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Dan Mears

Dan Mears

Mears' current research has identified ways in which community conditions influence sentencing decisions; variation in the theoretical justification, uses, and impacts of supermax prisons; the recidivism-reducing effects of inmate visitation; differences among practitioners in their views about the need for and effectiveness of a range of juvenile justice reforms; and social and demographic divides in public views toward a range of criminal justice policies.

Dan Mears

Professor
850-644-7376
dmears@fsu.edu

Education

Ph.D. 1998, University of Texas at Austin; Sociology
M.A. 1995, University of Texas at Austin; Sociology
B.A. 1988 Haverford College; Sociology

Courses Taught

  • Corrections
  • Crime Policy Evaluation
  • Criminal Justice and Public Policy
  • Juvenile Justice Policy and Practice
  • Juvenile Justice System
  • Prisoner Reentry

Research Interests

  • Juvenile and criminal justice policy
  • Crime theory
  • Public opinion
  • Supermax prisons
  • Mental health
  • Religion
  • Sentencing
  • Reentry

Select Publications

Mears, Daniel P. 2010 (forthcoming). American Criminal Justice Policy: An Evaluation Approach to Increasing Accountability and Effectiveness. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Mears, Daniel P., and William D. Bales. 2009. “Supermax Incarceration and Recidivism.” Criminology 47(4):801-836.

Mears, Daniel P., Christina Mancini, and Eric A. Stewart. 2009. “Whites’ Concern about Crime: The Effects of Interracial Contact.” Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 46(4):524-552.

Mears, Daniel P., Xia Wang, Carter Hay, and William D. Bales. 2008. “Social Ecology and Recidivism: Implications for Prisoner Reentry.” Criminology 46(2):301-340.

Bales, William D., and Daniel P. Mears. 2008. “Inmate Social Ties and the Transition to Society: Does Visitation Reduce Recidivism?” Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 45(3):287-321.

Mears, Daniel P., Carter Hay, Marc Gertz, and Christina Mancini. 2007. “Public Opinion and the Foundation of the Juvenile Court.” Criminology 45(1):223-258.

Mears, Daniel P., Michelle L. Scott, and Avinash S. Bhati. 2007. “Opportunity Theory and Agricultural Crime Victimization.” Rural Sociology 72(2):151-184.

Mears, Daniel P., and Avinash S. Bhati. 2006. “No Community Is an Island: The Effects of Resource Deprivation on Urban Violence in Spatially and Socially Proximate Communities.” Criminology 44(3):509-548.

Mears, Daniel P., and Jamie Watson. 2006. “Towards a Fair and Balanced Assessment of Supermax Prisons.” Justice Quarterly 23(2):232-270.

Grants (Florida State University, 2005-present)

The Past, Present, and Future of Juvenile Justice: Assessing the Policy Options. Principal Investigator, with Jeffrey A. Butts (University of Chicago) and Christy A. Visher (The Urban Institute). Sponsor: National Institute of Justice ($258,068, #2005-IJ-CX-0039), 2005-2008.

An Evaluation of the ACTION Agricultural Crime Prevention Initiative. Principal Investigator. Sponsor: National Institute of Justice ($447,040, #2003-DD-BX-1017), 2004-2006.

Florida Department of Corrections Public Opinion Survey—Phase II (Analysis and Report). Principal Investigator. Sponsor: Florida Department of Corrections ($15,449, FSU ID #017643), 2006.

Florida Department of Corrections Public Opinion Survey—Phase I (Survey). Principal Investigator. Sponsor: Florida Department of Corrections ($7,568, FSU ID #017643), 2005-2006.

Grants (Urban Institute 2001-2005)

An Evaluation of the Ridge House Residential Program. Principal Investigator, with Caterina G. Roman. Sponsor: National Institute of Justice ($724,874, #2004-DD-BX1123), 2004-2007. (Proposal featured by NIJ at the American Society of Criminology’s Annual Meeting, Nashville, TN, 2004, “Writing a Winning NIJ Proposal.”)

Supermax Prisons: Examining the Impacts and Developing a Cost-Benefit Model. Principal Investigator. Sponsor: National Institute of Justice ($298,127, #2002-IJ-CX-0019), 2002-2005.

Reentry Roundtable: Youth Development and the Impacts of Incarceration and Reentry. Principal Investigator. Sponsor: The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation ($128,000) and The California Endowment ($25,000), 2002-2004.

Preventing and Addressing Delinquency among Children and Youth with Disabilities: The Current State of Knowledge. Principal Investigator, with Laudan Aron. Sponsor: National Council on Disability ($74,856), 2002-2003.

 
 
 

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