UC School of Criminal Justice

Congratulations Professor Bourke on your newly created scholarship to support students in the Criminal Justice program!

Our doctoral students, Interim Director (J.C. Barnes), and Director of Graduate Studies (Ben Feldmeyer) enjoyed the afternoon at Topgolf as they approach the home stretch of the 2022 spring semester.

New and timely research on police de-escalation by scholars in our new Institute for Police Research and Training. Great job all!

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1745-9133.12574?campaign=wolearlyview

Edward J. Latessa, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus (In Memoriam)

Our leader, Dr. Edward J. Latessa, passed away peacefully on January 11, 2022 at his home in Cincinnati, Ohio surrounded by his family, wife, sister, and children.

A man of contrasts, Ed was stern but caring, loud but gentle, an Ohio State fan but a UC builder. He was, as his close friend Larry Johnson often says, the hard-shelled candy with the soft middle.

Ed was a born leader who helped build this great program. He had a presence. Chutzpah even. He commanded your attention and you were happy to give it to him. He owned every room he stepped into.
He was equal parts intellectual, philosopher, and pragmatist. And he was funny. Really funny.

He was your best friend. Or at least that's how it felt being near him. Sharing a meal with Ed was both a rite of passage and a treat to savor. Sitting beside him at an event, no matter how serious, was always a risk worth taking. The risk lie in that fact that his inner comedian never took a night off. He could make you laugh out loud at the most inappropriate times. And he had a bu****it detector that he was never afraid to vocalize.

Ed was a family man. He spoke often and lovingly of his family, and he always asked (and remembered) the details of your own family. He kept toys and candy in his office, hoping for little visitors. He readily dispensed important wisdom. He’d often remind those around him that careers are marathons not sprints; no need to miss anything important along the way.

Ed understood human behavior better than anyone - like he was told secrets no one else knew. He could cut right to the heart of an issue like a skilled butcher, accomplishing in minutes what might take a trained professional several weeks to achieve. And he could motivate you with the simplest and slightest gestures.

Whether those skills were God given, instilled during his upbringing in Youngstown, or earned over time we never figured out. When asked he would demure, in his classic way, with a pithy remark like, "it ain't that hard."

What is remarkable is not that he had these abilities; rather, it is remarkable that he chose to use them consistently in such positive ways. Propped up by his skills, Ed helped build one of the best doctoral programs in the country. He also created an intricate research and training program that has led to untold reductions in harm and improvements to public safety. And he trained dozens of others scholars and practitioners along the way. His intellectual and professional legacy will live on through his contributions to the professionalization of rehabilitation and corrections in Ohio, the US, and around the world.

There will never be another one like him.

A memorial service is currently being planned for Sat., March 12, 2022. Updates will be posted here:
https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/edlatessa

Ed's obituary can be read here:
https://www.cincinnati.com/obituaries/cen210298

Latessa Retirement Video-Aug. 2020 (5:04):
https://youtu.be/NkEUcxopt2o

Celebrating Ed Latessa- Nov. 2020 (30:25 mins):
https://youtu.be/6RUdO-rLVbA

Celebrating Ed Latessa Recording

Dr. Edward Latessa's obituary is below:

Obituaries in Cincinnati, OH | The Cincinnati Enquirer Edward "Eddie" Latessa Edward J. Latessa, PhD, age 67, passed away peacefully at home on January 11, 2022 of pancreatic cancer. He was a pancreatic...

It is with a sad heart and a deep sense of loss that we announce the passing of Dr. Edward Latessa. Ed was a paragon in the field, director of our school for over 30 years, a mentor to many, and a friend. Those who knew Ed will recall his remarkable sense of humor, his gregariousness, and his infectious laugh. We morn his passing at the same time we give thanks for having Ed in our lives. There was only one Ed Latessa.

Information concerning funeral services and the wishes of Ed's family will be forthcoming.

Want a free book that challenges decades of scholarship on neighborhoods? Dr. John Eck and Dr. Shannon Linning have just published a short book on crime places and neighborhoods. It is part of the Cambridge University Press (CUP) Elements of Criminology series, edited by David Weisburd. Dr.'s Linning and Eck propose an alternative to the social ecology perspective, based on 100-year-old Chicago School musings: a perspective drawing on the work of Jane Jacobs.

From now until November 23, you can download a free PDF of the book at this site:

Whose 'Eyes on the Street' Control Crime? Cambridge Core - Research Methods In Sociology and Criminology - Whose 'Eyes on the Street' Control Crime?

The School of Criminal Justice is proud to announce that our very own Francis T. Cullen is the 2021 winner of the prestigious Stockholm Prize in Criminology!!!!

Read more about Dr. Cullen and the Stockholm Prize here:

https://www.criminologysymposium.com/the-prize.html?fbclid=IwAR1EYWbGdmOjwtbl1JbHIJuWKGnQ1vs8Rs4t9NPZr0uNoL2VoJQOfj7TXws

The Prize - The Stockholm Criminology Symposium The Stockholm Prize in Criminology is an international prize in the field of criminology. The prize is awarded for outstanding achievements in criminological research or for the application of research results by practitioners for the reduction of crime and the advancement of human rights.

Congratulations goes out to Dr. Ebony Ruhland for being selected as this year's American Society of Criminology Division on Corrections and Sentencing Distinguished New Scholar Award.

Learn more about Dr. Ruhland here:

Expert Profile: ruhlaney | Research Directory Professional SummaryDr. Ebony Ruhland received her Ph.D. from the School of Social Work at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on how criminal justice policies and practices impact individuals, families, and communities. Dr. Ruhland is currently working on research projects in four are...

Save the date! On Wednesday, October 27 from 10 – 11:30am, the School of Criminal Justice and its community partners are hosting a webinar that will take an in-depth look at Hamilton County's innovative Domestic Violence Enhanced Response Team (DVERT).

Click or tap here to learn more and
to register >>

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Coming Together in the Fight Against Domestic Violence: Building Multi-Agency Partnerships to Implement and Evaluate a Domestic Violence Enhanced Response Team (DVERT) Webinar. After registering, you... Learn about Hamilton County’s Domestic Violence Enhanced Response Team (DVERT), an innovative evidence-informed domestic violence service delivery program. Speakers will discuss the history of DVERT, the importance of the program, the role of evaluation and community-based research collaborations,...

Chats with Cats: Virtual Reality and Policing with JC Barnes

JC-Barnes-Criminal-Justice-School-CECH

Join us for a conversation with the interim school director of Criminal Justice, JC Barnes, about virtual reality and policing.

Tuesday, Nov. 9
12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Virtual

Chats with Cats Join us for a Chats with Cats event