Crime was a major issue in the city of Chicago’s most recent mayoral election. Chicago voters chose the progressive candidate who promised to fight the root causes of crime over the centrist candidate who pledged more support for police. Dr. Kevin Wozniak, the director of Maynooth University’s Centre for Criminology, was interviewed to discuss what this election teaches us about the politics of crime and punishment in the United States at this moment in time. Drawing upon his own research findings, Wozniak argues that there is growing support among Americans to invest in community crime prevention rather than solely invest in police and prisons to respond to crime only after it has occurred.
You can read the Scripps News piece here.
Dr. Kevin Wozniak is a lecturer in the School of Law and Criminology. He teaches modules in The Politics of Mass Incarceration, He is interested in conducting comparative research and exploring the similarities and differences in Irish and U.S. history, culture, politics, and criminal justice practices.