About

Christopher Uggen is a Regents Professor and Distinguished McKnight Professor of Sociology and Law at the University of Minnesota. He is also a fellow of the American Society of Criminology. His expertise includes social policy, criminology, and law, and he is currently reviewing Ph.D. applicants at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. His research focuses on issues related to social justice, public policy, and the intersection of law and society, contributing to the academic understanding of these areas through his teaching and scholarly work.

Research topics

• Criminology
• Political science
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Law

Selected publications

• The Changing Nature of Homicide in the Twin Cities: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis of the Police Murder of George Floyd

  Journal of Quantitative Criminology · 2026-03-02 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  This study tests whether the 2020 police murder of George Floyd produced measurable changes in the quantity and qualities of homicide in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties, Minnesota—the epicenter of the ensuing social unrest—and whether these effects were moderated by neighborhood disadvantage or mediated by changes in police activity. We constructed a weekly panel of 472 census tracts from 2018–2022 (N = 123,192) using homicide data from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Interrupted time-series (ITS) models estimate post-event effects, controlling for COVID-19 caseloads, policy interventions, mobility, weather, and autoregressive structure. Random-coefficient ITS models assess spatial heterogeneity; a causal mediation sub-analysis of Minneapolis evaluates the contribution of de-policing to post-event homicide changes. The homicide rate increased 2.5-fold—from 0.11 to 0.28 per 100,000 residents—immediately after Mr. Floyd’s murder and remained elevated for 136 weeks, yielding an estimated 183 excess homicides. This effect persisted after adjustment for pandemic covariates. Argument-related killings showed the strongest post-event increase, followed by felony-crime homicides; domestic cases were unchanged. Adult perpetration and victimization rose significantly, while juvenile-involved homicides did not. The post-murder effect varied across space, with larger increases in tracts characterized by higher concentrated disadvantage. In Minneapolis, reduced police stops mediated 25% of the total effect. The police murder of George Floyd triggered a sustained escalation in homicide in the Twin Cities, driven by situational and interpersonal violence concentrated in disadvantaged neighborhoods. De-policing explained part of the increase. Findings highlight how high-profile police violence can generate collateral criminogenic effects and reinforce spatial inequality.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Cumulative Exposure to Police-Involved Shootings and Mental Health Conditions in Minneapolis, Minnesota

  Journal of Urban Health · 2026-05-13

  article
  PublisherDOI

• The racialized packaging of punishment: An instrumental variables approach to incarceration, probation, and monetary sanctions

  Criminology · 2026-04-11

  articleSenior author

  Abstract Research on racial disparities in the criminal legal system generally examines isolated sentencing decisions, rather than the “package” of punishment that defendants experience. Using Minnesota court administrative data from 2004 to 2017, we specify multivariate and instrumental variables models to simultaneously estimate the outcomes of three elements of racialized punishment: incarceration, probation, and monetary sanctions. We instrument incarceration using jail capacity, which accounts for confounding and the simultaneity of incarceration and other punishment forms. Our results show racial patterning in the “mix” of punishment for similarly situated defendants. Before accounting for this mix, Black, Hispanic, and Native American defendants appear to receive less probation and lower monetary sanctions, but longer incarceration than White defendants. After accounting for instrumented incarceration, monetary sanctions and probation are racialized beyond incarceration in complex ways: Black, Hispanic, and Native American defendants receive lower monetary sanctions as compared to White defendants, and probation for Black and Native American defendants is higher after adjustment. The contours of this racialized package depend critically upon whether the state guidelines recommend a prison sentence. These results show that punishment can be modeled as experienced—as a constitutive package of costs, surveillance, and confinement constrained by structural features of state sentencing guidelines.

  PublisherDOI

• Considering the pervasiveness of the “danger imperative” in prisons: Perspectives from reform-oriented correctional officers

  Punishment & Society · 2026-04-01

  article

  The “danger imperative” in policing, as noted by Sierra-Arévalo, defines how officers perceive both their job and the environment in which they work. It is unclear how this may generalize to others working in the public safety field, including prison staff. Although public perceptions and media narratives suggest a preoccupation with danger in American prisons, other narratives, including that of dynamic security and incarcerated people as future “good neighbors” portrayed in the Scandinavian countries, exist. To gain insight into these contrasting visions, we examine interview data from correctional staff participating in a reform-oriented project in an East Coast state, which provides a lens through which a correctional culture in transition can be viewed. Although we find some degree of adherence to a danger-oriented professional identity, characterized by distrust and othering of prison residents, and to some extent other staff, we also observe resistance to the principles of the danger imperative and expression of humanitarian concern for the welfare of incarcerated people and the communities to which they may eventually return.

  PublisherDOI

• Correction to: The Changing Nature of Homicide in the Twin Cities: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis of the Police Murder of George Floyd

  Journal of Quantitative Criminology · 2026-05-16

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Third Shift: The Highs and Lows for Women Gacaca Court Judges in Rwanda

  Journal of Genocide Research · 2025-04-03

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Crimversations: "The Intersection of Cannabis Legalization, Criminal Record Relief, and Emerging Adulthood"

  CrimRxiv · 2025-09-23

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Discouraging dignity: Linguistic barriers to transforming the prison environment

  International journal of law, crime and justice · 2025-05-29 · 1 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Felony Status, Political Identity, and Civic Engagement

  Justice Quarterly · 2025-11-12 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Disenfranchisement, Reenfranchisement, and Crime

  2025-03-28

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract Purpose – This chapter reviews the evidence on disenfranchisement, reenfranchisement, and crime, while also challenging the notion that the franchise should be conditional on its capacity to prevent or control criminal behavior. Methodology/approach – First, we introduce the question of voting rights for people with felony convictions. We briefly review theories of crime and democratic participation and present evidence on the link between voting and subsequent crime. Second, we argue that the question itself is the problem and argue for severing the link between the right to vote and past or subsequent criminal behavior. Findings – Empirical research has not reached a firm consensus on the relationship between felony voting bans and subsequent crime, suggesting that strong causal claims are likely premature. But we also question the question, asking whether to view disenfranchisement through the lens of crime control or the lens of civic inclusion and democratic participation. Originality/value – This chapter challenges the notion that the franchise should rest upon its capacity to prevent or control crime.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: Enhancing Public Access: Archiving Court Cases to Study Genocide and Transitional Justice

  NSF · $89k · 2016–2018

Frequent coauthors

• Sarah Esther Lageson

  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

  94 shared

• Mike Vuolo

  The Ohio State University

  91 shared

• Corey Pech

  The Ohio State University

  81 shared

• Taekjin Shin

  San Diego State University

  81 shared

• Sarah Jenkins

  81 shared

• Ofer Sharone

  81 shared

• Sarah Babb

  Boston College

  81 shared

• William Attwood‐Charles

  Miami University

  81 shared

Awards & honors

• Humphrey School of Public Affairs Hubert H. Humphrey Public…