March 2012
Henry Pontell Professor of Criminology, Law and Society and Gilbert Geis Professor Emeritus of Criminology, Law & Society have co-written an article "The Jobs Act Is So Criminogenic That It Guarantees Full-time Jobs for Criminologists" in the Huffington Post (March 21 2012).
Thompson Cited in the " New Scientist "
February 2012
William Thompson, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society; his comments on the closing of the UK Forensic Science Service in the February 8, 2012 issue of New Scientist.
One of the 10 Absolute Coolest College Professors
January 2012
Henry Pontell Professor of Criminology, Law and Society is cited in the "Best Colleges Online.com" as one of The 10 Absolute Coolest College Professors.
Rhyme and Reason
December 2011 
Charis Kubrin Associate Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, studies rap music in the context of social and economic forces that have influenced hip-hop artists, such as deindustrialization, the war on drugs, and punitive criminal justice policy. Kubrin has written three research papers on the unorthodox subject and recently testified as an expert witness in a case involving rap lyrics.
Hipp and Yates featured in Criminology Volume 49, Issue 4
November 2011
John Hipp, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, and Graduate Student Daniel Yates had their article: "Ghettos, Thresholds, and Crime: Does Concentrated Poverty Really Have An Accelerating Increasing Effect on Crime?" featured in the Criminology, Volume 49, Issue 4 published online this month.
November, 2011
Herbert Bloch Award
UCI Irvine's Professor Henry Pontell has garnered the Herbert Bloch Award for outstanding service contributions to the American Society of Criminology and to the Professional interests of criminology.
Goddard's Paper Accepted For Publication
November 2011
Tim Goddard, Graduate Student of Criminology, Law and Society, recently had his solo-authored paper accepted for publication in the highly-ranked journal Theoretical Criminology. This work is from his second year project, and is entitled: 'Post-Welfarist Risk Managers? Risk, Crime Prevention, and the Turn to Non-State Community-Based Organizations.'
Poker or Ponzi?
October 2011
Henry Pontell was quoted in Card Player Magazine on the ongoing Full Tilt Poker case, noting the options prosecutors have in bringing charges.
Dombrink Receives Apple of Gold Award
September 2011
John Dombrink, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, was awarded the Orange County Hispanic Education Endowment Funds's 18th Annual Apple of Gold Award for Excellence in Post Secondary Leadership for his commitment to Latino student achievement in our local Orange County school districts through the Criminology Outreach Program (COP).
Reid's Article Piece Accepted For Publication
August 2011
Shannon Reid, Graduate Student of Criminology, Law and Society, has her article "Geographical influences of an emerging network of gang rivalries" in a forthcoming publication in the well known criminological journal, "Pysica A: "Statistical Mechanics".
Click here to read the Article
Tita Featured in NY Times "Sending The Police Before There's A Crime"
August 2011
A new prediction method for property crimes like car, home burglaries and car thefts is underway. This program was developed by a group of researchers, including two mathematicians and a criminologist, Associate Professor George Tita, Department of Criminology, Law and Society - in a project that used data provided by LAPD which is hoping to begin using the program later this year.
Kubrin Ranked #4 in Most Frequently Downloaded Papers in 2010
August 2011
Before each annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Social Problems, UC Press compiles a list of the 25 most frequently downloaded articles in the past year. Associate Professor Charis Kubrin, the Department of Criminology, Law and Society's newest faculty member, was ranked number 4, with 715 downloads of her paper, "Gangstas, Thugs, and Hustlas: Identity and the Code of the Street in Rap Music".
Cole Receives Honorable Mention for Article
July 2011
The 2011 Law and Society Association Article Prize committee made honorable mention of Jay D. Aronson and Simon A. Cole's article, "Science and the Death Penalty: DNA, Innocence, and the Debate over Capital Punishment in the United States."
Hipp featured in NIJ's Research Report Digest
July 2011
John Hipp, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, had his article, "Spreading the Wealth: The Effect of the Distribution of Income and Race/Ethnicity Across Households and Neighborhoods on City Crime Trajectories" featured as the lead article in NIJ's Research Report Digest this month.
