James Densley

Dr. James Densley studies why people turn to violence and what stops them. He is Professor and Department Chair of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Metro State University and co-founder of The Violence Prevention Project Research Center ("The Violence Project") at Hamline University. 

Densley has written ten books and edited two more. The Violence Project: How to Stop a Mass Shooting Epidemic became a bestseller and won the 2022 Minnesota Book Award. His research on gangs, guns, social media, and policing appears in more than 75 scientific journals and 20 edited volumes. He has also written for The New York Times, The Hill, The Guardian, Newsweek, TIME, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, among other popular outlets.

Before he became a professor, Densley taught middle school special education in New York City as an NYC Teaching Fellow. He holds a DPhil and MSc in sociology from the University of Oxford (St. Antony's College), an MS in teaching from Pace University, and a first-class honors BA in sociology and American studies from the University of Northampton. His work has attracted more than $10 million in research funding. In 2019, Metro State named him its first University Scholar.

Densley has given keynote talks on four continents and testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, the 9/11 Review Commission, and several legislative bodies. He serves as an expert witness in gang and firearm cases and has advised the United Nations, FBI, NIJ, OJJDP, Dstl, the UK Home Office, and London's Metropolitan Police Service. In 2017, the UK Prime Minister gave him a Points of Light Award for his community work.

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