Biography "informal justice" and "local security governance"

Roel Gerits holds a Candidate in Criminology (2000, K.U.Leuven) and a Licenciate in Criminology (2004, KU.Leuven). In 2004 Gerits was appointed as assistant at the Leuven Institute for Criminology (LINC) under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Stephan Parmentier. In 2004 he conducted research in South African townships in the framework of a thesis to obtain the degree of licentiate in the Criminology. In South Africa he studied new forms of conflict-resolution in local communities both from the perspective of ‘informal justice’ and ‘local governance’. Evolutions in the ‘governance of security’, theoretical and normative frameworks and the practical application of these key principles in poor and disadvantaged communities remain his favorite field of interest. Before working as an assistant at the Leuven Institute for Criminology (LINC), Roel Gerits worked in an institution for youth in trouble. In 2003 he traveled for six months through Southern Africa and did volunteers work in township Langa in Cape Town, South Africa.