Pontell Named Honorary Fellow at the University of Hong Kong
June 2011
Henry Pontell, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, has been named an Honorary Fellow in the Centre for Criminology at the University of Hong Kong. He will be part of an international group of advisors who promote the mission of the Centre which includes research development, education and criminal justice policy aimed at crime prevention and treatment of offenders at the local, regional and global levels. He will begin collaborative research on white-collar and corporate crime there next year. The University of Hong Kong is ranked 23rd among the world's universities and is the top university in Asia according to the 2010 U.S. News and World Report's "World's Best Universities".
MAS Featured in Criminal Justice, College and Career Blog
June 2011
The Master of Advanced Study in Criminology, Law and Society program was recently featured in the online Criminal Justice Degree, College and Career Blog. With a national audience reaching nearly 200,000 subscribers, this blog features top-ranked educational programs within the criminal justice and related fields. It also serves as an excellent career networking site for those seeking employment and other advancement opportunities within the criminal justice community. The Department of Criminology, Law and Society has been consistently ranked in the top 5 nationally by US News & World Report and is now proud to be featured as a top-ranked program in the Criminal Justice Degree, College and Career Blog.
Former 'Street Kid' Now Studies Them
June 2011
James Diego Vigil, Professor of Criminology, Law & Society, was featured on UCI's website this month. "Poverty is the root of the most serious gangs in Southern California and the nation," he says. "What I focus on is the breakdown of social control in these neighborhoods. When things fall apart, kids are floating free and more apt to join gangs and become what I call 'street socialized.'"
Pontell Receives Grant to Study White-Collar and Corporate Crime in China
May 2011
Henry Pontell, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, received a University of California Pacific Rim Research Program grant to study white-collar and corporate crime in China and its domestic, regional and global effects. The multi-site study includes two overseas universities and a concluding symposium to be held at UCI.
Vigil Testifies on Gang Injunction Case
May 2011
James Diego Vigil, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, testified on behalf of the ACLU's case against the Orange County District Attorney's Office on the gang injunction of the Orange Varrio Cyprus gang. Judge Fairbank ruled that anti-gang policies such as the gang injunction must first give individuals the right to fight that label in court before issuing the injunction. This case and federal ruling was the first of its kind and will force all municipalities to reconsider their anti-gang policies that overstep constitutional liberties.
Pontell Receives the Herbert Bloch Award
May 2011
Henry Pontell, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, received the Herbert Bloch Award for his outstanding service contributions to the American Society of Criminology and to the professional interests of criminology. Pontell joins Ronald Huff as the second UCI winner of this great honor.
List of past Bloch Award Winners
Troshynski on Jessica's Law and State's Sex Offender Policies
May 2011
Emily Troshynski, Graduate student of Criminology, Law & Society and Public Impact Fellow, discusses Jessica's Law and State's Sex Offender Policies.
Loftus and Eye Witness Testimony on BBC Radio
April 2011
Elizabeth Loftus, Distinguished Professor of Psychology & Social Behavior, Criminology, Law & Society, Law and Cognitive Science, was featured on BBC Radio regarding eye witness testimony.
Lynch Receives 2010 PASS Award
April 2011
Mona Lynch, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, received a 2010 PASS (Prevention for a Safer Society) award from the National Council of Crime and Delinquency for her book Sunbelt Justice: Arizona and the Transformation of American Punishment. Sunbelt Justice was published in 2009 by Stanford University Press.
Jenness Cited in the Los Angeles Times
April 2011
Valerie Jenness, Dean of the School of Social Ecology and Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, was cited in an article on the front page of the Los Angeles Times (April 20, 2011) reporting on transgender prisoners in California prisons. The article cited statistics from her research on the victimization of transgender prisoners as well as her commentary on correctional policy related to how best to think about housing transgender prisoners in sex-segregated prisons.
Pontell Quoted in The New York Times
April 2011
Henry Pontell, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, was quoted in a front page article in The New York Times (April 14, 2011) titled, "In Financial Crisis, No Prosecutions of Top Figures". The article cited statistics from his research on prosecutions during the Savings and Loan Crisis and compared them to the current financial meltdown.
Pontell Quoted in Conference Board Review Article
April 2011
Henry Pontell, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, was recently quoted in a Conference Board Review article about white collar crime. Pontell said, "In this particular white-collar crime wave the potential defendants in these cases are so powerful that it’s clear there are not going to be a lot of cases brought, even though there was probably a lot of criminal wrongdoing.”
