Top criminologist named first research professor at Texas State
SAN MARCOS — Kim Rossmo, Ph.D., world-renowned criminologist and leading authority on geographic profiling, has joined the Department of Criminal Justice as the first-ever research professor at Texas State University-San Marcos.
As a research professor, Rossmo will have no teaching responsibilities—his primary and singular focus will be on research, explained Department of Criminal Justice Chair Quint Thurman. Major nationally-recognized universities such as the University of Texas, the University of Michigan and others which have a focus on research boast research professors, and the addition of Rossmo shows how Texas State is evolving and placing more emphasis on research.
| “ His work is cutting edge, unlike anyone else in the field,” Thurman said. “That research interest and focus makes him someone we really want to have at this university. He is a great asset for our criminal justice program.” Rossmo most recently served as the Director of Research for the Police Foundation in Washington, D.C. The Police Foundation is an important foundation devoted to the pursuit of police research in the U.S. Previously, Rossmo headed the geographic profiling section at the Vancouver Police Department, Vancouver, British Columbia. This section, the first of its kind anywhere in the world, was founded by Rossmo as a result of his doctoral studies at Simon Fraser University in environmental criminology under the direction of internationally known criminologists Paul and Patricia Brantingham. Rossmo earned his B.A. in sociology from the University of Saskatchewan and his M.A. and Ph.D., both in criminology, from Simon Fraser University. |  Kim Rossmo |
Combining the disciplinary foci of mathematics, geography and criminology, and to some extent, wildlife biology, Rossmo developed the theory of geographic profiling and Rigel, a statistical software application that continues to be viewed as the apex of existing knowledge on this subject. His textbook on this subject continues to be the sole source for instruction in this very new area of study.
As a consequence of this expertise, he was called to assist the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the D.C. sniper case, and more recently, a high-profile serial killer case in Louisiana. He also recently completed a research project for the British Home Office on stranger rapists and geo-demographics.