Department of Criminology

The Bachelor of Science program in Criminology is based on the study of criminal behavior and society’s response to it, including the analysis of those policies and systems designed to control criminality. Through the in-depth exploration and study of both theoretical and empirical social science research students learn about many aspects of crime as a social phenomenon, including the correlates of crime and criminal behavior, the tools and methods used to study and prevent crime, and the institutions involved in the processing of criminal offenders.

The Department of Criminology promotes excellence in teaching, intensive study, and analysis of criminological theory, criminal justice systems, and law and society. The program strives to prepare students to be exemplars in post-undergraduate education in criminology.  The program also strives to prepare students to be leaders in their chosen profession including research and analysis positions in national and global agencies at various levels.   

Announcements

• Dr. John Krimmel, associate professor of criminology, recently received a book contract from The Edwin Mellen Press located in New York (USA) and Wales (UK) for his manuscript entitled, " Police Accreditation at the State Level: The Pennsylvania Experience."  

• The Department of Criminology is pleased to announce that Dr. Bruce Stout will be joining the faculty August 2008.  Dr. Stout will hold the rank of Associate Professor (tenure-track) of Criminology. Dr. Stout is a criminologist who has held numerous positions in government and academia.  In academia, he has taught at the Rutgers Graduate School of Criminal Justice and at Penn State-Abington.  He was also Executive Director of the Violence Institute and the Behavioral Research and Training Institute at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, where he was a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.  In government, Dr. Stout has served as Deputy Chief of Policy and Planning for Governor Whitman, Executive Director of the Juvenile Justice Commission, Director of the Division of Child Behavioral Health Services and Research Director for the Juvenile Delinquency Commission.  He is also a public member of the New Jersey Sentencing Commission. Dr. Stout is currently on loan to the office of Governor Corzine, where he chaired the reentry working group that developed the reentry component of the Governor’s crime plan and where he is working with the Government Efficiency and Reform Commission on sentencing and corrections reform.  Dr. Stout, who earned his doctorate at the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice, has dedicated his career to using data and research to develop sane, equitable and effective criminal justice policies.

• The Department of Criminology is pleased to announce that 14 students have received funding from the Jeffrey Ralston Foundation.  Established by the late Betsy Ross Brooks `49, the Jeffrey Ralston Foundation was created in memory of her son, Jeffrey Ralston, a law enforcement officer in Monmouth County, NJ, who died in 1997 at age 34.  Betsy Ross Brooks directed this Foundation to support scholarships for aspiring Law & Justice (now Criminology and Justice Studies) students.  Upon her passing in 2000, she arranged for her entire estate to be transferred to the Jeffrey Ralston Foundation. Today, the Foundation exists solely to provide assistance to students who demonstrate both academic promise and financial need.

   

  

  On November 27, 2007 the Department of Criminology featured its first Annual Ralston Foundation Dinner.  Ralston Foundation scholarship recipients and their parents were honored at this event.  Dr. John Krimmel, associate professor of Criminology, was the master of ceremonies.  The keynote speaker for the event was the Honorable Judge Hoffman, Chair of the New Jersey Sentencing Commission.  

  Jeffrey Ralston Foundation Recipients

  Seniors
  Yazmina Centeno
  Alexandra Saites
  Salvatore Bagarozza
  Jeff Bolash
  
  Juniors
  Antony Leberatto
  Clarissa Espinoza
  David Markman
  Gregory Schaffer
  Kevin Fitzpatrick
  
  Sophomores
  Natalie Huertas
  Allison Arolla
  Lori Compton
  Carolina Moreno
  Brendon Robinson

• The New Jersey Department of Corrections and the Department of Criminology at TCNJ were awarded a five year grant totaling nearly $1.7 million from the United States Department of Human Services.   This collaborative project serves incarcerated offenders and their families as the offenders are reintegrated into their communities.  This unique project is designed to offer both pre and post-release social services to offenders that have opted to serve their maximum sentences.  Previously, this population of offenders has not received services.   Dr. John Krimmel, associate professor of criminology, has been brought on to evaluate the project.