Rumbaut on NPR's Morning Edition
April 2011
Ruben Rumbaut, Professor of Sociology, was recently on NPR's Morning Edition show talking about the difficulty in classifying and measuring Hispanics in the Census, since they are an ethnicity not a race.
Tomlins Receives Bancroft Prize for Book
March 2011
Christoper Tomlins, Chancellor's Professor of Law, has recently been awarded this year's Bancroft Prize for his book, "Freedom Bound: Law, Labor and Civic Identity in Colonizing English America, 1580-1865". The prize is awarded annually by the trustees of Columbia University to the authors of books of exceptional merit in the fields of American history, biography and diplomacy.
Hipp and Yates Paper Accepted to the Journal of Criminology
March 2011
John Hipp, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society and Daniel Yates, Graduate Student of Criminology, Law and Society have recently had their paper, "Ghettos, Thresholds, and Crime: Does Concentrated Poverty Really Have an Accelerating Increasing Effect on Crime?" accepted to the journal of Criminology.
US News & World Report Ranks 22 UCI Graduate Programs in Top 50
March 2011
Three of UC Irvine's graduate programs received updated, top-50 rankings in U.S. News & World Report's 2012 edition of Best Grad Schools released Tuesday, March 15. The annual report ranks programs based on national reputation and the quality of students and faculty. Including rankings from previous years, UCI now has 22 programs in the top 50, with Criminology ranked at number 5.
CLS Undergraduate Student Selected for ASA's Honors Program
March 2011
Albert Novelozo, Undergraduate Student of Criminology, Law and Society, has recently been selected to participate in this year's American Sociological Association's (ASA) Honors Program in Las Vegas, NV.
Goddard and Myers' Article Accepted for Publication
March 2011
Timothy Goddard and Randy Myers, Graduate Students of Criminology, Law and Society have recently had their article, "Democracy and Demonstration in the Gray Area of Neo-Liberalism: A Case Study of Free Los Angeles High School" accepted for publication by the British Journal for Criminology.
Assessing the State's Sex Offender Policies
March 2011
Emily Troshynski, Graduate student of Criminology, Law & Society and Public Impact Fellow, was featured on UCI's website this month. Her Public Impact Fellowship will help explore costs and benefits of GPS tracking. "Wearing an ankle bracelet does not facilitate rehabilitation," says Emily Troshynski, standing before a map of sex offender locations. "Studies show that while the number of transient parolees has increased, recidivism remains the same."
Loftus receives the Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award
February 2011
Elizabeth Loftus, Distinguished Professor of Psychology & Social Behavior, Criminology, Law & Society, Law and Cognitive Science, received the Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Generally the award honors individual scientists for exemplary actions that help foster scientific freedom and responsibility. In this case, the award was given "for the profound impact that her pioneering research on human memory has had on the administration of justice in the United States and abroad".
Vice and Virtue
February 2011
John Dombrink, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, studies immoral, unethical or unlawful behavior and how our definitions of these evolve over time. Gambling, euthanasia, stem cell research, illicit drugs, same-sex marriage - if it gets people riled up over what's right and wrong, he's intrigued.
Pontell Receives the Paul Tappan Award
February 2011
Henry Pontell, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, received the Western Society of Criminology's Paul Tappan Award for outstanding contributions to criminology at the group's annual meetings in Vancouver. He delivered a plenary speech at the conference titled, "Fraud and Financial Crisis".
Loftus to be Filmed in Documentary about Research
January 2011
Elizabeth Loftus, Distinguished Professor of Social Ecology, will be filmed by Luke Meyer of See Think films in February for a documentary about her research.
Loftus Assists the Hawaii Innocence Project to Free Convicted Inmate
January 2011
Elizabeth Loftus, Distinguished Professor of Psychology & Social Behavior, Criminology, Law & Society, Law and Cognitive Science, assisted the Hawaii Innocence Project in their efforts to free convicted inmate, Alvin Jardine III. DNA testing exonerated Jardine but prosecuters were reluctant to release him. After court testimony, the judge granted Jardine a new trial.
