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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.
Interpreting Graffiti and Street Art Tours
/by Jeffrey Ian RossAlthough graffiti writers and street artists are central to shaping the urban visual landscape, they don’t act alone. Behind the scenes is a network of typically low-visibility individuals and organizations that enable or obstruct these visual interventions. While considerable attention is paid to the forces that attempt to prevent and abate graffiti and street art […]
The Death of Democracy in America Is Boring
/by Jeffrey Ian RossSince President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, anyone paying even the slightest bit of attention has witnessed constant assaults on personal liberties and the Constitution. What I want to argue is more unsettling: what we’ve seen over the past months is not only distressing, but boring, and that’s the real danger. Nearly every day […]
What’s my favorite Japanese dish to prepare?
/by Jeffrey Ian RossWhen I tell people I enjoy cooking Japanese food (@_gaijinchef), they often ask me which dish I enjoy making the most. Although it’s a natural question, I find it difficult to provide a straightforward answer. There are two main reasons why. First, I specialize in cooking Washoku (i.e., traditional Japanese cuisine characterized by seasonal ingredients, balance, […]