About

Shea W. Cronin is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and the Chair of Applied Social Sciences at Boston University’s Metropolitan College. He holds a PhD from American University and a BS from Northeastern University. His expertise lies in crime policy and administration, with a particular focus on policing strategies, accountability challenges, and issues related to firearms laws and homicide rates. Dr. Cronin has conducted quantitative research on firearms trafficking, firearms-related homicide, police strategies, and policy implementation. He is an active applied researcher, serving as a co-principal investigator on the Shannon Community Safety Initiative grant, which supports local law enforcement and community partners in addressing youth violence. His work also includes examining the impact of state firearm laws on homicide rates disaggregated by race/ethnicity, and he has contributed to understanding racial disparities in homicide rates and interstate firearms trafficking. In addition to his research, Dr. Cronin teaches courses in criminology, policing, analytical methods, and research methods, employing simulation exercises and real-world data to prepare students for contemporary challenges in criminal justice.

Research topics

• Medical emergency
• Medicine
• Surgery
• Internal medicine
• Psychiatry
• Biology
• Psychology

Selected publications

• Carceral resilience: Predicting posttraumatic growth for people who are incarcerated.

  Psychological Trauma Theory Research Practice and Policy · 2026-04-13

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  OBJECTIVE: To date, much of the research in criminology and criminal justice maintains a focus on risk. Far less attention is given to the potential for and prediction of resilience among those who are justice-involved. This study explored the connection between strength-based factors and carceral resilience rooted in the resilience portfolio model (Hamby et al., 2018). METHOD: The sample included 309 incarcerated individuals from three correctional facilities in Northeast Florida, with data collected through self-report measures and analyzed using random-effects panel regression models. Participants were either enrolled in a 6-week trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness program or assigned to a waitlist control group. RESULTS: Psychosocial strengths were key correlates of posttraumatic growth (PTG) among incarcerated individuals. Prayer, self-compassion, emotional awareness, and anger management were positively associated with PTG. Sleep quality emerged as a consistent correlate of PTG. Within this context, participation in a trauma-informed embodied mindfulness program was associated with higher PTG over time. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support the application of the resilience portfolio model in carceral contexts and highlight the potential of embodied, trauma-informed interventions to foster resilience. Implications include the need for holistic, strength-based programming in correctional settings and further exploration of embodied resilience. This research contributes to a growing body of literature emphasizing the capacity for healing among justice-involved populations. Understanding PTG in carceral settings can inform successful reentry and reintegration, as well as support prevention strategies and alternatives to incarceration. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

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• Building Embodied Resilience: Strength-Based Trauma-Informed Mindfulness in Courts and Carceral Systems

  Journal of Aggression Maltreatment & Trauma · 2026-04-07

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• Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, Family History of Mental Illness, and Aggression in Brain Donors With Repetitive Head Impact Exposure

