Faculty Bio & Interests
Richard Wright, Curators Professor
Richard Wright has spent more than 20 years studying
the offender’s perspective on crime in both Great Britain and
the United States. Since coming to St. Louis in 1984, he has conducted
research involving, among others, active residential burglars, active
armed robbers, and active carjackers. He also has collaborated on
research into offender reintegration and recidivism in Iceland.
His current research examines informal social control, retaliation,
and the contagion of urban violence.
He is the author or co-author of numerous books and articles, including Armed Robbers in Action: Stick-ups and Street Culture, and Burglars on the Job: Streetlife and Residential Break-Ins, which won the 1994-95 Outstanding Scholarship in Crime and Delinquency Award from the Society for the Study of Social Problems.
Richard currently serves as the Departmental Chair and the Editor of the British Journal of Sociology.