Melissa Smith

Drug Policy, Law Enforcement, Rural Crime, and Victimology

Melissa has established a research and teaching portfolio centered on rural criminology, victimology, and the evolution of law enforcement practices. Her early scholarly contributions addressed critical practical issues in the field, such as the effectiveness of crisis intervention team training for officers and the specialized training required for staff working with elderly prison inmates. Dr. Smith has also explored the patterns and typologies of serial homicide, including co-authored studies on declining trends in serial murder and the comparative characteristics of sexual homicide offenders. Her recent publications reflect a deep commitment to rural justice issues, examining the proximity of rural jails to mental health care and defining specific field approaches for researching crime in rural contexts. Currently, her work is at the forefront of emerging technology in the field, with recent studies exploring the benefits and professional reservations regarding artificial intelligence-assisted criminal justice reporting. This research is expanded into a forthcoming book titled The Algorithmic Pen: Can AI Write Justice.