Departments School of Criminology and Criminal Justice

What would it mean to ‘defund’ the police–and what would come next?

Questions on the future of U.S. police departments should be focused on reducing violence in disadvantaged communities, says Ben Struhl, executive director of the Center on Crime and Community Resilience at Northeastern.

by Ian Thomsen July 8, 2020

Northeastern graduate George Benner has been feeding neighborhood kids in South Boston via his charity, Round Table, since 2008.Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

The neighborhood kids were hungry. He planted a garden.

For years, George Benner—a Northeastern graduate and merchandising director for the Celtic punk band the Dropkick Murphys—has been feeding and supporting adolescents and their families in South Boston via his charity, Round Table.

by Ian Thomsen June 29, 2020

Here’s how policing in the US could be reformed

Police departments need to increase diversity, create a system that allows officers to report racist behavior, and allow the public to have a voice in police oversight to prevent the unprovoked killing of Black people, says Jack McDevitt, the director of Northeastern’s Institute on Race and Justice who studies hate crime and racial profiling.

by Khalida Sarwari June 2, 2020

Northeastern researchers team up with PayPal to tackle illegal firearm transactions

In an effort to stem the epidemic of firearm-related violence, Northeastern professor Anthony Braga will lead a newly formed research team designed to evaluate how firearms are bought and sold on the black market, and what types of payment methods are used to finance them.

by Khalida Sarwari February 11, 2020

‘How do we break the supply chain?’

Three Northeastern researchers are hoping to disrupt human trafficking in U.S. agriculture with an unusual approach: They are focused on the victims.

by Ian Thomsen November 18, 2019

Do you know the warning signs of human trafficking?

The first step to fighting human trafficking is the ability to spot when it’s happening. But identifying someone who is caught in the web of a trafficking scheme requires an eye for nuanced details, says Amy Farrell, an associate professor of criminology and criminal justice at Northeastern who studies human trafficking.

by Molly Callahan April 25, 2019

Emma Fridel, a doctoral student in Criminal Justice, is the recipient of Northeastern’s Outstanding Graduate Student Award for Research.
Photo by Adam Glanzman/Northeastern University

She studies school shootings, murder-suicides, and homicide trends

Emma Fridel, a PhD student in criminology and criminal justice who has studied school shootings, gender differences in crime rates, and murder-suicides, is the recipient of Northeastern’s Outstanding Graduate Student Award for Research.

by Khalida Sarwari April 12, 2019

New research from Brandon Welsh, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at Northeastern, follows up on the long-term effects of a program launched 70 years ago to prevent crime among young people living in urban areas. Photo by Adam Glanzman/Northeastern University

He took a close look at an 80-year-old study that led to a shocking result

In 1978, a researcher made a shocking discovery about a program designed to prevent crime among young people in urban areas: It had achieved the opposite result. Now, Northeastern professor Brandon Welsh has found that the people who received counseling and mentoring lived just as long as those who did not, and were no more likely to die of disease, drug abuse, or homicide.

by Greg St. Martin April 10, 2019

Illustration by Hannah Moore/Northeastern University

Domestic violence homicides appear to be on the rise. Are guns the reason?

Northeastern criminologist James Alan Fox’s latest research paper discovered that in 2015 and 2016 there was an uptick in homicides committed by romantic partners involving a gun.

by Khalida Sarwari April 8, 2019

Police attempt to clear people from outside a mosque in central Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday, March 15, 2019. 49 people were killed in a mass shooting at a mosque in the New Zealand city of Christchurch on Friday. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Here's one way to counter the spread on social media of hate crimes like the New Zealand mosque shooting

Short of regulating extremist content on their platforms, tech giants such as Facebook and YouTube should offer countering or alternative viewpoints, said Northeastern professor Jack McDevitt, an expert on hate crimes, following the mass shooting during a prayer service Friday afternoon in Christchurch, New Zealand.

by Khalida Sarwari March 15, 2019