  Neurology · 2024 · 2 citations

  • Medicine
  • Psychiatry
  • Psychology

  BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative tauopathy associated with exposure to repetitive head impacts, including from contact sports and military service. Although CTE case reports have commonly described aggression during midlife, recent studies failed to show associations between CTE tau burden and aggression. First-degree family history of mental illness (1°FHMI) is a well-established risk factor of aggression. We tested the hypothesis that CTE pathology moderates the association between 1°FHMI and aggression, providing an explanation for the lack of association previously observed. METHODS: This was a retrospective examination of consecutive, deceased, male brain donors with repetitive head impact exposure from the Understanding Neurologic Injury and Traumatic Encephalopathy Study at Boston University from 2014 to 2021. Neuropathologists diagnosed CTE using established National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke criteria. Informants were administered the Brown-Goodwin Assessment for Lifetime History of Aggression (BGLHA) and were queried regarding 1°FHMI. Exploratory factor analysis evaluated BGLHA factor structure. Stratified by CTE status, linear regression analyses examined relationships between 1°FHMI and standardized adult BGLHA scores and factor scores. Models were adjusted for race, age at death, education, years of contact sport play, military history, substance use treatment history, psychologically traumatic event history, and BGLHA childhood score. RESULTS: Among 845 brain donors, the mean age at death was 60.3 (SD = 19.6) years. 589 donors (69.7%) had CTE, and 383 donors (45.3%) had a 1°FHMI. 1°FHMI was significantly associated with standardized adult BGLHA scores in those with CTE, but not in those without CTE (CTE present: β = 0.16, 95% CI 0.02-0.29; CTE absent: β = 0.10, 95% CI -0.12 to 0.32). The largest effects were observed among those with CTE, aged 40-59 years (CTE present: β = 0.64, 95% CI 0.32-0.96; CTE absent: β = 0.05, 95% CI -0.44 to 0.54), particularly for BGLHA factors of emotional dysregulation/impulsiveness (CTE present: β = 1.68, 95% CI 0.78-2.58; CTE absent: β = 0.09, 95% CI -1.20 to 1.37) and antisocial behavior (CTE present: β = 1.56, 95% CI 0.64-2.47; CTE absent: β = 0.10, 95% CI -1.19 to 1.40). DISCUSSION: Among brain donors exposed to repetitive head impacts, CTE pathology moderated the effect of 1°FHMI on BGLHA scores, with the largest effects in midlife. Predisposition to mental illness and CTE pathology may increase risk of aggression beyond each risk factor's additive effects. Prospective studies are needed to confirm these results.

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• The Impact of State Firearm Laws on Homicide Rates in Suburban and Rural Areas Compared to Large Cities in the United States, 1991‐2016

  The Journal of Rural Health · 2019-07-30 · 37 citations

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  PURPOSE: This article aims to examine whether state firearm laws impact homicide rates differently in suburban and rural areas compared to large cities in the United States. METHODS: We analyzed serial, cross-sectional data for the 26-year period 1991-2016 using a panel design. We examined the relationship between 6 specific state firearm laws and homicide rates in large cities (those with greater than 100,000 people in 1990) and in all geographic areas outside of these cities. Using a city-level fixed effects negative binomial regression, we modeled the number of homicides as a function of state firearm laws, while controlling for time fixed effects and time-varying state- and city-level sociodemographic factors. FINDINGS: Two policies-universal background checks and "may issue" laws that required a heightened showing of suitability for concealed carry-were associated with lower firearm homicide rates in large cities but were not associated with firearm homicide rates in suburban and rural areas. In contrast, laws that prohibited gun possession by people convicted of a violent misdemeanor were associated with lower firearm homicide rates in suburban and rural areas, but were not associated with firearm homicide rates in large cities. Permit requirements were associated with lower firearm homicide rates in both large cities and suburban and rural areas. CONCLUSIONS: This article provides the first evidence that state firearm laws may have a differential impact on firearm homicide rates in suburban and rural areas compared to urban areas in the United States.

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• The Impact of State Firearm Laws on Homicide Rates among Black and White Populations in the United States, 1991–2016

  Health & Social Work · 2019-10-17 · 29 citations

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  This study aimed to investigate the potential differential effects of state-level firearm laws on black and white populations. Using a panel design, authors examined the relationship between state firearm laws and homicide victimization rates among white people and black people in 39 states during the period between 1991 and 2016. Authors modeled homicide rates using linear regression with year and state fixed effects and controlled for a range of time-varying, state-level factors. Results showed that universal background check laws and permit requirement laws were associated with lower homicide rates among both white and black populations, and "shall issue" laws were associated with higher homicide rates among both white and black populations. Laws that prohibit firearm possession among people convicted of a violent misdemeanor or require relinquishment of firearms by people with a domestic violence restraining order were associated with lower black homicide rates, but not with white homicide rates. Author identification of heterogeneity in the associations between state firearm laws and homicide rates among different racial groups has implications for reducing racial health disparities.

