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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.
Differentiating “talking to” from “talking with”
/by Jeffrey Ian RossI’m neither a linguist nor a semantician, and I make lots of mistakes with the English language. However, I firmly believe that the words and expressions we use should not only approximate what we mean, but should also be as precise as possible. Thus, I find myself intrigued (or rather, confused) when people use the […]
Father’s Day, White Dads, and Conversations about Race
/by Jeffrey Ian RossFather’s Day is a special occasion reserved for recognizing and celebrating the invaluable role that dads play in the lives of their children. Beyond providing financial support, fathers can significantly contribute to their children’s personal and social development through the support and unconditional love they give their children. More specifically, a crucial aspect of parenting […]
Analyzing legislators’ recent attempts to address the FBOP Crisis
/by Jeffrey Ian RossAlthough correctional facilities and practices in the United States may not be as bad as those which exist in lessor developed countries, American prison systems have routinely been criticized for having a substantial amount of correctional officer deviance, corruption, poor living conditions, including overcrowding, substandard food, medical and psychiatric care, among other challenges. Some experts […]