
O’Neill Professor Tom Stucky didn’t intend to work in academia. After earning his bachelor’s degree, he was focused on policing.
“I was like many people who were interested in law enforcement in the early 90s,” he chuckles.
While he says he originally wanted to pursue a career in the FBI, he shifted gears toward state and local policing, eventually working as an officer with the Ohio Department of Liquor Control. But the schedule and lifestyle didn’t align with what he wanted for his family. So, he went back to school to earn his master’s degree and then his Ph.D. in criminology.
“Several of my family members are in law enforcement and my parents were both teachers, so teaching with a criminal justice focus was a natural fit for me,” he explains. “It also was an opportunity for me to continue to be involved in helping to shape good public policy around criminal justice through research.”
Since arriving at O’Neill Indianapolis more than two decades ago, Stucky has taught hundreds of courses, mentored students, served as the school’s executive associate dean in Indianapolis, helped launch its new digital forensics internship, and now serves as faculty fellow to IU Indianapolis’ Office of the Chancellor.
In that time, he’s also studied everything from anti-gang and violent crime initiatives to the impact urban politics and income inequality have on crime. And he’s found a multitude of factors that all impact each other and contribute to what makes a community livable.
“Everyone wants to feel safe as they’re going about their daily life,” he explains. “So, while the criminal justice system is partly about holding individuals who have committed a crime accountable, it’s also about preventing criminal behavior in the first place.”