‘MTSU On the Record’ examines crime stats under pandemic conditions

A new way to look at crime statistics during the COVID-19 pandemic was the topic of a recent “MTSU On the Record” radio program.

Dr. Benjamin Stickle, associate professor, Department of Criminal Justice Administration

Dr. Ben Stickle

Host Gina Logue’s interview with Ben Stickle, an associate professor of criminal justice administration, first aired Sept. 1 on WMOT-FM Roots Radio 89.5 and www.wmot.org. You can listen to their conversation above.

Stickle and professor Marcus Felson of Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, are co-authors of a peer-reviewed article titled “Crime Rates in a Pandemic: The Largest Criminological Experiment in History.”

In the article, they propose analyzing crime statistics with an emphasis on seven different time periods starting from about a year before COVID-19 first came to dominate American headlines in early February 2020.

Stickle said the period from mid-March to mid-May, when stay-at-home orders were first mandated by governmental entities, is especially important.

“When that occurred, you had a sudden and drastic overnight shift, as it were, from free activity, from routines that you might normally be engaged in, with a huge portion of the population now being locked inside their homes.”