Tara Richards

Biography

Dr. Richards' research focuses on intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and the role of gender in criminal justice system processes. Some of her recent research has been featured in Justice Quarterly, Crime & Delinquency, and Law and Human Behavior and she has been interviewed by outlets such as Mother Jones, Huff Post, and the Boston Globe. Richards has received funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, National Institute of Justice, and Office of Violence Against Women. She is also a passionate teacher who aims to empower her students to grow as critical thinkers and be forces for positive change in the criminal/legal and victim service systems.

Teaching Interests

intimate partner violence, sexual assault, criminological theory, statistics, and qualitative methods

Research Interests

intimate partner violence, sexual assault, campus sexual misconduct, and the role of gender in criminal justice system processes

Service Summary

Richards is an active member of the American Society of Criminology's Division on Women and Crime (DWC). She is the current Vice Chair of the DWC, and has previously served as an Associate Editor for the Newsletter, an Executive Counselor, the Chair of the External Awards Committee, and a Committee Member for both the Student Paper Competition Committee and Outreach Committee. She consistently review manuscripts for an array of criminology and women's studies journals and serves as a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Experimental Criminology and the Journal of Women and Criminal Justice. She also serves as a peer reviewer for the National Science Foundation and for the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs' National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Violence Against Women (VAW) Standing Review Panel. Richards serves on the Douglas County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), Domestic Violence Community Response Team (DV CRT), and the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) Working Group.

Awards and Honors

New Scholar Award, Scholarship/Research - 2014

Paper of the Year Finalist, Scholarship/Research - 2014

Education

Ph D, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, Criminology, 2011

Selected Publications

Dolamore, Stephanie, Richards, Tara. 2020. Assessing the organizational culture of higher education institutions in an era of #MeToo. , Public Administration Review.

Nix, Justin, Richards, Tara, Pinchevsky, Gillian, Wright, Emily. 2019. Are Domestic Incidents Really More Dangerous to Police? Findings from the 2016 National Incident Based Reporting System, Justice Quarterly.

Richards, Tara, Tillyer, Marie, Wright, Emily. 2019. When Victims Refuse and Prosecutors Decline: Examining Exceptional Clearance in Sexual Assault Cases, Crime & Delinquency, 65, 4, 474-498.

Richards, Tara. 2019. No evidence of “weaponized Title IX” here: An empirical assessment of sexual misconduct reporting, case processing, and outcomes , Law and Human Behavior, 43, 2, 180-192.

Richards, Tara, Branch, Kathryn, Fleury-Steiner, Ruth, Kafonek, Katherine. 2017. A Feminist analysis of campus sexual assault policies: Results from a national sample, Family Relations, 66, 1, 104-115.

Externally Funded Research

A Descriptive Analysis of Missing and Murdered Native Women and Children in Nebraska, Barriers to Reporting and Investigation, and Recommendations for Improving Access to Justice, National Institute of Justice, Federal, 01/01/2020 - 06/30/2021

American Indian/Alaska Native Training Technical Assistance Program , U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Victims of Crime (OVC) Grant Program , Federal, 01/01/2019 - 01/01/2022

Department, College, and University

Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee, Untenured Faculty Member, Committee Member, 01/01/2018 - 12/31/2018

Education

Research Interests

Victimology

Curriculum Vitae