James Alan Fox The Lipman Family Professor of Criminology, Law and Public Policy j.fox@neu.edu 617.373.3296 Expertise capital punishment, multiple murder, school and campus violence, workplace violence, youth crime James Alan Fox in the Press Article Authorities investigate whether Texas mall shooter was motivated by ideology: Updates James Alan Fox, a professor of Criminology, Law, and Public Policy at Northeastern University who has studied mass killings for 40 years, says 2023 has been the worst year in terms of mass killings “since at least 2006 and probably ever.” Article Vox Why the workplace is a common site of mass shootings “It’s quite possible there will be an increase in these kinds of killings when people who have been working remotely start to return,” James Alan Fox, a criminology professor at Northeastern University in Boston, told NBC News in April 2021. According to the Violence Project, most of these mass shootings — 70 percent — involved an employment […] Article No ‘incredible rise’ in transgender shooters James Alan Fox, a statistician and professor of criminology, law and public policy at Northeastern University, helps maintain the Associated Press-USA TODAY-Northeastern database of mass killings in the U.S., which does not contain full data on perpetrators’ gender. The claims on social media this week amount to extreme cherry-picking of data, he said. Article ABC News Anti-transgender sentiment follows Nashville shooting James Alan Fox, a professor of criminology at Northeastern University, maintains a database on shootings dating back 17 years. He said he’s been studying the topic of shootings for 41 years, and defines a mass shooting as four or more killed in a single event, not including the shooter. Article CBS News Mass shootings remain rare compared to overall gun violence On college campuses, gun violence and mass shootings are even more rare, according to researcher James Alan Fox at Northeastern University. Article Poynter What counts as a mass shooting? The definition varies. Saying that there have been more mass shootings than days so far in 2023 “is truly scaring the people” because that relies on just one definition of a mass shooting — four or more people shot, including injuries — and that definition is too wide, said James Alan Fox, a Northeastern University criminologist. Article Newsweek Victimology vs. Violence in the Study of Criminology | Opinion “What we teach is ‘how come?’ Not ‘how,’” noted James Allen Fox, a criminology professor at Northeastern University. “Studying Criminology is not going to make you a criminal, and it’s not going to make you a better criminal.” Article When a Criminology Student Turns Criminal “Studying criminology is not going to make you a criminal, and it’s not going to make you a better criminal,” said James Allan Fox, a longtime professor of criminology at Northeastern University and the former dean of its College of Criminal Justice. “What we teach is ‘how come?’ Not ‘how.’” Article The Associated Press Utah murder-suicide underscores frequency of family killings Family mass killings immediately capture the attention of people in a community, but rarely garner the level of national attention received by mass killings at schools, places of worship or restaurants, said James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University who has studied familicides and mass killings for decades. Article The Associated Press Police: 6-year-old shoots teacher in Virginia classroom A school shooting involving a 6-year-old is extremely rare, said James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Boston’s Northeastern University. James Alan Fox for Northeastern Global News Why are there fewer serial killers now than there used to be? Why are there fewer serial killers now than there used to be? Despite the outsized place serial killers hold in pop culture, the number of known serial killers has dropped since the 70s & 80s. The story behind the data on mass murder in the United States The story behind the data on mass murder in the United States News coverage after two recent mass shootings relied upon a common source for context: The AP/USATODAY/Northeastern University Mass Killing database. That’s because it’s the most comprehensive, most up-to-date repository of information on U.S. mass killings. Faculty Reads, Volume Three Faculty Reads, Volume Three Northeastern faculty members have written at length on a wide range of topics. Here, we highlight the third batch of published works in a feature on recent faculty books. Report: Surge in Homicides Involving Young Black Males and Guns Report: Surge in Homicides Involving Young Black Males and Guns Between 2002 and 2007, homicides involving black male juveniles as victims grew by 31 percent and, as perpetrators, by 43 percent, according to a report issued by Northeastern. Northeastern University Faculty Present and Accounted for at 2008 American Sociological Association Annual Meeting Northeastern University Faculty Present and Accounted for at 2008 American Sociological Association Annual Meeting Boston, Mass. – The 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA) will take place this week in Boston and Northeastern University will be participating in myriad capacities. From conducting tours to hosting sections and panels, combined with faculty awards, Northeastern University will have a position of great prominence at this year’s ASA meeting. […]
Article Authorities investigate whether Texas mall shooter was motivated by ideology: Updates James Alan Fox, a professor of Criminology, Law, and Public Policy at Northeastern University who has studied mass killings for 40 years, says 2023 has been the worst year in terms of mass killings “since at least 2006 and probably ever.”
Article Vox Why the workplace is a common site of mass shootings “It’s quite possible there will be an increase in these kinds of killings when people who have been working remotely start to return,” James Alan Fox, a criminology professor at Northeastern University in Boston, told NBC News in April 2021. According to the Violence Project, most of these mass shootings — 70 percent — involved an employment […]
Article No ‘incredible rise’ in transgender shooters James Alan Fox, a statistician and professor of criminology, law and public policy at Northeastern University, helps maintain the Associated Press-USA TODAY-Northeastern database of mass killings in the U.S., which does not contain full data on perpetrators’ gender. The claims on social media this week amount to extreme cherry-picking of data, he said.
Article ABC News Anti-transgender sentiment follows Nashville shooting James Alan Fox, a professor of criminology at Northeastern University, maintains a database on shootings dating back 17 years. He said he’s been studying the topic of shootings for 41 years, and defines a mass shooting as four or more killed in a single event, not including the shooter.
Article CBS News Mass shootings remain rare compared to overall gun violence On college campuses, gun violence and mass shootings are even more rare, according to researcher James Alan Fox at Northeastern University.
Article Poynter What counts as a mass shooting? The definition varies. Saying that there have been more mass shootings than days so far in 2023 “is truly scaring the people” because that relies on just one definition of a mass shooting — four or more people shot, including injuries — and that definition is too wide, said James Alan Fox, a Northeastern University criminologist.
Article Newsweek Victimology vs. Violence in the Study of Criminology | Opinion “What we teach is ‘how come?’ Not ‘how,’” noted James Allen Fox, a criminology professor at Northeastern University. “Studying Criminology is not going to make you a criminal, and it’s not going to make you a better criminal.”
Article When a Criminology Student Turns Criminal “Studying criminology is not going to make you a criminal, and it’s not going to make you a better criminal,” said James Allan Fox, a longtime professor of criminology at Northeastern University and the former dean of its College of Criminal Justice. “What we teach is ‘how come?’ Not ‘how.’”
Article The Associated Press Utah murder-suicide underscores frequency of family killings Family mass killings immediately capture the attention of people in a community, but rarely garner the level of national attention received by mass killings at schools, places of worship or restaurants, said James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University who has studied familicides and mass killings for decades.
Article The Associated Press Police: 6-year-old shoots teacher in Virginia classroom A school shooting involving a 6-year-old is extremely rare, said James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Boston’s Northeastern University.