Criminology students recognized for research on homicide and drug offenders

What drives a teen to kill, not just once, but multiple times?

What factors contribute to a substance-abusing offender’s successful completion of a drug treatment court program?

Bailey Guminny and Julia Bakker, Criminology and Justice students at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, explored these and other questions through their master’s and undergraduate research projects, respectively. Both students were recently recognized with Outstanding Graduating Sociology Student awards from the Canadian Sociology Association (CSA).

“Congratulations to Bailey and Julia for these well-deserved recognitions,” said Dr. Nawal Ammar, Dean, Faculty of Social Science and Humanities (FSSH). “Their outstanding research is helping open doors to a better understanding of various types of offenders, and will help with our society’s efforts to address criminal behaviour and justice issues. These are just two examples of many promising student research projects within our faculty that are bound to have a profound impact on our communities.”

Read more about the research:

• Bailey Guminny, Master of Arts in Criminology, class of 2014
  • Thesis: Teenage Serial Homicide Offenders: A Typology
• Julia Bakker, Bachelor of Arts, Criminology and Justice, class of 2015
  • Thesis: An Examination of How Gender, Parental Duties and Mental Health Status Affect Drug Treatment Court Program Completion

The CSA awards were established in 2013 as a way of helping the Sociology departments of Canadian universities recognize their top graduating honours, Master of Arts and PhD students. Each department selects one top student in each academic level. The departments determine their own criteria, with research strength as a top priority.