{"id":335,"date":"2020-05-04T15:51:03","date_gmt":"2020-05-04T19:51:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/?post_type=profile&p=335"},"modified":"2025-01-16T16:14:53","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T21:14:53","slug":"shea-cronin","status":"publish","type":"profile","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/profile\/shea-cronin\/","title":{"rendered":"Shea W. Cronin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Cronin is assistant professor of criminal justice and chair of Applied Social Sciences at Boston University\u2019s Metropolitan College. He is an expert in the areas of crime policy and administration. His work has been published in the Journal of Urban Health<\/em>, Journal of Crime and Justice<\/em>, Justice Quarterly<\/em>, and Crime & Delinquency<\/em>. He has conducted quantitative research on firearms trafficking and firearms-related homicide, police strategies, organizations, and policy implementation. An active applied researcher, Cronin is a co-principal investigator on the Shannon Community Safety Initiative grant, funded by the Executive Office of Public Safety & Security, where his work assists local law enforcement and community-based partners in addressing youth violence in their communities. He was previously a co-investigator on a National Institute of Justice (NIJ) grant examining the impact of state firearm laws on homicide rates disaggregated by race\/ethnicity. Cronin teaches courses in criminology and crime policy, policing, and crime analysis and evaluation methods.<\/p>\n

Scholarly Works<\/h2>
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Refereed Publications<\/strong><\/p>\n

Knopov, A., Siegel, M., Xuan, Z., Rothman, E. F., Cronin, S. W., and Hemenway, D. “The Impact of State Firearm Laws on Homicide Rates among Black and White Populations in the United States, 1991\u20132016<\/a>.” Health & Social Work<\/em> 44, no. 4 (2019): 232\u2013240.<\/p>\n

Siegel, M., Solomon, B., Knopov, A., Rothman, E. F., Cronin, S. W., Xuan, Z., & Hemenway, D. “The Impact of State Firearm Laws on Homicide Rates in Suburban and Rural Areas Compared to Large Cities in the United States, 1991\u20102016<\/a>.” The Journal of Rural Health<\/em> (2019).<\/p>\n

Knopov, A., Rothman, E., Cronin, S., Franklin, L., Cansever, A., Potter, F., Mesic, A., Sharma, A., Xuan, Z., Siegel, M., and Hemenway, D. “The Role of Racial Residential Segregation in Black-White Disparities in Firearm Homicide at the State Level in the United States, 1991\u20132015<\/a>.”\u00a0<\/span>Journal of the National Medical Association<\/em>\u00a0(2018).<\/p>\n

Collins, T., Greenberg, R., Siegel, M., Xuan, Z., Rothman, E., Cronin, S., and Hemenway, D. “State Firearm Laws and Interstate Gun Trafficking in the United States, 2006\u20132016<\/a>.”\u00a0<\/span>Journal of Urban Health <\/em>(2018).<\/p>\n

\u201cNeighborhood Context and Media Representations of Crime.\u201d In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Oxford Encyclopedia of Crime, Media, and Popular Culture,<\/em>\u00a0edited by Michelle Brown (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017).<\/p>\n

Cronin, Shea, Jack McDevitt, and Gary Cordner. \u201cPolice Supervision: Perspectives of Subordinates.\u201d Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management<\/em>\u00a040, no. 1 (2016): 26\u201341. DOI: 10.1108\/PIJSM-07-2016-0117<\/p>\n

Choi, Kyung-Shick, Shea Cronin, and Heather Correia. \u201cThe Assessment of Capable Guardianship Measures Against Bullying Victimization in the School Environment.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Police Practice & Research <\/em>17, no. 2 (2016): 149\u2013159.<\/p>\n

Farrell, Amy, and Shea Cronin. \u201cPolicing Prostitution in an Era of Human Trafficking<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Journal of Crime, Law and Social Change <\/em>64, no. 4\u20135\u00a0(2015): 211\u2013228.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cronin, S., Farrell, A., and Pennington, L. \u201cJuror Perceptions of the Legitimacy of Legal Authorities and Decision Making in Criminal Cases.\u201d Law & Social Inquiry <\/em>38, no. 4 (Fall 2013): 773\u2013802.<\/p>\n

Kane, Robert J., and Shea Cronin. \u201cMaintaining Order Under the Rule of Law: Occupational Templates and Police Use of Force.\u201d Journal of Crime and Justice <\/em>no. 3 (2011).
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cUnderstanding the Temporal Dynamics of Police Organizational Responses to Crime.\u201d Proc. Annual Meeting of American Society of Criminology<\/em> (San Francisco, Calif., 2010). <\/strong><\/p>\n

Cronin, S., and A. Farrell. \u201cInnovation in Law Enforcement Responses to \u2018New Crimes\u2019: The Case of Human Trafficking.\u201d Proc. Annual Meeting of American Society of Criminology<\/em> (San Francisco, Calif., 2010).<\/p>\n

Kane, Robert J., and Shea Cronin. \u201cAssociations between Order-Maintenance Policing and Violent Crime: Considering the Mediating Effects of Residential Context.\u201d Crime & Delinquency <\/em>(2009).<\/p>\n

Braga, Anthony, Glen Pierce, Jack McDevitt, Brenda Bond, and Shea Cronin. \u201cThe Strategic Prevention of Gang Violence Among Gang-Involved Offenders.\u201d Justice Quarterly <\/em>15, no. 1 (2008): 132.<\/p>\n

