Matthew Valasik, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at The University of Alabama. His primary research interests are the socio-spatial dynamics of gang behavior and problem-oriented policing strategies (e.g., gang units, civil gang injunctions) used by law enforcement. His work has appeared in Journal of Criminal Justice, Social Science Research, Homicide Studies, Theoretical Criminology, Journal of Youth Studies, Deviant Behavior, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Crime Science, Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice, Statistics and Public Policy, Oxford Bibliographies Online: Criminology, and The Oxford Handbook of Environmental Criminology. In addition to scholarly publications, my research has received coverage in mainstream media outlets such as The Monkey Cage by The Washington Post, The Guardian, and The Crime Report.
Experience
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2022–presentAssociate Professor, The University of Alabama
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2020–2022Associate Professor, Louisiana State University
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2014–2020Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University
Education
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2014University of California, Irvine, PhD / Criminology, Law & Society
Publications
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2020Alt-Right Gangs: A Hazy Shade of White, University of California Press
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2019Competitive Dominance, Gang Size Diversity and the Directionality of Gang Violence, Crime Science. 8(1): 1-20
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2019The Schrödinger’s Cat of Gang Groups: Can Street Gangs Inform our Comprehension of Skinheads and Alt-Right Groups?, Deviant Behavior, 40(10): 1245-1259
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2018CTRL+ALT-RIGHT: Reinterpreting our Knowledge of White Supremacy Groups through the Lens of Street Gangs., Journal of Youth Studies. 21(10): 1305-1325
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2018Gang Violence Predictability: Using Risk Terrain Modeling to study Gang Homicides and Gang Assaults in East Los Angeles, Journal of Criminal Justice. 58: 10-21
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2017Barriocide: Investigating the Temporal and Spatial Influence of Neighborhood Structural Characteristics on Gang and Non-Gang Homicides in East Los Angeles, Homicide Studies. 21(4): 287-311
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2017Understanding Modern Terror and Insurgency Through the Lens of Street Gangs: A Case Study of The Islamic State, Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice. 3(3): 192-207
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2016CRASH and Burn: Abatement of a Specialized Gang Unit., Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice. 2(2): 95-106
Honours
LSU Rainmaker (Emerging Scholar)
- Tuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S.
- @mattvalasik
- Article Feed
- mavalasik@ua.edu
- ORCID
- Joined