Hess Appointed to the Board of Directors for the ACJRC
January 2011
Jim Hess, Statistician for the Center for Evidence Based Corrections, has been appointed to the Board of Directors for the Association for Criminal Justice Research (California).
Crossing Cultures
January 2011
Justin Richland, Associate Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, knew early on that he didn't want a typical career. He found his niche in the Native American legal system. Learn more about his work with the Hopi tribe in Northern Arizona.
Thompson To Be Guest on NRP's Diane Rehm Show
January 2011
Bill Thompson, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, will be a guest on NRP's Diane Rehm Show on Thursday, January 6, 2011. The show will discuss causes of false convictions.
Fortin's Op-Ed Piece Accepted For Publication
December 2010
Veronique Fortin, Graduate Student of Criminology, Law and Society, has had her op-ed piece published in a major newspaper in Québec. The article discusses imprisonment of the homeless for default payment of fines.
Click here to read the full article
Whitby Chamberlain's Paper Accepted For Publication
December 2010
Alyssa Whitby Chamberlain, Graduate Student of Criminology, Law and Society, just had a solo-authored paper accepted for publication in Justice Quarterly. This work is from her second year project, and is entitled: "Offender Rehabilitation: Examining Changes in Inmate Treatment Characteristics, Program Participation and Institutional Behavior".
Maxson Quoted on Proponents of Gang Injunctions
December 2010
Cheryl Maxson, Associate Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, was quoted by the Desert Sun regarding proponents of gang injuctions. Maxson stated, "We found modest decreases in crime, particularly violent crime, in the injunction safety zone".
Click here to read the full article
Meeker receives the 2010 UCI Extension Faculty Award
November 2010
Jim Meeker, Associate Dean and Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, is the recipient of the 2010 UCI Extension Faculty Award. Jim is being honored for his role as an advisory board member in the UCI Extension Paralegal Certificate Program since 1996. During his tenure, he has consistently supported University Extension's mission on campus and in the Academic Senate, and has served as a valuable source of programmatic advice.
Loftus' Research on Memory to be Storyline on TV Show
November 2010
Elizabeth Loftus, Distinguished Professor of Psychology & Social Behavior, Criminology, Law & Society, Law and Cognitive Science, may have her research on memory be a storyline in an upcoming episode of "Mind Games" on CBS. The storyline will likely depict the first criminal case Loftus was an expert witness for the defense attorney.
Jenness Elected President of the Pacific Sociological Association
November 2010
Valerie Jenness, Dean of the School of Social Ecology and Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, has been elected President of the Pacific Sociological Association. The PSA is a professional organization devoted to advancing scholarly research and teaching on all social processes and areas of social life. The PSA endorses engagement of scholars in areas of social justice and social responsibility.
Dombrink Receives UCI's 2010 Living Our Values Award
November 2010
John Dombrink, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, is a recipient of the 2010 Living Our Values Award for his commitment to the Social Ecology Mentor Program and Criminology Outreach Program.
Click here to see the recipients
Loftus Quoted on the Implantation of False Memories
November 2010
Elizabeth Loftus, Distinguished Professor of Psychology & Social Behavior, Criminology, Law & Society, Law and Cognitive Science, was quoted by CBSNews.com regarding the implantation of false memories and how eventually they may affect consumer behavior.
Click here to read the full article
Huff Argues that California Should Reduce its Prison Population
November 2010
Earlier this week, C. Ronald Huff, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, joined with 29 other criminologists and the Center on Administration of Criminal Law (based in NY) and its DC-based lead counsel, in a brief filed on Monday with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that California can and should reduce its prison population, as ordered by the district court. Our state's prison population vastly exceeds its official capacity. The costs related to over-incarceration impose major constraints on the state's budget and impact negatively on funds available to support education, health care, and other critical needs.
Click here to read a copy of the brief
Turner Receives 2010 Distinguished Professor Award
October 2010
Susan Turner, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, was awarded the 2010 Distinguished Professor award by the American Society of Criminology.
Dombrink Presents at International Conference in Montreal
October 2010
John Dombrink, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, recently presented at an International Conference in Montreal. The conference, "Culture Wars in the United States: The Politics of Religious Conservatism in Obama's Time" was organized by The Center for United States Studies.