Gueorguieva, Vassia, Jean Accius, Carmen Apaza, Lamar Bennett, Shea Cronin, and Panote Preechyanud. \u201cThe Program Assessment Rating Tool and the Government Performance and Results Act: Evaluating Conflicts and Disconnections.\u201d The American Review of Public Administration<\/em> 39 (2009): 225\u2013245. Originally published online June 2008 as doi: 10.1177\/0275074008319218.<\/p>\n

Cronin, Shea, Jack McDevitt, Amy Farrell, and Jim Nolan. \u201cBias Crime Reporting: Organizational Responses to Ambiguity, Uncertainty, and Infrequency.\u201d American Behavioral Scientist <\/em>51, no. 2 (2007): 213\u2013231. <\/em><\/p>\n

Nolan, Jim, Shea Cronin, Jack McDevitt, and Amy Farrell. \u201cLearning to See Hate Crimes: A Framework for Understanding and Clarifying Ambiguities in Bias Crime Classification.\u201d The Justice Professional <\/em>17, no. 1 (2004): 91\u2013105.<\/p>\n

Academic Presentations<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cronin, S., and Siegel, M. “Deadly Imbalances: State Firearms Laws, Interstate Trafficking and Firearm-Related Homicide.” Paper presented at the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, San Francisco, Calif. (2019).<\/p>\n

Siegel, M., Cronin, S., Knopov, E., Xuan, Z., Rothman, E., and Hemenway, D. “Differential Effects of Firearms Law on Urban and Non-Urban Settings.” Paper presented at the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Ga. (2018).<\/p>\n

Abbott, S., Cronin, S., and Rousseau, D. “Evaluating the Impact of Co-Responder Jail Diversion Program.” Paper presented at the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Ga. (2018).<\/p>\n

Cronin, S., and Katherine Limoncelli. “Spatial Concentration of Crime and City-Level Social Control Outputs.” Paper presented at the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, Pa. (2017).<\/p>\n

Cronin, S. “The politics of illegal gun enforcement.” Paper presented at the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, New Orleans, La. (2016).<\/p>\n

Farrell, A., McDevitt, J., Cronin, S., and Dank, M. “Human Trafficking Crime Reporting.” Paper presented at the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, New Orleans, La. (2016).<\/p>\n

Matesanz, J., Rousseau, D., and Cronin, S. “The impact of education on incarcerated students.” Paper presented at the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, New Orleans, La. (2016).<\/p>\n

Cronin, S., Amy Farrell, and Monica DeLateur. \u201cCombatting Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: Benevolence or Punishment.\u201d Presentation at the American Society of Criminology Annual Conference, Washington, D.C. (2015).<\/p>\n

Cronin, S. \u201cThe Political Determinants of Drinking and Driving Enforcement Across the US, 1980\u20132010.\u201d Presentation at the American Society of Criminology Annual Conference, San Francisco, Calif. (2014).<\/p>\n

Cronin, S., Danielle Rousseau, and Mary Ellen Mastrorilli. \u201cQualitative Analysis of Media Representations of Homicide.\u201d Presentation at the American Society of Criminology Annual Conference, San Francisco, Calif. (2014).<\/p>\n

Farrell, A., and Shea Cronin. \u201cPolicing prostitution in an era of human trafficking.\u201d Paper presented at the Global Criminology Symposium at Northeastern University, Boston, Mass. (2014).<\/p>\n

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Faculty Q&A<\/h2>
<\/p>\n

What is your area of expertise?<\/strong>
\nMy broad area of expertise is in criminal justice policy and administration. I specifically focus on issues related to policing, which includes both police strategies and accountability challenges. These areas focus my work on the same kinds of fascinating, complex, and important topics that draw our students to the field.<\/p>\n

Please tell us about your work. Can you share any current research or recent publications?<\/strong>
\nThere are two areas that have attracted most of my attention recently. The first is a National Institute of Justice-funded project, led by Professor Michael Siegel and other colleagues from BU\u2019s School of Public Health. Here we are working on a series of studies examining racial disparities in homicide rates. For example, the team has developed one paper testing the differential effect of state firearms laws on race-specific homicide rates. The team has also recently published a paper in Journal of Urban Health on the determinants of interstate firearms trafficking. The second area is a set of projects that I am working on with Professor Danielle Rousseau from our Criminal Justice program and a colleague from a different university, Professor Sarah Abbott. We are looking at crucial questions related to the ways \u201cco-response\u201d models improve local police responses in situations involving individuals with mental illness by embedding clinicians in the agency. As our students in the field know well, this is a major challenge and an area that is undergoing a great deal of reform.<\/p>\n

How does the subject you work in apply in practice? What is its application?<\/strong>
\nI work to focus my research on areas that are connected strongly to policy and practice. Evaluation of firearms laws directly informs the choices of justice policymakers. Working on the impact, as well as the implementation issues, of innovative police reforms, like the co-response model, helps to guide police agencies in the field. The lessons we learn about \u201chow to do it\u201d are as important as evaluating \u201cwhat to do\u201d for our students in the field.<\/p>\n

What courses do you teach in the program? What \u201creal-life\u201d exercises do you bring to class?<\/strong>
\nThe courses I teach in the program include criminology, policing, analytical methods, and research methods. Whether online or on campus, I strive to make each course an active and open learning environment. To accomplish this aim, I usually employ simulation-type assignments and exercises. Students in my policing class are set up with a real-world background and data about community problems and asked to develop true problem- or community-oriented responses. This puts them in the shoes of the kinds of multidisciplinary partnerships that are the hallmarks of effective contemporary approaches in the field.<\/p>\n

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