A Prophet of School‐Based Delinquency Prevention Research

• Published date: 01 February 2017
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12281
• Author: Allison Ann Payne
• Date: 01 February 2017

VOLLMER AWARD COMMENTARY

VOLLMER AWARD

A Prophet of School-Based Delinquency

Prevention Research

Allison Ann Payne

Villanova University

Imet Denise Gottfredson on April 14, 1997, during my last semester of undergraduate

studies at the University of Maryland—College Park. I had been accepted into the

Criminology & Criminal Justice Master’s Program for the upcoming fall, but that

spring, I was enrolled in two of the program’s graduate courses: “Seminar in Criminal

Justice” and “Seminar in Criminology.” In the latter course, a different professor from the

Criminology & Criminal Justice department spoke with us each week about his or her

particular field of study. On April 14, Denise Gottfredson spoke about crime prevention,

with a specific focus on the theory and research surrounding school-based delinquency

prevention. It is not too strong to say that, on that day, in the moment when I first heard

Denise speak, I met a prophet of school-based delinquency prevention research: Denise has

consistently identified the most pressing concerns in the field of school prevention at any

one time and, in doing so, has foretold the direction of research in that field for many years

to follow.

During my 5 years of graduate studies, Denise guided me through work on the

National Study of Delinquency Prevention in Schools; the Strengthening Families Project

in Washington, DC; and a replication of Project PATHE in Charleston, SC. She taught

me the world of school-based prevention; she impressed on me the importance of high-

quality research; she showed me the difficulty of translating this research into real-world

environments; and she awakened my passion for studying school climate. In the 15 years

since then, she has continued to impact my work, as well as the work of many others. She

has always been the standard to which I hold myself, and I know my peers and colleagues

feel the same.

Thus, it came as no surprise to me that Denise Gottfredson had been awarded the

2016 August Vollmer Award, which recognizes an individual whose work has made an

outstanding contribution to, among other things, the prevention of delinquent behavior.

Direct correspondence to Allison Ann Payne, Department of Sociology and Criminology, Villanova University,

105 Garey Hall, Villanova, PA 19085 (e-mail: allison.payne@villanova.edu).

DOI:10.1111/1745-9133.12281 C2017 American Society of Criminology 29

Criminology & Public Policy rVolume 16 rIssue 1