Eastern Kentucky University faculty member Dr. Peter Kraska was honored recently by the Academy of Criminal Justice Science.
Kraska, a professor in the School of Justice Studies within EKU’s College of Justice and Safety, received the Academy’s Police Section Award for his 25 years of research and writing on police militarization. Kraska is an internationally prominent scholar in the areas of police and criminal justice militarization, criminal justice theory and mixed methods research. Hs is frequently asked to present his findings to academic and policy-related audiences, including testimony before the U.S. Senate in 2014 on police militarization.
“EKU and the College of Justice and Safety have for 24 years understood and supported the important relationship between faculty developing knowledge through their research and quality teaching in the classroom,” Kraska said. “Conducting this research and attempting to impact the real world has been an invaluable resource for helping me educate our students.”
Kraska added that he not only incorporates his scholarship into his teaching, but that EKU graduate and undergraduate students have also helped facilitate his own learning.
“I strive to learn as much from our students as they do from me,” he said. “This is what a vibrant learning community is all about.”
Kraska’s work has also been featured in media outlets such as 60 Minutes, BBC, National Public Radio, PBS News Hour, The Economist, Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Huffington Post.
He has published seven books, including “Criminal Justice and Criminology Research Methods,” “Theorizing Criminal Justice: Eight Essential Orientations,”and “Militarizing the American Criminal Justice System: The Changing Roles of the Armed Forces and Police.” Kraska’s research has also been published in a number of leading journals, including the British Journal of Criminology, Social Problems, Justice Quarterly, and Policing and Society.