Ward Receives National Science Foundation Award
September 2010 
Loftus Appears on "60 Minutes"
September 2010 
Elizabeth Loftus, Distinguished Professor of Psychology & Social Behavior, Criminology, Law & Society, Law and Cognitive Science, appeared Sunday, September 26, 2010 on "60 Minutes" in a repeat broadcast of her 2009 interview with Leslie Stahl on "Eyewitness: How Accurate is Visual Memory?" In her interview, Loftus talks about the fragility of memory in eye-witness testimony, and puts Stahl through an exercise that shows how faulty memory can result in wrongful convictions.
Pontell Testifies before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission
September 2010
On September 21, Henry Pontell, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society will testify before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission in Miami on the workings of mortgage fraud, and its effects in Florida.
School of Social Ecology Alumni to be 2010-2011 Capital Fellow
September 2010
Ambar Ramos, a senior and double major in Chicano/Latino studies and Criminology, Law, and Society, was selected to be a 2010-2011 Capital Fellow in the Judicial Administration Fellowship Program. Voted one of the Top 10 internships in 2010 by Vault.com, the Capital Fellows Programs were ranked highly on a combination of meaningful work experience and career opportunities.
Fallible DNA Evidence Can Mean Prison or Freedom
August 2010
William Thompson, Professor of Criminology, Law & Society and Psychology & Social Behavior, is quoted by the New Scientist regarding the validity of DNA evidence.
Just the Facts
July 2010
UCI professor Susan Turner studies crime and punishment to help state policymakers develop prison and parole programs based on effectiveness — not emotion or politics.
Criminology Journal Suggests Ways To Forestall White-Collar Crime
July 2010
Henry Pontell, Professor of Criminology, Law & Society, and Tomson Nguyen of the University of Houston—Downtown recently published "Mortgage origination fraud and the global economic crisis: A criminological analysis" in the journal Criminology & Public Policy. Their research article documents the role of inadequate regulation, indiscriminate use of alternative loan products, and lack of accountability in the subprime mortgage industry in leading to the current economic crisis.
Calavita Inducted as a Fellow of the AAPSS
June 2010
Kitty Calavita, Chancellor's Professor and Professor of Criminology, Law & Society and Sociology, has been inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.
She was selected for her outstanding contributions to the social sciences and sustained efforts to communicate her research beyond academia to the policymaking world and public.
Learn More about the ceremony or listen to the podcast.
Hipp receives the Ruth Shonle Cavan Young Scholar Award
May 2010
John Hipp, Professor of Criminology, Law & Society and Law and Planning, Policy and Design has received the 2010 Ruth Shonle Cavan Young Scholar Award from the American Society of Criminology.
Established in 1997, the Ruth Shonle Cavan Young Scholar Award is given to recognize outstanding scholarly contributions to the discipline of criminology by someone who has received the Ph.D., MD, LL.D. or a similar graduate degree no more than five years before the year of the award.
Wakefield receives grant from the Russell Sage Foundation
May 2010
Sara Wakefield, Assistant Professor of Criminology, Law & Society, was awarded funding from the Russell Sage Foundation for her research entitled: Growing up with an Imprisoned Parent. Wakefield is collaborating with Christopher Wildeman, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Yale University.
Pontell Testifies before United States Senate
May 2010
On May 4, Henry Pontell, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society will testify before the United States Senate on policy issues related to the use of criminal punishment to deter financial fraud.
The hearing is being convened by the State Senate’s Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs. To view the recorded hearing, please visit the C-SPAN Video Library.
Tung Awarded Gates Cambridge Scholarship
April 2010
Congratulations to alumna Cleo Tung, who was recently awarded a prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship. Tung graduated in 2009 with a B.A. in Criminology, Law and Society. At Cambridge, Tung intends to explore gender-based asylum through a criminological lens. Click here to learn more about her future research plans.
The Gates Cambridge Scholarship was established in 2000 by the generosity of Bill and Melinda Gates. This international scholarship program enables students from outside of the United Kingdom to study at the University of Cambridge.
Pontell receives the Green Honors Chair at Texas Christian University
March 2010
Henry Pontell, professor of Criminology, Law and Society received the Cecil and Ida Green Honors Chair at Texas Christian University. Established in 1969, the endowed award is designed to bring to the campus nationally known visiting scholars, scientists, and writers, and to “bring into association with the Green name some of the world's foremost thinkers and achievers."
