The Criminology Academy

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.