Policing and Community Well-Being Faculty
Dr. Nicholas Cristiano, Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator
I am a trained sociologist with a substantive focus on criminology, criminal justice, and public policy. I specialize in the areas of illicit substance use, addiction, harm reduction, drug law enforcement, and research methods. My research focuses on developing contextualized understanding of drug use behaviours by exploring conceptions and patterns of risk in relationship to contexts of use and structural constraints. I have researched extensively the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) community and the associated “club drug” culture. Currently, I am a lead investigator on a research grant looking at the effects of legalization and Covid-19 on use patterns and cannabis-related risk behaviours.
Contact Dr. Cristiano - nickcristiano@trentu.ca
Dr. Amy Spendik, Assistant Professor
Dr. Spendik is the Inaugural recipient of the Trent Durham GTA Award for Teaching Excellence for 2021-2022
My research engages with and contributes to the advancement of knowledge in criminology, sociology, public policy, and socio-legal studies. My previous research focuses on the role that risk-based thinking, neo-liberal governance, and risk management play in how criminal justice and mental health policy are developed and implemented. I have published work in mental health policy development, the use of segregation in prisons, prisoners’ rights. My previous research examined how provincial correctional officers were trained to understand prisoner behaviour, how to identify threat cues, and the strategies used to reduce danger in institutional settings. My current research examines the risk factors associated with human trafficking. This research examines the role that the social determinants of health play in the luring phase of human trafficking to better understand how young women get caught up in trafficking and what life contingencies increase the risk of being involved in trafficking.
Contact Dr. Spendik - amyspendik@trentu.ca