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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. He brings an insider’s perspective to his work, shaped by his experience as a former courier, taxi driver, corrections worker, and union shop steward. This approach has also benefited from numerous visits to correctional facilities across North America, Europe, and South America, and firsthand research on street culture, and graffiti and street art internationally. Ross has published 30+ 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.











AI and the Dreaded College Essay
/by Jeffrey Ian RossIn the coming weeks, college students will begin writing their dreaded end-of-semester essays. But the landscape has changed. The rise of free, publicly available Artificial Intelligence (AI) writing tools like ChatGPT and ClaudeAI has transformed how many students do their work. Since these tools became widely accessible, reliance on them has skyrocketed, leaving educational institutions […]
Why Virginia’s Cooperation with ICE is a Misguided Policy & Practice
/by Jeffrey Ian RossFollowing Indiana Governor Mike Braun’s lead, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin recently signed an executive order enabling state and local law enforcement agencies (and jails) to assist federal authorities, specifically Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in detaining and extraditing undocumented immigrants. This policy is neither new nor effective—it has been tried with predictable consequences, including strained […]
The Never-Ending Demonization of the American Inner City
/by Jeffrey Ian RossThis past week, Trump proposed an executive order aimed at increasing sentences for violent crimes (especially gun-related), quality-of-life offenses (e.g., public urination), the clearing of homeless encampments, and the removal of graffiti from national monuments in the District of Columbia. Notwithstanding whether Trump has the legal authority to impose these sanctions, over the past century, […]