A sampling of former recipients includes Nobel laureates, Pultizer Prize winning journalist Carl Bernstein, and former CBS News anchor Dan Rather. Pontell visited the campus March 29-30 and gave a number of presentations to students and faculty including a university-wide lecture entitled, “Global Meltdown: Fraud in Financial Crises.”
Currie quoted about the handling of John Gardner's case
Elliott Currie, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society was invited by the San Diego Union-Tribune to comment on the handling of John Gardner's case.
From The Union-Trib:
"What is remarkable to me in this case is how little anyone seemed to know about this young man, and how little interest there seemed to be in seriously trying to figure out why he had done what he had done and how similar acts might be prevented in the future. Whatever one thinks of the resulting sentence [John Albert] Gardener received, the severity of this act should have raised a lot of red flags about what was wrong with this guy."
Jesilow and Ohlander published in Journal of Empirical Legal Studies
March 2010
Professor Paul Jesilow and Lecturer Julianne Ohlander's article "The Impact of Tort Reforms on the Sanctioning of Physicians by State Licensing Boards" has been published in the JOURNAL OF EMPIRICAL LEGAL STUDIES. This article evaluates the impact of changes in tort laws on the state medical licensing board actions in the United States, an area of study that has largely been overlooked in the tort reform debate.
To read more about the article, go to http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123294630/abstract
Schuele blogs on "States Rights vs. Gun Rights" for the New York Times
March 2010
Lecturer Donna Schuele was invited to blog for the New York Times on a major gun control case. Dr. Schuele joined three other experts to discuss the specific question:
"Will a decision against Chicago, which has banned handguns since 1982, make it far more difficult for states and cities to impose gun-control-measures (even measures less stringent than an outright ban)? Are there implications that go beyond gun rights?"
To Read the Blog, please follow this link: http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/states-rights-vs-gun-r...
Math and Science Solving Crimes
The research of George Tita, Associate Professor of Criminology, Law and Society and Sociology, is featured on the National Science Foundation website.
Huff quoted about gangs
C. Ronald Huff, Professor of Criminology, Law & Society, is quoted by The Associated Press regarding gangs in the U.S.
From The Associated Press:
"The middle class and upper class think about and do things to plan for the future. People who don't have those things are more fatalistic because they don't believe they have a future. Parents don't imagine anything will be different for their children."
Jenness receives Public Understanding of Sociology Award
January 2010
Valerie Jenness, Interim Dean of Social Ecology and Professor of Criminology, Law and Society will receive the “Public Understanding of Sociology Award” for 2010 from the American Sociological Association. The award is given annually for exemplary contributions to furthering the public’s understanding of sociology. Professor Jenness will share the award with Doris Wilkinson. Previous recipient include Francis Fox Piven and Herbert J. Gans.
Currie receives 2009 August Vollmer Award from ASC
January 2010
Elliott Currie, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society has received the August Vollmer Award for 2009 from the American Society of Criminology. “The August Vollmer Award (established in 1959) recognizes a criminologist whose research scholarship has contributed to justice or to the treatment or prevention of criminal or delinquent behavior, either through a single outstanding work, a series of theoretical or research contributions, or on the accumulated contributions by a senior scholar.”
Pontell's class among "The 15 Coolest College Courses"
January 2010
"White-Collar & Corporate Crime," a UCI class taught by CLS professor Henry Pontell was ranked among the "The 15 Coolest College Courses" by Rasmussen College. "White-Collar & Corporate Crime" looks at criminal activity in high-profile professions, organizations and businesses. Case studies include such white-collar bandits as Martha Stewart. According to the ranking, UCI's School of Social Ecology "knows more about white-collar crimes than anyone besides an ex-convict."
Dombrink commended for efforts with Criminology Outreach Program
January 2010
John Dombrink, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society and Director of the Criminology Outreach Program, earned a Stewardship Star in December 2009 from the University of California Foundation. The Stewardship Star recognizes efforts that are “especially effective in nurturing all-important relationships with donors.”
Fewer hate crimes in 2008, Obama's election year, data show
December 2009
Valerie Jenness, Interim Dean of the School of Social Ecology and Professor of Criminology, Law & Society and Sociology, is quoted by ABC News regarding hate crimes in the U.S.
