Tara Richards

Biography

Dr. Richards' research and teaching focuses on prevention, intervention, and system responses to sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and child abuse and neglect. Some of her recent research has been featured in Criminology & Public Policy, Justice Quarterly, and Crime & Delinquency; her research has been utilized in outlets such as The New York Times, Mother Jones, Huff Post, and The Boston Globe. Richards has received funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, National Institute of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women, and Office of Victims of Crime. Richards is a Faculty Lead for SCCJ’s Victimology and Victim Studies Research Lab (VVSRL) – the mission of the VVSRL is to conduct research related to crime victims and crime victimization, inform policy and practice, and help shape prevention and intervention efforts. 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

domestic/intimate partner violence| sexual assault | substance use, mental illness, trauma, and the criminal justice system | victimology

Research Interests

domestic/intimate partner violence | sexual assault | campus sexual misconduct| the role of sex/gender in victimization and criminal justice system processes

Service Summary

Richards is an Associate Editor for the journal Victims & Offenders and a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Experimental Criminology and the Journal of Women and Criminal Justice. She is also an active member of the American Society of Criminology (ASC) and ASC's Division of Victimology (DOV) and Division on Women and Crime (DWC). She previously served as the DWC Vice Chair, Associate Editor for the newsletter, Executive Counselor, Chair of the External Awards Committee, and a Committee Member for both the Student Paper Competition Committee and Outreach Committee. Richards serves as a peer reviewer for the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Justice. She serves on the Douglas County Sexual Assault Response Team, Domestic Violence Community Response Team, and the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Working Group. She is also the site coach for Nebraska's Justice Reinvestment Grant, an initiative by the Nebraska Board of Parole and Division of Parole Supervision focused on advancing best practices to support the rights of crime victims.

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

Richards, Tara, Schwartz, Joseph, Wright, Emily. 2021. Examining adverse childhood experiences among Native Americans in a nationally representative sample: Differences among racial groups and race-sex dyads, Child Abuse & Neglect.

Nix, Justin, Richards, Tara. 2021. The immediate and long-term effects of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders on domestic violence calls for service across six U.S. jurisdictions, Police Practice & Research.

Richards, Tara, Nix, Justin, Mourtgos, Scott, Adams, Ian. 2021. Comparing 911 and Emergency Hotline Calls for Domestic Violence in Seven Cities: What Happened When People Started Staying Home Due to COVID-19?, Criminology & Public Policy , 20, 3, 573-591.

Richards, Tara, Branch, K, Pinchevsky, G.M., Hayes, B.E.. 2021. Walking the tightrope: Navigating faculty status as a mandatory reporter in the #MeToo Era, Journal of Criminal Justice Education.

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.

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 - 12/31/2021

MN Sexual Assault Kit Project, National Institute of Justice, Federal, 09/01/2021 - 12/31/2022

Co-Located Supportive Services to Reduce Recidivism in Batterer Intervention, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Victims of Crime (OVC) Research and Evaluation, Universities, 11/01/2019 - 10/31/2020

Department, College, and University

Doctoral Program Committee, Committee Member, 01/01/2018 - 12/31/2018

Judicial Committee, Committee Member, 01/01/2019 - 12/31/2019

Education

Research Interests

Victimology

Curriculum Vitae