Daniel Mears, Mark C. Stafford Professor of Criminology and Distinguished Research Professor, recently served as guest editor for a Criminal Justice Reform special issue of the American Journal of Criminal Justice.
The Journal typically publishes articles that examine crime, law, and criminal justice. The Editor-in-Chief of the Journal, J. Mitchell Miller, wanted to do something different for the year-end issue. He asked Dr. Mears to helm a special issue that tackled one of the most critical issues in all of criminal justice: What reforms can cost-efficiently improve public safety and reduce injustice?
The end result is an issue that tackles “big” topics and highlights the complexity of criminal justice reform as well as the need for coherent, systemic change.
Dr. Mears said, “Collectively, the articles illuminate that piecemeal change achieves little. And they identify directions both to advance research and to improve policy in ways that will create large-scale, lasting improvements to criminal justice.” His own work, including award-winning books on criminal justice policy, highlight the importance of systemic reforms grounded in research evidence.
FSU President Emeritus John Thrasher, who co-authored one of the featured articles (Translational Criminology, Politics, and Promising Practices), said that this special issue is a tremendous honor for Dr. Mears and the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice.
Thrasher said, “It reflects our incredible talent at the college. Dr. Mears put together a fantastic issue. From a research standpoint, there is important information in those articles that address some of the difficult problems we are facing in America today.”
To access the Journal, please visit the American Journal of Criminal Justice.
The American Journal of Criminal Justice publishes research on the criminal justice process, the formal and informal interplay between system components, problems and solutions in law enforcement, the courts, and correctional system, innovative practices, and policy development and implementation.
Dr. Mears is a Fellow of the American Society of Criminology and recipient of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences’ highest honor, the Bruce Smith, Sr. Award. His work focuses on crime causation, criminal and juvenile justice, corrections, and crime prevention and intervention. He also serves as the Director of the Corrections Research & Policy Institute, a branch of the College’s Center for Criminology and Public Policy Research.