From ABC News:
The slight improvement – reports of hate crimes went from 5,011 in 2007 to 4,911 in 2008 – may seem a bit of a surprise at a time when the national discourse has included news about gun-buying sprees after Mr. [Barack] Obama's election, militias and hate groups on the rise, and a "toxic atmosphere of rage in America," as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) puts it in a new report. "People are unhappy; it's the downfall of civilization. I get it," says Valerie Jenness, a criminologist at the University of California at Irvine and author of "Hate Crimes: New Social Movements & the Politics of Violence." "But I don't think there's a lot of empirical evidence that we have a massive insurgence [of violence] going on. The level of discourse, after all, is different than the level of mobilizing and actual behavior."
Jenness inaugural recipient of SSSP Lifetime Achievement Award
October 2009
Valerie Jenness, Interim Dean and Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Crime and Juvenile Delinquency Division of the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP). The award honors individuals for their distinguished scholarship and for the positive impact of their actions to achieve justice, and address problems of crime and delinquency.
Currie quoted in Patriot-News, October 24
October 2009
"There are no easy answers to stop city violence" - Dr. Elliot Currie, a highly regarded scholar at the University of California, Irvine, states it succinctly: "The kind of inequality that seems most associated with violent crime around the world is best understood as a broader and more multifaceted condition of social disadvantage." He goes on to speak to the issue of social exclusion, a situation where those at the bottom of the social order become more and more separated from the rest of society, blocked from access to many of the social services that shore up the social institutions that support family life.
Calavita elected as AAPSS fellow
October 2009
Professor Kitty Calavita has been elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Science in recognition of the contributions she have made to the progress of the social sciences and to communicating that understanding beyond her own discipline. AAPSS designated her a Thorsten Sellin Fellow of the Academy, in keeping with their practice of naming these positions after distinguished scholars who have written over the past centruy for the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. The induction dinner ceremony will take place in Washington DC on May 13, 2010.
Loftus accepts Priestley Award
October 2009
Elizabeth Loftus accepted the 2009 Joseph Priestley Award at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania on October l5, 2009. It was bestowed for her work in the field of human memory, particularly her contributions to our understanding of childhood abuse and traumatic recovered memories. The Priestley Award is Dickinson's most prestigious acknowledgement for achievement in the sciences, bestowed in memory of Joseph Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen. Past recipients include 15 Nobel Laureates, primarily in chemistry, physics and medicine. Margaret Mead, Carl Sagan, Stephen Jay Gould, and E. O. Wilson have also received this award.
Henne paper awarded First by American Society of Criminology
October 2009
The American Society of Criminology (ASC) Division on Critical Criminology will be awarding Kate Henne First Place for the Graduate Student paper competition for her paper “Enemies and Citizens of the State: Die Boeremag as the Face of Post-apartheid Otherness.” The award will be presented at the Division social at the ASC conference in Philadelphia on Friday, November 6th.
Lynch book published
October 2009
Associate Professor Mona Lynch's book, "Sunbelt Justice: Arizona and the Transformation of American Punishment" has just been released by Stanford University Press. The book examines changes in Arizona’s criminal justice policies and practices over a 50 year period as a mode for understanding and explaining the multiple dynamics underlying the dramatic penal transformations and the rise of mass incarceration that occurred across the United States in the late 20th century. To learn more about the book, go to http://www.sup.org/book.cgi?id=17521
Gascon book chapter to be published
October 2009
Danny Gascón's co-authored book chapter, Both Sides of the Coin?: Personality, Deviance and Creative Behavior, has been accepted for publication in the book The Dark Side of Creativity.
The full citation is Gascon, L. D., & Kaufman, J. (forthcoming). Both Sides of the Coin?: Personality, Deviance and Creative Behavior. In D.H. Cropley, J. C. Kaufman, A. J. Cropley, & M. A. Runco (Eds.), The Dark Side of Creativity. (pp. 13-35). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Parolees' release leads to crime
September 2009
A recent study, conducted by UC Irvine criminologist's John Hipp and Dan Yates, found that, in most cases, reports of aggravated assault, robbery and burglary go up when parolees return to their neighborhoods - and that if they have violent backgrounds, murder rates increase.
