Top Influential Criminologists 2010-2020

Criminology is the scientific study of criminal behavior, law enforcement, and crime. In this way, it differs from criminal justice, which focuses on how the legal system handles crime, via a system of enforcement, investigation, trial, and punishment. Scholars over time and still today have advanced our collective understanding of policing, rehabilitation, crime prevention, and the factors contributing to the emergence and perpetuation of criminality.

Read on to discover individuals who are considered top influential academics in the field of criminology and their research efforts ongoing today. Influence can be produced in a variety of ways. Some have had revolutionary ideas, some may have climbed by popularity, but all are academicians primarily working in criminology. 

This isn’t simply a list of the most influential criminologist alive today. The ranking focuses on the number of citations and web presence of scholars in the last 10 years. There are other highly influential scholars who simply haven’t been cited and talked about as much in the last 10 years.

See list by Academic Influence