SPEA Excellence
Crystal Garcia, PhD
Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, Law and Public Safety
When it comes to identifying ways to improve policy and decision making in the criminal justice system, Dr. Crystal Garcia is first and foremost someone who "likes to get her hands dirty."
Born and raised in California, Dr. Garcia accepted a SPEA faculty position in 1997 because of the school's strong focus on applied research — testing how theory actually plays out in the real world. In search of those answers, she's explored the front lines of Indiana's criminal justice system, taking every opportunity to analyze how the system can better address key issues. One of her favorite research topics is studying gender-specific responses to crime — especially how the system treats women and girls. She's conducted focus groups with incarcerated females both in prison and at juvenile facilities with a goal of determining what Dr. Garcia calls "smart punishment."
"[Smart punishment] is a response to crime that holds the offender accountable, but helps them build the skills they need to improve themselves and live crime-free lives," she says. "It's driven by rehabilitation and an awareness of what offenders need from the system."
Dr. Garcia uncovered her affinity for criminal justice while employed as a student worker in San Diego County's juvenile hall. While there, she worked nearly every job imaginable from booking and records clerk to custody officer and court liaison. With this range of experience as a backdrop, Dr. Garcia enjoys the opportunity to share her knowledge with SPEA students.
"I love being in front of a classroom," says Dr. Garcia, who teaches Introduction to the American Criminal Justice System and advanced courses in corrections, juvenile justice, crime and public policy, the death penalty, and the wrongfully convicted. "Our program is phenomenal at taking issues of interest to society and making them interesting, fun and academically rigorous."
Since joining the SPEA faculty, Dr. Garcia has received nine teaching awards. Part of what makes her courses so well received is her insistence on giving students a first-hand look at various aspects of the system. Field experiences to Indiana prisons and courtrooms, she says, are often real eye openers for students. A recent trip to Marion County's juvenile hall inspired her freshman criminal justice class to organize a book drive that provided more than 850 books for the facility's youth.
"It's all about revealing to students what the system is really like — uncovering its flaws and challenging students to rely on research to identify ways to improve it."