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• The Role of Racial Residential Segregation in Black-White Disparities in Firearm Homicide at the State Level in the United States, 1991-2015

  Journal of the National Medical Association · 2018-07-11 · 62 citations

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• State Firearm Laws and Interstate Transfer of Guns in the USA, 2006–2016

  Journal of Urban Health · 2018-04-18 · 23 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Police supervision: perspectives of subordinates

  Policing An International Journal · 2017-03-14 · 17 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Purpose Given the central role of supervision in shaping police agency outcomes and the impact of the supervisor-subordinate relationship, the purpose of this paper is to understand subordinates’ ratings of supervisor performance overall and on several distinct dimensions. Design/methodology/approach Descriptive and explanatory analyses are conducted on subordinate views of supervision based on a survey of officers and detectives ( n =7,085) in 89-agencies. Findings Reporting high ratings of supervisor performance overall, subordinates also view supervisors as fair, supportive and engaged in practices that set expectations. These dimensions are highly correlated with overall satisfaction; other variables, such as age, race and gender demonstrate weak relationships to overall satisfaction and perceptions of fairness, support and direction. Research limitations/implications The study is based on subordinates’ perceptions of supervisors and does not address the supervisors’ own perceptions or actual behavior. Future studies should collect identical information from supervisors as well as examine agency-level variation in both subordinate and supervisor outlooks and styles. Practical implications The results support modern approaches to police supervision that emphasize not just direction and control but also fair and supportive relationships with subordinates. Originality/value The study examines the views of thousands of line-level police across a large number of representative US agencies and explores relationships using a comprehensive set of variables.

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• Neighborhood Context and Media Representations of Crime

  Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice · 2017-04-26

  reference-entry1st authorCorresponding

  Neighborhoods are central to popular and news media portrayals of crime and theories of social control. By setting agendas and framing crime problems, news media in particular are an important part of the policy process. Media representations influence public perceptions and attitudes about crime as well as public responses to crime, which are known to vary across neighborhoods. Media representations of crime are thus likely to have important implications for the distribution of social control across neighborhoods. Media and crime literature has focused primarily on the social construction of crime by examining victim, offender, and situational characteristics of crime. Concerns about over- or underrepresentation of racial groups or genders have driven attention to these characteristics. Research finds consistently, for example, that “normal crimes” and “deserving victims” are differentially present in media accounts of crimes. In addition to the normative consequences, there are methodological reasons for taking more seriously the study of neighborhoods for the broader media and crime literature. Few studies have contributed to the understanding of neighborhood context in the study of media and crime. The findings of the research are mixed and are limited in a variety of ways, although there is evidence that disadvantaged communities and communities of color are underrepresented in news media accounts of crime. These findings confirm expectations from theories typically applied to individual characteristics. Research on the intersection of media, crime, and neighborhoods is of importance to the study of crime and social control, but can be expanded upon in a number of ways. Focusing research on qualitative differences across neighborhoods, expanding the scope of variables connected to common theoretical perspectives used in the literature, accounting for neighborhood dynamics, and drawing upon a wider array of variables connected to concepts of community power, interest group politics, and control of institutions are all recommendations for advancing this line of inquiry.

  PublisherDOI

• The assessment of capable guardianship measures against bullying victimization in the school environment

  Police Practice and Research · 2016-01-04 · 12 citations

  article

  Policymakers, school officials and the law enforcement community have expanded legal tools and other strategies to address bullying in recent years. This has resulted in a larger and more challenging role for law enforcement officers working in school settings. The present study seeks to understand the ways in which local law enforcement officers interpret this new role and their efforts to prevent and respond to bullying. We draw upon Routine Activities Theory as a lens to view officer perceptions of promoting guardianship and reducing target suitability of young people most at-risk for bullying victimization. Data collected from qualitative interviews of law enforcement officers working with local schools, suggest that officers see a role for law enforcement in promoting guardianship around this health and safety concern, but recognize the limitations of using arrest authority. They emphasize promoting trust and building relationship in efforts to support potential and current bullying victims.

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Frequent coauthors

• Jack McDevitt

  9 shared

• Amy Farrell

  9 shared

• Ziming Xuan

  Boston University

  4 shared

• Zachary Baucom

  Framingham Heart Study

  4 shared

• Shruti Durape

  Framingham Heart Study

  4 shared

• Emily F. Rothman

  4 shared

• Victor E. Alvarez

  4 shared

• Daniel H. Daneshvar

  Harvard University

  4 shared