Denise Gottfredson

Denise Gottfredson
Born
Denise Claire Ruff
EducationFairleigh Dickinson University
Johns Hopkins University
Known forJuvenile delinquency
Program evaluation
Spouse
​
(m. 1980)​
Scientific career
FieldsCriminology
Sociology
InstitutionsUniversity of Maryland, College Park
Thesis Personality and persistence in education  (1980)

Denise Claire Gottfredson (née Denise Claire Ruff) is an American criminologist and professor in the department of criminal justice and criminology at the University of Maryland, College Park.[1]

She is an expert on school violence[2] and juvenile delinquency.[3][4] She is recognized for her research applying the techniques of program evaluation to certain crime prevention initiatives, such as Drug Abuse Resistance Education,[5] the Strengthening Families Program, and the Baltimore City Drug Treatment Court.[1] She has also researched the effects of school resource officers on schools, finding that such officers spend an average of about half of their time engaged in law enforcement activities.[6] She served as vice president of the American Society of Criminology (ASC) from 2005 to 2006, and as editor-in-chief of its journal, Criminology, from 2005 to 2011. She is a fellow of the ASC and of the Academy of Experimental Criminology.

Personal Life and Education

Gottfredson (née Ruff) married psychologist Gary Gottfredson in 1980.[7] She earned her B.A.in psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1974 and her Ph.D. in social relations from Johns Hopkins University in 1980, with a specialization in the Sociology of Education.[1]

Academic career

She became an assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1986, and was promoted to full professor in 1995.[8]

Awards

Gottfredson has been awarded many prestigious awards throughout her career. In May 2005, she received the Society for Prevention Research Prevention Science Award.[9] She received the University of Maryland Outstanding Woman of the Year Award in 2007.[10] In 2009, she received the Academy of Experimental Criminology Joan McCord Award.[11] She received the Division of Experimental Criminology, American Society of Criminology Jerry Lee Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.[12] The following year, she received the American Society of Criminology August Vollmer Award in 2016.[13]

Research

Gottfredson has over 120 publications and over 10,000 citations, with a research focus primarily on the role of schools in juvenile delinquency.[14] This includes school-based prevention strategies, crime in schools, victimization in schools, and the school-to-prison pipeline. Gottfredson also worked with fellow criminologist Terrence Thornberry, on the Blueprints for Gang Prevention project, which was sponsored by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.[1] This project explored Functional Family Therapy as an intervention strategy for youth gang involvement.[15]

School-Based Prevention

In 2001, Gottfredson and colleagues compiled results from 165 prior studies on preventing and addressing problem behaviors within the school system.[16] This meta-analysis found that many prevention strategies lack sufficient research, but can be useful in addressing truancy, substance use, and withdrawing from school. Additionally, the study supported methods that identify and target students in high risk populations.

As a member of the Society for Prevention Research, Gottfredson aided in publishing a reformed set of standards.[17]

Gottfredson has also researched the effects of after school programs on delinquency, finding success in these programs through improvements in social skills and reduced substance use.[18]

Crime and Victimization in Schools

Gottfredson and her husband, Gary Gottfredson, co-authored Victimization in Schools, which investigated teacher and student victimization.[19] This book reviewed factors that increase and decrease victimization rates and the concept of school disorder.

School-to-Prison Pipeline

A major topic in Gottfredson's recent research is the relationship between school resource officers (SROs) and the school-to-prison pipeline. Gottfredson and Deanna N. Devlin collaborated to investigate the dangers of increasing rates of SROs, such as leading to more severe disciplinary actions that can negatively impact student outcomes.[20] Gottfredson's research has also found evidence of a positive correlation between the number of SROs and reported criminal offenses involving drugs and weapons.[21]

