Category: Crime

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Faculty and staff reflect on 9/11

In today’s edition of BU Today, several professors and administrators reflect on how the U.S. and world have changed in the decade since the September 11th terrorist attacks. The story features Andrew Bacevich, professor of international relations; Thomas Robbins, BU’s chief of police and executive director of public safety; Neta Crawford, professor of political science; […]

Casey Anthony found not guilty

Casey Anthony,  was found not guilty of killing her two-year old daughter Caylee Marie Anthony. After six weeks of testimony, an Orlando jury of five men and seven women did find Anthony guilty of giving false information to police. Boston University School of Law professor David Rossman, the director of the school’s Criminal Law Clinicial Programs, is […]

Whitey Bulger captured in California

The FBI has captured mobster James “Whitey” Bulger in Santa Monica, California. Boston University Journalism Professor Richard Lehr, author of Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob, is available for comment. Contact Lehr at 617-353-8715 or lehr@bu.edu.

Demjanjuk convicted of Nazi camp deaths

John Demjanjuk is free pending appeal after being sentenced to five years in prison. Demjanjuk, a retired American autoworker, was convicted for the role he played in sending 28,000 Jews to their death during the Holocaust. Boston University professor Steven Katz, a renowned Holocaust scholar, is the director of the Elie Wiesel Center for Judaic […]

With fewer officers, police use technology to fight crime

Police departments are relying on technology as they find themselves with fewer and fewer officers because of deep budget cuts. GPS, social media, and closed-circuit cameras are just a few of the technologies now being used by police departments. Thomas Nolan, an associate professor of criminal justice at BU’s Metropolitan College and a 27-year veteran […]

Tom Nolan available for comment on gun control

Wednesday marks the 30th anniversary of the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan and the wounding of his press secretary James Brady. Brady suffered a severe head wound and was left partially paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. He and his wife, Sarah, went on to become ardent advocates for gun control and fought for stricter […]

Rodney King beating — 20 years later

March 3rd marks the 20th anniversary of the beating of Rodney King by the Los Angeles Police Department. The beatings, which were videotaped by a bystander, showed footage of LAPD officers striking King several times while he was on the ground. Portions of the video were shown on news broadcasts across the US and the world. […]

The Joseph Vacher Trial: Forensic Science’s First OJ Case!

It might not be the drama of the OJ Simpson case that drew us in for weeks on end as we waited to see if the gloves fit.  But if televisions were around in the 1890s, viewers might have tuned into watch the 1898 trial of serial killer Joseph Vacher, who had confessed to nearly […]

Police officers killed in the line of duty

January has seen 14 police officers killed in the line of duty across the U.S. Boston University criminology professor and former Boston police officer Thomas Nolan comments on this alarming trend. “It’s all about guns (in a society in which many are already predisposed toward violence). The ease of access to firearms for the unhinged, deranged, […]