North Fulton Resident Named Ga. State Department Chair

Professor and North Fulton resident Dean Dabney has been named chair of the Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, dean Sally Wallace recently announced.

Dabney joined the department as an assistant professor in 1997 after teaching in the University of Florida’s Department of Sociology and Center for Studies in Criminology and Law. He was interim chair of the department from 2013-14, when Regents’ Professor Richard Wright joined the department as chair. Wright will remain on the faculty to continue his research.

“Dean has a great history in the Andrew Young School and the community, which I know he will use to build on the successes of the department,” Wallace said. “I appreciate his willingness to serve as chair and look forward to working with him as he continue to advance the research and teaching in this vibrant and growing department.”

Dabney’s scholarly interests include the organizational culture in law enforcement agencies, forms of deviance and criminal behaviors that occur in organizational settings and qualitative research methods, with a focus on the criminal investigation process and illegal drug use.

He has published four books, the latest of which focuses on confidential informants. It received the Outstanding Book Award from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences in 2018. Dabney has also authored several dozen articles in such outlets as the British Journal of Criminology, Criminal Justice & Behavior and Justice Quarterly. He has been editor of the Criminal Justice Review and International Criminal Justice Review, and his work has been funded by Sage Publications, the DeKalb County Office of the District Attorney, Emory and Georgia State universities, and the CVS Corporation.

Dabney has worked with the Atlanta Police Foundation and Atlanta Police Department since 2013 as departmental director for the Atlanta Police Leadership Institute, a groundbreaking training program established by the foundation in partnership with Georgia State. For the last eight years, he has also been a faculty affiliate with Emory University’s Injury Prevention Research Center.

“I truly appreciate the trust and confidence that the dean and faculty have placed in me,” Dabney said. “Richard has left the department in great shape, and I really look forward to enhancing our profile in the field and further growing our scholarly portfolio.”

Dabney has won several teaching awards, including the Andrew Young School’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 2017. He holds a bachelors’ and master’s degree in criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Florida.