Ieke de Vries is an Assistant Professor of Criminology at the Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology.

More information about Ieke de Vries

General

Ieke de Vries is an assistant professor of Criminology at the Institute of Criminal Law & Criminology at Leiden University and a member of the Examination Committee of the Faculty of Law. Between 2015 and 2020, she earned her Ph.D. at Northeastern University in Boston, where she conducted research on victimization and the approach to human trafficking. Before her current position, she was an Assistant Professor at Florida State University.  

Ieke serves as an ad-hoc peer reviewer for national and international scientific journals and is a member of various Editorial Boards. She has presented her research at international conferences and is frequently invited to speak at policy and practice-oriented organizations.  

Research

Ieke’s research focuses on victimization, vulnerability, human trafficking, and hidden forms of criminality. Her dissertation analyzed illegal massage parlors in three U.S. states, examining locations, cross-neighborhood networks, and policing strategies. This project, funded by the National Institute of Justice, combined criminological theories with unique datasets.  

Her current research explores social networks, vulnerability, and emerging criminal practices. She applies advanced methods such as social network analysis, digital research techniques, and machine learning. Her research leverages unique data sources, including Chat met Fier, police records, and CBS data. She collaborates with U.S.-based institutions, such as the Children’s Advocacy Center in Massachusetts, and research organizations in Florida.  

Her work is externally funded by grants, including the Leids Universitair Fonds, a Starter Grant (2024), and an NWO VENI grant (2023). Her VENI project examines how the living environment influences sexual exploitation victimization, offering new insights through longitudinal data. 

Education

Ieke coordinates the Human Trafficking course, supervises master’s theses, and offers internship and research positions. 

Publications