Social and Behavioral Science

Interview with Mark Hamm, Ph.D., Indiana State University

Dr. Hamm is studying lone wolf terrorism in the United States and how such terrorists become radicalized. In this interview, Hamm explains the difference between mass violence and terrorism and discusses the ways in which many lone wolf terrorists use public forums to broadcast their intent to commit terrorist acts.

February 2013
Interview with David Schanzer, J.D., Associate Professor, Duke University and Director, Triangle Center of Terrorism and Homeland Security

Mr. Schanzer discusses his study of community policing strategies for countering violent extremism. Schanzer points out that there is a wide variety of terrorist ideologies from religious, to environmental, to economic. He is hoping to discover if particular community policing strategies are more effective in countering certain types of terrorism and building resilience against extremism.

Interview with Gary Ackerman, Director for Special Projects, National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, University of Maryland

Mr. Ackerman is conducting an empirical assessment of domestic radicalization, with an emphasis on the process of radicalization. In this interview, Ackerman explains how he is using large empirical analysis and small scale life study analysis to discover which factors might cause an individual to make the leap from illegal terrorist behavior to violent terrorist behavior.

More law enforcement officers die each year in traffic incidents than from any other cause, including shootings. Many of these deaths occur on the roadside as officers perform their duties. This public service announcement reminds drives to slow down and move over when they see a public safety responder on the side of the road. This video was produced by Respondersafety.com with funding from the National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice, and United States Fire Administration, Department of Homeland Security.

Learn about CrimeSolutions, a site that uses rigorous research to inform practitioners and policy makers about what works in criminal justice, juvenile justice, and crime victim services. Captured in the videos are scenarios of how the site can be of use to justice professionals and practitioners who are working to address criminal activity in their communities. Also captured are testimonials from actual CrimeSolutions users, highlighting how the site has proven to be beneficial in meeting their needs.

In this interview conducted at the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Conference 2011, Gary LaFree, Ph.D., Director of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism, University of Maryland, discusses the state of domestic and transnational terrorism research in the social and behavioral sciences prior to and following September 11, 2011.

In this interview, Professor Aileen Wiglesworth, University of California, Irvine and Detective Cherie Hill of the Anaheim Police Department, discuss how research on elder abuse can impact how law enforcements pursue abuse cases.

Dr. Laub discusses fusing NIJ's dual mission through translational criminology, questions that guide NIJ's approach to translational criminology and the role of 'trust' in translational criminology.