MSU faculty member’s criminology research significant in times of cultural shift

MSU faculty member’s criminology research significant in times of cultural shift

by Sam Kealhofer, Intern on the A&S Research Support Team

By shining light onto cultural issues now in the forefront of the news, Department of Sociology Professor David May’s research into fear of crime, school safety, corrections, military sociology, cybercrime and human-robot interactions has found new resonance in 2020.

May’s research lends insight into current American issues such as managing public facilities like prisons and schools during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the renewed calls for police and prison reform, among other systemic changes to American society.

Currently, May’s work focuses on policing efforts, correctional reentry, and stress and job satisfaction of correctional staff.  May also is examining topics such as the school-to-prison pipeline, higher education’s role in criminal justice, the punitive issues of different forms of punishment, as well as other topics regarding crime and society.

For his research, May received the Ralph E. Powe Research Excellence Award this spring. 

May’s 2014 book “School Safety in the United States” takes an extensive and data-driven look at school safety in America, revealing the media’s misrepresentation of school violence, teachers’ roles in school safety, the inclusion of student concerns in decision making and the disproportionate representation of Black students in disciplinary actions at school.  The second edition of May’s book is scheduled to be published later this year. 

May has authored or co-authored six books and more than 100 scholarly articles and book chapters on cultural topics and has served as either principal investigator or co-principal investigator on projects garnering more than 10 million dollars of external funding for Mississippi State University since 2012. 

In the future, May plans to continue focusing his work on the school-to-prison pipeline, fear of crime, corrections, school safety and open source intelligence.

In an effort to contribute insight and solutions to the various challenges facing the nation, the College of Arts & Sciences will continue to highlight faculty research in our “Research In The Headlines” series each Monday and Wednesday. For more research in the headlines, visit https://www.cas.msstate.edu/research/researchintheheadlines/; and for information about the College of Arts & Sciences or the Department of Sociology visit www.cas.msstate.edu or https://www.sociology.msstate.edu/.

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