The Criminology Academy

Professor Fiona Brookman is a Professor of Criminology at the Centre for Criminology at the University of South Wales. She is one of the leading researchers on homicide investigation in the UK, with a body of work that spans offender narratives, detective decision-making, and the use of forensic science and technology in criminal investigations. She has conducted extensive ethnographic fieldwork inside live homicide investigations, giving her rare and extraordinary access to how these cases actually unfold

Dr. Faith Deckard is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of California – Los Angeles. Currently, she is examining how commercial bail entangles families in a complicated economic and social system of obligation, debt, and punishment. Faith received her PhD from the University of Texas at Austin in 2024. As a researcher, her interest lies in understanding how marginalized groups experience and respond to social control institutions.

Dr. Tara Richards is the David Scott Diamond Alumni Professor of Public Affairs and Community Service and Co-Director of the Victimology and Victim Studies Research Lab in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska Omaha. Her research and teaching focuses on prevention, intervention, and system responses to sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and child abuse and neglect.

William J. Schultz is an assistant professor of criminology at MacEwan University in the department of Sociology. He received his MA and PhD in Sociology from the University of Alberta. Will’s research interests center on the life experiences of incarcerated people, the influence of fentanyl and other drugs on prison environments, gangs and radical ideological groups in prison, and how correctional officer cultures impact the daily operations of prisons.

This month, some of Jenn's graduate students take over the podcast and question Jenn and Jose about various topics!

Dr. Jillian Peterson is a Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Executive Director of The Violence Prevention Project, a nonpartisan research center committed to using data-driven solutions to reduce violence in our communities.

In episode 126, we’re exploring the career and research of one of the leading scholars on gender, inequality, and crime, Professor Karen Heimer. Karen Heimer is Professor of Sociology & Criminology, Collegiate Fellow in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, and Distinguished Research Fellow of the Public Policy Center at the University of Iowa. She also holds a courtesy appointment in the Boyd College of Law. Heimer researches and teaches in the areas of gender and violence, juvenile delinquency, criminal punishment, and causes of crime and violence. She became a Fellow of the American Society of Criminology in 2015 and served as President of the American Society of Criminology in 2018. She is a recipient of the 2018 Iowa Regents Award for Faculty Excellence and the 2019 UI’s Hancher-Finkbine Faculty Medallion.

David Garland is Professor of Sociology in NYU’s Department of Sociology and Arthur T. Vanderbilt Professor of Law at NYU School of Law. His area of research is social theory and historical sociology with a focus on the penal state and the welfare state. In 2012, the American Society of Criminology awarded him the Edwin H. Sutherland Prize for outstanding contributions to theory and research. He has been elected to membership of learned societies in both the United States and the United Kingdom, being a Fellow of the British Academy, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

This is Episode 124, and today we’re exploring how pretrial detention and going to trial can shape sentencing outcomes. To help us explore this topic, we’re excited to be joined by Professor Stacie St. Louis. Stacie St. Louis an Assistant Professor in the Department of Justice, Law & Criminology at American University. Her research focuses on the administration of justice, including jails and pretrial detention, case processing and cumulative disadvantage, and public opinion and reform. Some of her ongoing projects include assessing the main, indirect, and interactive effects of pretrial detention on case outcomes and exploring public opinion surrounding pretrial justice and ongoing bail reforms. Her studies have been published in peer-reviewed journals, such as Justice Quarterly, Journal of Criminal Justice, and Criminal Justice and Behavior. Dr. St. Louis received her PhD in Criminology and Justice Policy from Northeastern University and was previously an Assistant Professor at Georgia Southern University.

We spoke to Professor Michelle Storrod, whose work examines how gangs have adapted to—and been shaped by—the digital world. Michelle Lyttle Storrod is an assistant professor of criminal justice at Widener University and is an affiliate of the SAFElab at the University of Pennsylvania. She received her PhD from Rutgers University–Camden. Michelle is the coauthor of the largest violence prevention charity in Europe. Her cross-national scholarly pursuits center on the intricate intersection of youth, social media, and crime. Specifically, her research delves into how young people utilize social media platforms and mobile devices within the context of crime and victimization including drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and serious youth violence.

