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About
Criminologist, Scholar, & Consultant
Jeffrey Ian Ross, Ph.D., is a criminologist at the University of Baltimore and co-founder of Convict Criminology. His approach is shaped by nearly a decade of work before entering academia, as a courier, cab driver, corrections worker, and union shop steward. It is further grounded in three decades of visiting correctional facilities across North America, Europe, and South America, researching the conditions inside them, and having conversations with convicts and correctional officers and administrators. It also draws on interviews with formerly incarcerated people outside those facilities, and on ethnographic fieldwork on street culture and on graffiti and street art internationally. Ross has published more than thirty books and shares his expertise on corrections, policing, political crime, street culture, and graffiti and street art through scholarship, public writing, speaking, media commentary, and consulting.
Fear and Kindness on the Road to Calgary
/by Jeffrey Ian RossI can’t remember what month it was, only that snow had begun to fall as we drove from Lethbridge to Calgary. The road wasn’t a highway, just a patchwork of farm grids: a few miles straight, a turn left, a curve right, and again. It was slow going, maybe 90 minutes through sleet and wind […]
America’s Police Chiefs Must Speak Out
/by Jeffrey Ian RossSince the start of the new Trump administration (early 2025), we’ve seen an increase in federal law enforcement operations in major U.S. cities. In New York, Chicago, and Denver, federal agents (especially Immigration and Customs Enforcement – ICE) have conducted widespread immigration enforcement actions, often without coordination with local police. In Newark, residents filmed armed […]
Are Inflatable Costumes Helping or Hurting the Protest Message?
/by Jeffrey Ian RossOver the past few weeks, considerable media attention has been given to protestors wearing inflatable or oversized novelty suits at anti-Trump demonstrations, including the recent No Kings protests. And yes, most of the people dressed up as frogs, dinosaurs, unicorns, and chickens look like they’re having fun. But as these images circulate, it’s worth asking […]