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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.











Why do most East Coast beach towns in the United States seem the same?
/by Jeffrey Ian RossDuring the summer, many Americans trundle off with friends, family (and dog), or both to visit, spend time or relax at popular East Coast beach towns. If you participate in or witness this annual ritual you may eventually notice that there is a significant amount of homogeneity, predictability, redundancy and eventual monotony in the towns, […]
Stop giving the Neanderthals so much credit. Why prehistoric cave painting is not graffiti
/by Jeffrey Ian RossSome individuals suggest that the origins of graffiti date back to the prolific work of the late 1960s “Old School” New York City subway graffiti writers. Others may interject by saying that one need only look at the political slogans of “wall painters,” that appeared during the numerous domestic and international conflicts of the 20th […]
Attempting to understand the aesthetics of graffiti and street art pieces
/by Jeffrey Ian RossUrban dwellers pass by graffiti and street art every day without stopping to take notice, but during those rare moments when we have time and motivation it’s useful to examine the aesthetics of this type of urban art in our community or the places we travel to. Short of asking the writer or artist to […]