Shadd Maruna is Head of the Department of Sociology, Social Policy & Criminology at the University of Liverpool. His research focuses on how individuals desist from crime and reintegrate into society, emphasizing the transformative power of identity and narrative. Shadd’s influential book, Making Good, introduced the concept of the “redemption script,” reshaping our understanding of desistance. He served as President of the American Society of Criminology in 2023.

This week, we spoke with Rod Brunson about one of the most urgent and challenging topics in criminology: race and policing. Rod K. Brunson is a professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland, College Park. His tackles issues on police including community relations, youth violence, and evidence-based criminal justice policy. He has consistently called for effective crime reduction strategies that do not result in racially disparate treatment of minority citizens and disadvantaged neighborhoods. Rod is a fellow of the American Society of Criminology.

In this episode, we are joined by Professor Chris Uggen to chat about his work on voting rights for people with criminal convictions. Chris Uggen is Regents Professor and Distinguished McKnight Professor in Sociology, Law, and Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and a fellow of the American Society of Criminology. He studies crime, law, and inequality, firm in the belief that sound research can help build a more justice and peaceful world. Chris received the 2023 American Sociological Association Public Understanding of Sociology award, in part for his work (with Doug Hartmann) as publisher and editor of TheSocietyPages.org, an online social science hub that has drawn more than 40 million visitors. He is a past Vice President of the American Sociological Association and Executive Secretary of the American Society of Criminology.

In this episode, we are speaking with Professor Scott Duxbury about his work on group politics and the sociology of punishment. Scott W. Duxbury is an Associate Professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research examines social networks, criminal law, mass incarceration, racism, public opinion, drug markets, and computational methods. His work has appeared in American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, and Social Forces, among other outlets.

Ashley Muchow is an assistant professor in the Department of Criminology, Law, and Justice at the University of Illinois Chicago. Her research considers the causes and consequences of social inequality, with a particular focus on policing, immigration, and racial/ethnic disparities.

Welcome to Episode 117 of The Criminology Academy podcast, where we are criminally academic. In this episode, we are speaking with Professor Benjamin Comer and his work around school shootings. Benjamin Comer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Texas Christian University. His research focuses on gun violence, school gun violence, and mass gun violence. His additional areas of research focus on data accuracy and comparability, as well as spatial criminology. Benjamin received his PhD in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University.

In this episode, we are speaking with Professor Zach Hamilton about his work on risk-needs assessments. Zachary Hamilton is a Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice and Associate Director of the Nebraska Center for Justice Research at the University of Nebraska Omaha. His research centers on innovation in risk and needs assessment development. Specifically, he works directly with adult corrections and juvenile justice agencies to create assessments that are optimized for their agency’s needs. Zachary earned his PhD in Criminal Justice in 2010 from Rutgers University.

In this episode we speak with David Kirk about the gig economy (Uber; AirBnb) and how it relates to crime. David Kirk is a professor in the Department of Criminology and Research Associate of the Population Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his PhD in sociology from the University of Chicago and previously served on the faculties at the University of Oxford, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Maryland. His research agenda is primarily organized around three interrelated themes: the causes and consequences of cynicism and distrust of the police and the law, solutions to criminal recidivism, and the causes and consequences of gun violence.

We spoke with Professor Megan Augustyn about public beliefs and rape, the Rochester Youth Development Study, and research on middle adulthood. Megan Augustyn is an associate professor in the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University. She received her PhD in 2013 from the University of Maryland. Her research focuses on the study of the causes and consequences of crime, victimization, and other health-risk behaviors across the life course. Megan is the Principal Investigator of the Rochester Youth Development Study.

This week we speak with Joseph Schwartz about the effect traumatic brain injuries can have on criminal behavior. We also discussed correctional officer mental health and its impact on thej ob. Joseph A. Schwartz is an associate professor in the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University. His current work focuses on the long-term physical and mental health implications of chronic stress exposure, as well as on the role of traumatic brain injury in the development of behavior problems and health outcomes.