1. Guilt and atonement or crime and punishment?
Crime and punishment.
2. Criminal law differs significantly both historically and nationally. But why are certain kinds of behavior considered punishable in particular times and places, and others not?
Beyond a core set of widely consensual criminal offences, criminal law is shaped by history, societal needs, and values and, ultimately, by power structures. Which types of behavior are considered particularly socially harmful in a certain period of time and in a certain society? Who can define what is a criminal offence, and which interests they pursue with such definitions?
3. Does the threat of punishment really prevent people from committing crimes?
Much less than is generally assumed. Criminological research is quite clear on this: The threat of punishment only has a deterrent effect in a certain area. It can only do so to the extent that perpetrating a criminal offence is the result of a calculating assessment. However, we are not always rational; criminal offences are often committed in exceptional emotional situations, in a state of intoxication, or due to a lack of impulse control. If a criminal offence is based on calculation, the perpetrators will often assume that their crime will not be discovered. The perceived risk of being found out is therefore more of a deterrent than the abstract threat of punishment.
4. From your point of view, how does German criminal law compare to others by international standards?
To be able to give a well-founded assessment, I don’t have enough in-depth knowledge of other criminal law systems.
5. Is there anything that should be changed in criminal legislation?
We should decriminalize certain behaviors and enforce the law on animal protection more strictly.
6. Your research interests also include media criminal law – a highly complex and dynamic field of research. What interests you here in particular?
Criminal media law is located in a particular field of tension between freedom of opinion and freedom of the media on the one hand and conflicting interests such as the protection against defamation and the state on the other. It is particularly historically influenced and increasingly affects us all in times of social media.
7. Do young people commit crimes more often than adults and if so, why?
Young people are disproportionately represented in crimes recorded by the police. This also has to do with the fact that offences committed by young people are more likely to be reported and that they are less able to conceal their criminal offences. However, we can also assume that the crime rate is actually higher. Transgressing rules is often part of learning rules. Group dynamics facilitate criminal offences, impulse control is not yet fully developed, and, in addition, young people generally simply have more time to transgress rules.
8. What does criminology deal with?
With the causes and the manifestations of behavior that is defined as criminal, with the response of the state to such behavior, and the processes that define what behavior is considered criminal.
9. What are the causes of crime?
Criminology does not agree on this and, in my opinion, there is no blanket answer. The risk factors include experiences of violence in childhood, a lack of impulse control, addiction, and a lack of prospects.
10. How can offences be tackled outside criminal law?
Franz von Liszt once said very wisely that the best criminal policy was a good social policy.
11. How exactly do legal scholars do research?
That differs widely and may range from textual exegesis to comparing laws and legal systems, to historical research, and empirical studies.
12. Do you as a researcher have any influence on policies and society and if so, what kind?
Legislators generally seek the expertise of legal scholars during the legislative process, and I hope that at least some of the discussions we initiate are also acknowledged outside the lecture hall and academic literature.
13. Do you see any need for development in legal studies at universities?
Yes, I do! Among other things, we need to counter the great psychological stress of university studies. In this respect, I can refer you to the iur.reform initiative and the issues that it addresses.
14. Is there any advice that you would like to give to prospective female lawyers in particular?
Look beyond your own horizon of experience with intellect and empathy.
15. Have you always wanted to study law?
For a long time, I wanted to become a doctor. Even during my law studies I thought about switching majors. Now, I think I made the right choice with law after all.
16. How did you come to criminal law?
I was most interested in criminal law right from the beginning, perhaps because it has a particularly strong connection to people and human factors. I decided to study law for idealistic reasons; I saw criminal law as the best way for me to pursue this idealism.
17. Before you came to Potsdam as a junior professor, you had studied and written your doctoral thesis in Münster and had researched at the University of Birmingham. What attracted you to Potsdam, and why did you stay?
In the beginning, it was the position of – I think – the first junior professorship in criminal law with a tenure track. Once I was here, I very quickly learnt to appreciate my colleagues, the local students, and the Berlin and Brandenburg region as a research and living environment.
18. Was there a special moment in your academic career?
Receiving the professorship in Potsdam was definitely a huge, even a watershed moment.
19. Is there a desideratum in your field of research that you would like to address immediately if you could?
How well judges manage to elude external pressure, exerted by – especially social – media.
20. What makes a good professor?
Enthusiasm for the issues that she addresses in her research and teaching, and openness towards students and their needs.
21. Research or teaching – what do you enjoy more?
I enjoy both very much. But if I had to choose one, it would be research.
22. How important is success to you?
I am primarily intrinsically motivated. I am driven by scientific curiosity. But success is important because it helps in moments of doubt.
23. What was your biggest failure?
Failures are a perfectly natural part of scientific work. It could have been a job that I didn’t get, or an article that wasn't immediately accepted. But I would consider it an even greater failure if I hadn’t taken an opportunity in the first place, i.e., if I hadn’t even tried.
24. Do you have a role model?
It is not one specific person that I would call my role model but several people I admire for very specific aspects of their work or their abilities.
25. What do you like about your profession?
So many things. Apart from the exchange with students, the great freedom is at the top of the list. Being able to decide what content I want to deal with, and usually also when and where I do so, is a great privilege.
26. And what not at all?
The path towards a professorship is long and often marked by insecurity and self-doubt.
27. In private behind closed doors, in the office, or at the library – where do you prefer to work?
Depending on my mood and needs, at all three places.
28. What do you do to balance work and life?
Spending time with my family and friends, reading, going to concerts, and from time to time playing the piano myself and singing along, although not particularly well. With such a demanding job and two very young children, there is not really time for anything else at the moment.
29. Is there something you are fighting for?
A (from my point of view) better criminal and criminal procedure law.
30. Which book have you read recently that you would recommend?
It has been a while since I read it but: “Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahnemann.
31. What was your favorite subject at school?
That changed from time to time: Latin, history, biology, and sometimes also mathematics.
32. When you recall your childhood, what comes to your mind?
The fortune and privilege of having grown up in a family that was both affectionate and fond of discussion.
33. Where do you see yourself in ten years?
In the lecture hall and at the desk, even if, with increasing digitalization, it may actually look quite different than today.
This text was published in the university magazine Portal Wissen - Eins 2024 „Bildung:digital“ (PDF).