International postdoctoral researcher joins School of Criminology

Julien Chopin, a French academic with degrees in law and criminology, recently joined the School of Criminology as a postdoctoral researcher. His position is funded by the Swiss National Research Foundation.

“I chose to come to SFU because of the excellent reputation of the School of Criminology in the criminological world, and the quality of publications that are produced here. Mainly, I wanted an opportunity to work with Professor Eric Beauregard, who I met while he was an external expert for my doctoral committee,” says Chopin.

Eric Beauregard, professor in the School of Criminology, is a world expert in sexual homicides and other violent crimes. Chopin’s research focuses on the modus operandi analysis of sexual and violent crimes.

"This is a great opportunity to have Julien with us. It has been many years since the School has had an international postdoctoral researcher. Julien brings to the School a different perspective as well as excellent data from France on violent crimes. Julien is highly motivated and very ambitious, which is leading to the publication of several manuscripts since his arrival. His work is likely to have a tremendous influence on how police are investigating violent crimes,” says Beauregard.

Chopin received authorization from the French government to access a large database from the Ministry of Interior with data on extrafamilial violent crimes that occurred in France between 1950 and 2018. He is using these data to analyze offender decision-making during the crime process and their influences.

Kylie Reale, a PhD student in the School of Criminology, is working on her doctoral dissertation on non-sexual homicides using Chopin’s data. Chopin, Beauregard and Reale will be working together over the next 18 months on a large program of research and publications.

“My goal is to learn new analytical techniques, and develop better skills to publish in top-tier journals in the field from Professor Beauregard. Importantly, I hope to be better known in the field of sexual abuse research,” says Chopin.

“I have taught to undergraduate and graduate student levels while at the University of Lausanne, so I’m also interested to learn new pedagogical methods.”

Previously Chopin worked as a postdoctoral research in the School of Criminal Justice at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland). He earned his bachelor of law at the Catholic University of Lyon (France), a master’s of law and criminology, and a doctorate in criminology from the University of Lausanne.