Welcome to the Psychology Crime Lab at MacEwan University

The PCL@M is an active research group situated in the Department of Psychology at MacEwan University. Research is focused on the prevention of sexual violence and intimate partner violence, with a particular focus on risk assessment. Members have published peer-reviewed articles on these and other psycho-legal topics. PCL@M maintains several active collaborations with partners in the local community and other academic researchers.

Refer to other links on this website for information about the primary researcher, Dr. Sandy Jung, her research team and collaborators, and how to access recent presentations and media.

Recent Conversation Canada articles

• public notifications make it challenging for prisoners to reintegrate after release

• riskier times on campuses mean we need a tool for prevention and intervention of sexual assaults

• police-academic partnerships to tackle crime of coercive control in intimate partner violence

Recent Student Papers Published

• Recent papers published with current and past MacEwan students (denoted by *).

  • *Wesenberg, M., Jung, S., & Tedeschini, J. (2025). Assessing and interviewing individuals who perpetrate intimate partner violence for coercively controlling behaviours. Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being, 10(2), 105-116. https://doi.org/10.35502/jcswb.424

  • *Wesenberg, M., & Jung, S. (2025). How drug and alcohol intoxication influence perceptions of risk to reoffend and sanction recommendations in an on-campus sexual assault. Journal of Sexual Aggression. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552600.2025.2460108

  • Jung, S., *Thomas, M. L., *Robles, C. M., & Kitura, G. (2024). Exploring criminogenic and non-criminogenic factors and their association with reintegration success for individuals Under judicial orders in Canada. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology. Advance online publication. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0306624X241270603

  • *Thomas, M., & Jung, S. (2024). Differences in criminogenic needs and risk prediction based on sexual assault typology. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management. Advance online publication. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tam0000218 

  • *Wesenberg, M., *Dickinson, D. D., *Haugen, D. R., *Rubachuk, K., & Jung, S. (2024). Examining whether risk factors influence student perceptions of campus sexual violence. Sexual Offending: Theory, Research, and Prevention, 19, e14513. https://doi.org/10.5964/sotrap.14513

  • *Himmen, M., *Thomas, M., *Scavuzzo, R., & Jung, S. (2023). Can community notifications be improved to reduce misinformation and change public perceptions of the criminal justice system? International Journal of Law, Crime, and Justice, 74, 100607. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlcj.2023.100607

Student Involvement in PCL@M About Research in Our Lab

Undergraduate researchers have become involved in Dr. Jung's research in a number of ways, such as entering the honours program, acceptance as an independent study student, or volunteering as a research assistant. Additional information for potential students is available here. Please read before reaching out to Dr. Jung.

Please note:

• For 2026-2027, students are welcome to reach out to Dr. Jung to arrange a meeting for consideration as potential honours students or independent study students, starting in January 2026.

• Currently, Dr. Jung will not be taking on volunteers or independent study students for the 2025-2026 academic year.  Although it is possible this may change and students are welcome to inquire, at this time there are no plans to accept additional students.