The Law, Crime, and Justice Division of the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) supports research, teaching, service, and activism that contributes to the understanding and amelioration of social problems related to crime and justice institutions of social control. It also examines the role of law as both a barrier to and a tool for change toward a more just, democratic, and humane world.

The Division critically examines criminal and juvenile legal systems, inequality, punishment, and social control. Recognizing that crime and justice are not static, but are changing, contested, constructed, and embedded in intersectional socio-historical, political, economic, and interpersonal contexts, its members investigate how law is created, interpreted, and applied across groups and over time. They explore legal consciousness, inequalities in access to justice, and the gap between formal rights and lived realities, including the distinction between law on the books and law in action.

The Division supports scholarship and community engagement on issues including racial inequality, victimization, policing, incarceration, post-carceral experiences, juvenile justice, and institutional accountability. It also examines law in global, environmental, and economic contexts, as well as emerging issues involving technology, surveillance, climate change, and transnational governance. Across these areas, members investigate how power shapes legal institutions and social relationships, and how law can both reproduce inequalities and advance social change.

The Division supports diversity, equity, and inclusion in all its forms. Through critical scholarship, teaching, evidence-informed practices, and community engagement, it seeks to challenge injustice and contribute to a more equitable, democratic, and humane society.