Books

  • Victimization in Schools (1985)[22]
  • Closing Institutions for Juvenile Offenders: The Maryland Experience (1997)[23]
  • Schools and Delinquency (2001)[24]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Gottfredson, Denise". Criminology and Criminal Justice Department. University of Maryland. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  2. ^ Eckholm, Erik (2013-04-12). "With Police in Schools, More Children in Court". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  3. ^ "Denise Gottfredson Ph.D." Journalism Center on Children & Families. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  4. ^ Farrington, David P.; Welsh, Brandon C. (2008-10-08). Saving Children from a Life of Crime: Early Risk Factors and Effective Interventions. Oxford University Press. p. 139. ISBN 9780199702527.
  5. ^ Butterfield, Fox (1997-04-16). "Most Efforts to Stop Crime Fall Far Short, Study Finds". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  6. ^ "Cops in schools: Way to rebuild community trust in law enforcement?". Christian Science Monitor. 2015-08-13. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  7. ^ "ISAR - Bibliography: Linda Susanne Gottfredson". ferris-pages.org. Archived from the original on 2018-11-18. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
  8. ^ "Professor Gottfredson Selected for 2016 Vollmer Award by ASC | CCJS l Criminology and Criminal Justice Department l University of Maryland". ccjs.umd.edu. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
  9. ^ "SPR - Awards". www.preventionresearch.org. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
  10. ^ "2007 Celebration of Women Award Winners". Office of the President. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
  11. ^ "AEC/DEC Awards – Division of Experimental Criminology (DEC)". Retrieved 2025-10-31.
  12. ^ "Professor Gottfredson Recognized by ASC for Lifetime Achievement | CCJS l Criminology and Criminal Justice Department l University of Maryland". ccjs.umd.edu. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
  13. ^ "Professor Gottfredson Selected for 2016 Vollmer Award by ASC | CCJS l Criminology and Criminal Justice Department l University of Maryland". ccjs.umd.edu. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
  14. ^ "Denise C. Gottfredson's research". ResearchGate. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  15. ^ "Functional Family Therapy–Gangs: Adapting an Evidence-Based Program To Reduce Gang Involvement | National Institute of Justice". nij.ojp.gov. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
  16. ^ Wilson, David B.; Gottfredson, Denise C.; Najaka, Stacy S. (2001-09-01). "School-Based Prevention of Problem Behaviors: A Meta-Analysis". Journal of Quantitative Criminology. 17 (3): 247–272. doi:10.1023/A:1011050217296. ISSN 1573-7799.
  17. ^ Gottfredson, Denise C.; Cook, Thomas D.; Gardner, Frances E. M.; Gorman-Smith, Deborah; Howe, George W.; Sandler, Irwin N.; Zafft, Kathryn M. (2015-10-01). "Standards of Evidence for Efficacy, Effectiveness, and Scale-up Research in Prevention Science: Next Generation". Prevention Science. 16 (7): 893–926. doi:10.1007/s11121-015-0555-x. ISSN 1573-6695. PMC 4579256. PMID 25846268.
  18. ^ Gottfredson, Denise C.; Gerstenblith, Stephanie A.; Soulé, David A.; Womer, Shannon C.; Lu, Shaoli (2004-12-01). "Do After School Programs Reduce Delinquency?". Prevention Science. 5 (4): 253–266. doi:10.1023/B:PREV.0000045359.41696.02. ISSN 1573-6695.
  19. ^ Gottfredson, Gary D.; Gottfredson, Denise C. (2012-12-06). Victimization in Schools. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-1-4684-4985-3.
  20. ^ Devlin, Deanna N.; Gottfredson, Denise C. (2018), Deakin, Jo; Taylor, Emmeline; Kupchik, Aaron (eds.), "Policing and the School-to-Prison Pipeline", The Palgrave International Handbook of School Discipline, Surveillance, and Social Control, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 291–308, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-71559-9_15, ISBN 978-3-319-71559-9, retrieved 2025-10-31{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  21. ^ Gottfredson, Denise C.; Crosse, Scott; Tang, Zhiqun; Bauer, Erin L.; Harmon, Michele A.; Hagen, Carol A.; Greene, Angela D. (2020). "Effects of school resource officers on school crime and responses to school crime". Criminology & Public Policy. 19 (3): 905–940. doi:10.1111/1745-9133.12512. ISSN 1745-9133.
  22. ^ Gottfredson, Gary D.; Gottfredson, Denise C. (1985). "Victimization in Schools". SpringerLink. doi:10.1007/978-1-4684-4985-3.
  23. ^ "Academic Book: Closing Institutions for Juvenile Offenders. The Maryland Experience". mellenpress.com. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
  24. ^ Gottfredson, Denise C. (2000). Schools and Delinquency. Cambridge Studies in Criminology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62629-3.

Further reading

  • Tolan, Patrick (February 2017). "The Best Science Is the Most Practical Approach to Delinquency Prevention". Criminology & Public Policy. 16 (1): 35–39. doi:10.1111/1745-9133.12279. ISSN 1538-6473.
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