Full Story on UCI Homepage
Study quoted in other news sources:
Crime decreases in most L.A. Sheriff's department areas
September 2009
Associate Professor George Tita is quoted in the LA Times about the L.A. area's decline in crime in the face of an economic downturn, saying "This definitely shows the value of saturation policing. The question is can they keep the numbers low like the LAPD has done," Tita said. Read More...
Where are the subprime perp walks?
September 2009
Professor Henry Pontell is quoted in a CNN article discussing the recent economic crisis.
"We really have learned no lessons from the savings and loan crisis," he said, referring to the wave of bank failures in the 1980s that led to a number of notable fraud convictions. The most germane one is that fraud plays a central role in these episodes. It acts as an accelerant for financial bubbles." Read More...
Pontell gives Keynote at Australian Security Conference
September 2009
Professor Henry Pontell gave the keynote address at the Australian Security Conference this August in Sydney. Pontell discussed the impact of trivalizing white-collar crime and implications for security and risk management. Pontell was was also named Green Honors Chair at Texas Christian University.
Henry Pontell is a Professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society and specializes in white-collar crime.
CLS PhD Alum Featured in Moore's new movie
September 2009
CLS PhD alum Bill Black is slowly becoming a household name, but he will soon grow in popularity. Featured in Michael Moore's new film, Capitalism: A Love Story, Black discusses the impact of individuals such as Henry Paulson and Timothy Geitner on our economy.
Black completed his PhD at the University of California, Irvine's Department of Criminology, Law and Society in 1998. He is the author of The Best Way to Rob a Bank Is to Own One, a revised edition of his dissertation, and Associate Professor of Economics and Law at the University of Missouri. A review of the movie may be found at Time.com
Nguyen Files Dissertation; Takes position at University of Houston
September 2009
Congratulations to Dr. Tomson Nguyen on filing his dissertation, Subprime mortgage fraud and the U.S. economic crisis: A criminological analysis.Tomson has accepted a tenure-track assistant professor position in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Houston. His new position will begin in Spring 2010.
Abstract. Economists, industry practitioners, and government officials have failed to observe the significance of mortgage fraud as an inherent problem related to the subprime mortgage crisis. Relying on intensive interviews with 23 subjects, previously and currently employed in the subprime lending industry, government reports, media accounts, and a variety of secondary sources, this study traces the exponential growth of mortgage fraud to loose underwriting standards, alternative loan products, and inadequate regulation and regulatory oversight of the subprime mortgage industry. The research findings detail and describe various types of financial crimes that constitute a modern form of mortgage fraud; unlike their traditional counterpart, contemporary mortgage fraud contain elements of both fraud for profit and fraud for property. Various types and patterns of mortgage fraud – “data manipulation,” “data fabrication,” and “concerted ignorance” – completely altered the function of the subprime industry. Toward this end, the industry operated not only to provide bad loans to bad credit borrowers but also to provide bad loans to bad credit borrowers who fully lacked the ability to repay the loans. The social and economic implications of fraud are also explored in light of the findings. From a policy perspective, future fraud prevention and intervention strategies should incorporate a multi-faceted approach that includes strict underwriting standards, regulatory oversight, accountability, and mandatory continuous education for loan practitioners.
Trager to be published in Law and Social Inquiry
September 2009
Glenn Trager's solo-authored article, Loosing the Dragon: Charismatic Legal Action and the Construction of the Taiping Legal Order, has been accepted for publication in the journal LAW & SOCIAL INQUIRY.
Abstract. This paper develops the notion of legal charisma by analyzing the Taiping Rebellion in mid-19th century China. The concept of legal charisma seeks to capture those normally inchoate aspects of law that transcend its institutionalized incarnations and empower its subjects to act out visions of the universal, often in anarchic and unpredictable ways. The paper further suggests that such charismatic legal behavior, in spite of its anarchic qualities, provides an important means through which systems of legal authority revitalize and strengthen their hold over legal subjects. The Taiping Rebellion provides an example of both these facets of legal charisma: the rebellion drew on visions of collective empowerment inherent in a legal newly articulated legal code to act out a challenge to existing social institutions – even as this same code came to assert an ever tightening grip on the lives of the Taiping rank and file.