measures.

  • Criminological monitoring and forecasting, spatial and temporal crime analysis, and crime risk assessment.

  • Social, community-based, situational and individual prevention of offences.

  • The work of mahallas, local community participation and interagency cooperation in crime prevention.

  • The organisation and evaluation of the work of internal affairs bodies, prevention services and other actors involved in the prevention of offences.

  • Public safety, police–community relations, procedural justice and public trust.

  • The prevention of juvenile delinquency, child protection and early preventive support.

  • The prevention of domestic and gender-based violence, victim support and the prevention of repeat victimisation.

  • Probation, the prevention of reoffending, rehabilitation and the social reintegration of people who have committed offences.

  • The prevention of corruption, economic and financial crime, and fraud.

  • Combating organised and transnational crime, human trafficking, and the illicit trafficking of drugs and weapons.

  • The prevention of cybercrime, digital victimisation and online fraud.

  • Digital technologies, artificial intelligence and analytical tools in prevention and law enforcement, including their reliability, limitations, fairness and impact on human rights.

  • International cooperation, comparative analysis of international experience, and the implementation and evaluation of prevention programmes.

The journal’s main thematic sections are Analysis and Research, International Cooperation, International Experience, and Researcher’s Forum.

Contributions in law, criminalistics, psychology, sociology, public administration and technology fall within the journal’s scope if they make a clear contribution to the scientific basis of preventive activities, the prevention of victimisation, the improvement of law enforcement practice or public safety.

Publication Frequency

Criminological Activity is published four times a year. Each issue contains at least six scholarly articles.

Manuscripts are accepted throughout the year. Research articles are published following an initial editorial assessment, independent peer review, any necessary revisions and final acceptance. Submission of a manuscript does not guarantee acceptance or publication within a fixed period.

Publication Languages

The journal accepts manuscripts in Uzbek, Russian and English. Each research article must include a title, abstract and keywords in English, as well as author names and institutional affiliations in the Latin script. Language and formatting requirements are set out in the Author Guidelines.

Open Access and Copyright

The journal provides immediate open access to published articles without subscription, registration or an embargo period.

Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. This licence permits sharing and adaptation, including commercial use, provided that the authors and source are credited, a link to the licence is supplied and any changes are indicated. Third-party materials are covered by the licence only to the extent specified in the relevant rights holder’s notice.

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication. The applicable licence is stated in each article. Previously published materials are not automatically transferred to the new licence.

Peer Review Process

Research and review articles, as well as short scientific communications, undergo double-anonymous peer review. Authors submit an anonymised manuscript and a separate title page; the identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from one another.

Following an initial editorial screening, the manuscript is assessed by at least two independent reviewers with appropriate expertise and no conflicts of interest. The assessment considers originality, theoretical or practical contribution, methodological rigour, adequacy of evidence, compliance with ethical requirements and whether the conclusions are supported by the results. For papers on prevention programmes and law enforcement practice, the assessment also considers the justification for practical recommendations and the conditions for their application.

The Editor-in-Chief or an authorised editor decides whether to accept, request revisions to or reject the manuscript, taking into account the reviews and the authors’ responses. An editor with a conflict of interest recuses themselves from the process. Manuscripts submitted by editorial board members are handled by an independent editor under the same standards.

Editorial content and announcements are identified separately from peer-reviewed research. Appeals and complaints are handled in accordance with the journal’s published procedures.

Founder and Publishing Activities

Founder, publisher and responsible research institution:
Criminological Research Institute of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The Institute provides organisational and financial support for the journal. The Institute’s Editorial and Publishing Centre prepares the publication layout and prints the journal.

By Decision No. 367/5 of 12 February 2025 of the Presidium of the Higher Attestation Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the journal was included in the list of scientific publications recommended for publishing the principal findings of dissertation research in legal sciences.

Decisions concerning scholarly assessment, peer review and the acceptance of manuscripts fall within the remit of the Editor-in-Chief and authorised editors. As founder, publisher and funder, the Institute safeguards editorial independence. Departmental, commercial and financial interests do not determine the content of peer reviews or publication decisions.

Publication and Research Ethics

The journal’s ethical policies are based on the Core Practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Authors disclose funding sources, conflicts of interest and individual contributions, and are responsible for the accuracy and integrity of their work.

Research involving human participants, interviews, surveys, case files or identifiable personal data must include information on applicable ethical approval or exemption, consent procedures and confidentiality safeguards. Institutional permission does not replace participants’ voluntary consent where such consent is required.

Additional safeguards apply to children, people in detention, victims and other participants at risk of coercion or harm. Participation must not affect a person’s treatment, punishment or access to services. Identifying information is protected, including against re-identification through a combination of details.

Research conducted in law enforcement agencies and other institutions takes into account participants’ employment-related dependence and the possible influence of organisational hierarchies on voluntary participation. Official, operational and other restricted-access materials may be used only where appropriate grounds exist and confidentiality requirements are observed.

Research Data and Artificial Intelligence

Empirical articles must include a data availability statement explaining access arrangements or justified restrictions. Open data requirements do not provide grounds for disclosing personal, confidential or restricted-access information. Appropriate anonymisation, aggregation or controlled access should be used wherever possible.

Generative AI cannot be listed as an author. Substantial use of AI in preparing a manuscript must be disclosed, and its use as a research method must be documented. Authors verify AI outputs and references. Reviewers and editors do not upload confidential manuscripts to publicly accessible AI services or delegate the scholarly assessment of a paper to AI. The use of AI does not in itself establish misconduct; an AI detector score alone is not a basis for rejection.

Studies using algorithms for crime forecasting, risk assessment or support for law enforcement decisions must describe data sources, model validation methods, limitations, potential biases and implications for human rights.

Author Fees

No fees are charged for manuscript submission or peer review.

The standard fee for processing and publishing one accepted article — the Article Processing Charge (APC) — is USD 100.

Up to and including 31 December 2026, all article preparation and publication costs are fully covered by the budget of the Criminological Research Institute of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Authors are exempt from the APC and any other publication charges.

The waiver applies to articles formally accepted for publication on or before 31 December 2026, including those published after that date. The initial manuscript submission date does not in itself determine eligibility for the waiver.

For articles formally accepted for publication on or after 1 January 2027, an APC of USD 100 per article applies. Payment is requested only after final acceptance of the manuscript. No APC is charged for rejected manuscripts.

Payment procedures and information on any additional waivers or discounts are published on the Author Fees page. Hidden or previously undisclosed charges are not permitted. Institute funding, payment of the APC and waivers do not influence peer review or editorial decisions.

Plagiarism and Research Misconduct

Plagiarism, undisclosed duplicate publication, simultaneous submission, fabrication or falsification of data, misleading image manipulation, citation manipulation and misrepresentation of authorship are not permitted.

Manuscripts are assessed for originality. Where text-matching software is used, reports are interpreted in context; a similarity percentage alone does not determine whether plagiarism has occurred.

Reports of misconduct are considered objectively, and authors are given an opportunity to respond. Depending on the findings, the journal may reject a manuscript or publish a correction, an expression of concern or a retraction notice. Post-publication notices identify the affected article and explain the action taken; published materials are not altered or removed without notice. Detailed procedures are set out in the journal’s relevant policies.


ISSN 3060-5024 (Online)