Samenvatting

In recent years, there has been a rapid expansion of institutional research ethics boards (REBs) in universities across Europe. While ostensibly part of a growing awareness and concern for the potentially harmful impacts of social science research, this growing institutionalisation of research ethics has also attracted critics who have questioned its impact on academic freedom, methodological innovation, and scholarly independence. These concerns are especially vital for critical criminology, which has a long-standing tradition of investigating the crimes and social harms of the powerful. In this paper, we critically examine the role of REBs specifically in relation to critical criminological research and explore the possibilities for conducting socially and ethically responsible research, while continuing to maintain our commitment to challenging the social harms and crimes committed by institutions of power.