The European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, affiliated with the United Nations (HEUNI) is the European regional institute in the United Nations Criminal Justice and Crime Prevention programme network. HEUNI functions under the auspices of the Finnish Ministry of Justice as an independent research and policy-making institute.
HEUNI aims at a fair and just world by advancing humane and rational criminal justice policies and systems in the European region, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
HEUNI is a bold front-runner in creating and sharing uncompromised knowledge on the prevention of crime within the framework of criminal justice. We engage policymakers, practitioners and researchers in frank discussions to tackle current problems. We develop innovative and action-oriented solutions to advance the rights of those affected by crime.
HEUNI has a new strategy for the years 2020-2023. The strategy updates, revises and strengthens HEUNI’s operations to suit the demands of the 21st century. While the strategy identifies several core areas of work, it also aims to strengthen HEUNI’s operations and working methods in order to produce increasingly cutting-edge results.

Areas of focus
- 1.
Improving access to justice and the the quality of services for vulnerable victims of crime.
Access to justice Criminal justice Victim assistance Victims of crime - 2.
Strengthening the understanding of and the responses to economic crime and corporate crime.
Corruption Economic crime Labour exploitation - 3.
Identifying a new area of research in line with global crime threats and megatrends.
SDG UN - 4.
Strengthening the the criminal justice responses to, including identification of human trafficking and similar crimes (such as forced marriage, exploitation of children and young people, labour exploitation).
Exploitation of adolescents and children Human trafficking Labour exploitation - 5.
Enhancing the skills of businesses and public procurement agencies to identify and prevent exploitation in supply chains.
Economic crime Human trafficking Labour exploitation Victims of crime - 6.
Strengthening the role of HEUNI in implementing the priorities of the United Nations visà-vis the prevention of crime and crime control.
Access to justice SDG UN
Current projects
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Safety for all? Remedy for exploited migrant workers in the Nordic region
2023 - ongoingWhile the prevention of labour exploitation and protection of migrant workers remain crucial, efforts should be increased to ensure access to remedy to workers for occurred harm and exploitation....
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EASY. Increasing dialogue, awareness, and victim-centred support for victims of forced marriages
2023 - ongoingThe CERV-funded EASY project (“It is never easy to talk about this” – Increasing dialogue, awareness, and victim-centred support for victims of forced marriages) aims to increase community...
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PROMISE-TRM. Multidisciplinary interagency services for child victims of trafficking
2022 - ongoingThe PROMISE-TRM project addresses the specific needs of child victims of trafficking and exploitation, including where facilitated by online technology, by significantly strengthening the...
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