Criminal Justice Speaker Series - Stephen Rickman

Criminal Justice Speaker Series

Monday, March 27, 2023 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM EDT
Online Location

The Criminal Justice Speaker Series is a vibrant component of the MS in Criminal Justice graduate program. The speaker series brings individuals working at the cutting edge of criminal justice issues to Mason. All members of the Criminology, Law and Society Department are invited to attend.

We are very excited to announce a talk by Stephen Rickman, Crime and Public Safety Consultant.

Stephen Rickman is a native Washingtonian and attended Howard University Liberal Arts College from 1968-1972 and the Howard University Graduate School from 1972-1980. These formative years at Howard help shape is “world view” and prepared him for a range of professional and personal challenges. Although completing his Ph.D. course requirements in community/clinical psychology, clinical internship, and passing all the qualifying exams, he did not complete the dissertation, a major disappointment that fueled much of his future ambition.

Stephen was hired a criminal justice statistician by the Washington D. C government in 1981. Applying statistical tools learned in Graduate school, he was responsible for collecting, analyzing and reporting on crime and justice activity in Washington DC. He became the Director of the District’s Criminal Justice Statistical Analysis Center producing groundbreaking reports on homicides and violent crime, drug enforcement, and inmate profiles. His work led to national prominence, and his election as the national President of the Justice Research Statistics Association in 1988, marking the first time an African American led a majority national crime/justice organization.

Stephen's talents were locally recognized, and he was appointed to both the cabinets of Mayor’s Marion Barry and Sharon Pratt Kelly serving as a Public Safety Coordinator and Director of the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security where he was called upon for over five years to lead city response to a wide range of emergencies including civil disturbances, snowstorms, and a city -wide homicide crisis in the early 1990’s. Stephen also served as a part time lecturer for the University of the District of Columbia for nearly ten years teaching a range of psychology courses.

Stephen joined the U.S. Department of Justice in 1994 where he managed national community safety programs including those on fostering police community relations and for his efforts was awarded the Attorney General Meritorious Award, and became the first African American male appointed as a member of the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs Career Senior Executive Service. Shortly after 9/11, Stephen was detailed to the White House Office of Homeland Security, the precursor to the Department of Homeland Security, where he served as director of readiness and helped to build programs and strategies that served as the basis for our defense against and prevention of terrorist acts against the homeland.

In 2003, Stephen retired from government service and began a successful career as a crime and public safety consultant, eventually focusing his activity on advancing police reforms. He was an early advocate of and was an important part of pioneering efforts for police to utilize body-worn cameras and helped facilitate a pilot deployment in Las Vegas in 2014. He served as the technical advisor to President Obama’s Task Force on 21^st Century Policing, and was appointed and currently serves as a federal court monitor for community policing in both Albuquerque New Mexico and Chicago, Illinois placing him on the front lines in implementing needed police reforms and advancing social justice in marginalized communities.

NOTES:

We kindly ask that you RSVP by end of day Thursday, March 23, 2023. Zoom link will be sent on March 24th to all who RSVP using the email address listed in the RSVP form.
In-person space is available in ENT 318, in conjunction with Dr. Charlotte Gill's CRIM 517 class. This is available on a first-come, first-served basis due to classroom capacity. Please denote in the comment area of the RSVP form whether you plan to attend via Zoom or in-person.
- The speaker will be joining the event in-person in ENT 318.
For questions about this event, please contact Dr. Charlotte Gill (cgill9@gmu.edu) and/or Brielle Manovich (bmanovic@gmu.edu).