John Leverso

John Leverso is a formerly incarcerated gang member turned scholar. He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Cincinnati in the School of Criminal Justice. His research combines sociological and criminological perspectives to comprehensively investigate the social organization of the urban street gang. Not only investigating crime and delinquency, but also gang group processes and dynamics, de-escalation of disputes, and street gang changes over time with a focus on mental health, gender, and the digital street. In addition, he examines the later-in-life consequences of justice involvement. Leverso has published articles in the American Sociological Review, the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, the Journal of Quantitative Criminology and the Journal of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology, among other outlets. He has also co-edited a volume on gangs titled The Oxford Handbook on Gangs and Society. He teaches courses related to criminology and both quantitative and qualitative methods. Previously he has taught courses on Race and the Criminal Justice System, Criminology, Urban Street Gangs, and Social Statistics.