Jihyun Kwon

Jihyun Kwon received her PhD in Criminology and Sociolegal Studies from the University of Toronto in 2023. Her doctoral research focused on accountability, oversight, and administrative governance of law enforcement agencies, including the police and correctional services. She examined the structural and functional dynamics that lead to various degrees of coordination and fragmentation among different oversight entities in Canada. Previously, she earned her MA at the University of Toronto Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies where she received the John Edwards Award for graduating with the most outstanding performance. Jihyun completed her BA at McGill University with First Class Honours in Sociology.

She was a Vanier CGS scholar, and received the Delta Kappa Gamma World Fellowship and two Ontario Graduate Scholarships. Since 2012, Jihyun has worked on various research and advocacy projects with different NGOs and universities on the topic of police and prison oversight. She was the Advisor to the Independent Expert at the Ministry of the Solicitor General in Ontario, where she worked to enforce the terms of a human rights consent order in Ontario prisons between 2018 and 2020. She is currently working on two short-term projects with the Korea Legislation Research Institute to support the development of national legislations through surveys and analyses of the legislative/regulatory landscapes in Canada and other jurisdictions.

Selected Publications

• Kwon, J. (working paper) “Adversarial Legalism? The Role of Judicial Review and the Impact of Layered Oversight as a Model of Governance in Canada.” Journal Article
• Struthers-Montford, K., Kwon, J., & Hannah-Moffat, K. (forthcoming) “Thinking Outside of the Box: The Promises and Pitfalls of Alternatives to Solitary Confinement,” Ch.14, Canadian Prisons: Understanding the Canadian Correctional Landscape, Oxford University Press. Invited Book Chapter
• Hannah-Moffat, K. (2020) “Summary of Findings on the Jahn Consent Order,” Ministry of the Solicitor General, Government of Ontario. Advisors: Kwon, J. & Struthers-Montford, K. Human Rights Compliance Report (Final)
• Kwon, J. & Wortley, S. (2020) “Policing the Police: Public Perceptions of Civilian Oversight in Canada.” Race and Justice. An International Journal of Race and Justice. Journal Article
• Kwon, J. (2016) “Book Review of Civilian Oversight of Police: Advancing Accountability in Law Enforcement by Prenzler and den Heyer.” Criminology Book Reviews, University of Toronto.

Selected Presentations

Conferences and Meetings

• Kwon, J. (2019) “Implications for the Bureaucratic Division of Labour: Coordination and Disintegration of Administrative Police Oversight in the Regulatory Space.” European Group for Public Administration, 2019 EGPA/IISA Annual Conference, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Conference Paper
• Kwon, J., Struthers Montford, K., & Hannah-Moffat, K. (2019) “Oversight Capture: The Performance of Accountability and Transparency in the Administrative Segregation Review Process.” XXXVIth International Congress on Law and Mental Health. Rome, Italy. Conference Paper
• Kwon, J. (2018) “Overlapping Oversight and Arrested Accountability: Coordination among Adversaries through Judicial Reviews of Administrative Police Oversight.” International Society of Public Law 2018 iCONS Annual Conference, Hong Kong. Conference Paper
• Kwon, J. (2018) “The Power and Limits of Judicial Review: Analyzing the Interaction between the Court and the Police Complaints System in Producing ‘Accountability’” American Law and Society Association 2018 Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada. Conference Presentation
• Kwon, J. (2018) Panel Title: “Rethinking Law, Criminal Justice Policy and Regulation: Securitization, Surveillance and Regulation.” Graduate Student Conference, Univ. of Toronto, Canada. Session Facilitator
• Kwon, J. (2017) “Reforming the Reform: An Analysis of External Oversight Reforms in the Context of the Canadian Criminal Justice System.” American Law and Society Association 2017 Annual Meeting, Mexico City, Mexico. Conference Presentation
• Kwon, J. (2016) “Limiting Power: Examining Practices of Police and Correctional Officers’ Accountability.” International Institute of Sociology of Law, Oñati, Spain. Conference Presentation
• Kwon, J. (2016) “The Absence of Responsibility in Rules: Compliance and Managerialism in Canadian Policing and Corrections.” American Law and Society Association 2016 Annual Meeting, New Orleans, USA. Conference Presentation
• Kwon, J., Laming, E., & Wortley, S. (2016) “Blind Faith? Empirical Research and the Adoption of Body-Worn Cameras in Canadian Policing.” Canadian Law and Society Association 2016 Annual Meeting, in Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Calgary, AB. Conference Presentation
• Kwon, J. (2016) “Ritualistic Reforms and Ceremonial Complaints: Revisiting the Evolution of Police Complaints System in Ontario.” Canadian Law and Society Association 2016 Annual Meeting, in Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Calgary, AB. Conference Presentation

Public Engagement

• Global News (June 15, 2020) “N.S. shooting: If a criminal has a well-planned attack, can police ever hope to stop it?” Media Interview
• Global News (June 5, 2020) “George Floyd death draws scrutiny on police use of force. What’s Canada’s protocol?” Media Interview
• Kempa, M., Kwon, J., & Gerrits, B. (2017) “My Officers Acted in Good Faith: Forum on Police Oversight, Accountability and Public Consent.” Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada. Forum Co-synthesizer (Invited)
• Kwon, J. (2016) “Inherent Imbalance of Power and the Barriers to Effective Police Complaints System.” Independent Police Oversight Review (a.k.a. Tulloch Review), Toronto, ON. Consultation
• Toronto Star (June 1, 2016) “Police body-worn cameras ‘not a magic bullet,’ say U of T researchers” Media Appearance
• Blue Line News Week (June 2, 2016) “New research out of the University of Toronto suggests the growing number of police services testing or adopting the technology should wait before investing in a costly tool whose merits, researchers say, have yet to be proven” Media Appearance
• Toronto Sun (June 5, 2016) “Questions linger ahead of police body camera review results” Media Appearance
• Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences (May 28, 2016) “Media Release: No clear evidence yet that body-worn police cameras provide benefits, say researchers” Media Appearance
• Kwon, J. (2016) “Reviewing the State of Homelessness in Toronto” Program Review Committee, St. Stephen’s Community Centre, Toronto, ON. Consultant & Reviewer
• Kwon, J. & Robinson, J. (2015) “Children and Families Program Review: Demographics, Population and Neighbourhood Analyses.” Program Review Committee, St. Stephen’s Community Centre, Toronto, ON. Consultant & Reviewer
• Toronto Star (May 23, 2013) “A North Korean refugee’s tale of tragedy and bravery.” Media Appearance

Guest Lectures & Speeches

• Kwon, J. (2018) “The Current State of the Office of Independent Police Review Director and Bill 175.” Policing (CRI3130H), Graduate-level Course in Criminology, University of Toronto, ON. Guest Lecturer
• Kwon, J. (2018) “Police.” Prosecution Process (CRI425), Undergraduate-level Course in Criminology, University of Toronto, ON. Guest Lecturer
• Kwon, J. (2016) “Oversight or Institutional Safeguards? Examining Practical Punishability of Police Misconduct.” Criminal Procedure (CRI325), Undergraduate-level Course in Criminology, University of Toronto, ON. Guest Lecturer
• Kwon, J. (2016) “Grad School: To go or not to go, that is the question.” Korean Liberal Arts Students Society, University of Toronto. Invited Speaker
• Druchok, L. & Kwon, J. (2012) “Raising Awareness about the Ontario Police Complaints System: Increasing Community Education and Access to Police Complaints.” Ontario Police Complaints System Forum, Toronto, ON. Workshop/Lecture