UWG News Archive

Sociology Professor writes book

December 13, 2004

CARROLLTON, GA - Dr. John Fuller, professor of sociology at the University of West Georgia, is receiving rave reviews for his new book, Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents.

Prentice Hall, one of the largest publishing houses in the country, is giving this contemporary and comprehensive textbook maximum exposure. “The author clearly has his finger on the pulse of criminal justice,” says Ronald Burns of Texas Christian University. “I feel his experience has resulted in understanding what is needed to effectively and efficiently teach the course.”

The book reflects his experiences and asks students to think critically about goals and processes of the criminal justice system. The title illustrates the dilemmas faced by criminal justice professionals.

“The field of criminal justice is not a deep, still pond where one can see the bottom through crystal clear water,” says Fuller, “Rather, it is like a fast-moving stream with currents, crosscurrents, eddies, rapids and hydraulics. Heraclitus' observation that one cannot step into the same stream twice is also true of the field of criminal justice, which can change just as dramatically.”

Fuller has taught at UWG since 1981, but his experience in the field of criminology goes back much farther. He served as a probation and parole officer for the Florida Probation and Parole Commission. He worked in Broward County, Florida where he managed a caseload of more than 100 felons. Additionally, he served as a Criminal Justice Planner for the Palm Beach Metropolitan Criminal Justice Planning Unit.

In this capacity, he worked with every criminal justice agency in a three-county area and wrote grants for the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration that funneled more than a million dollars into local criminal justice agencies.

His educational career is no less impressive. During his 24 years at UWG, Fuller has achieved phenomenal success. He has published a number of books including Peacemaking and Restorative Justice: Transforming Individuals and Institutions (co-authored with Michael Braswell and Bo Lozoff), Controversial Issues in Criminology (co-edited with Eric Wakem Hickey), and Criminal Justice: A Peacemaking Perspective.

In 1991, Fuller received the College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Member of the Year Award and in 2001 he was given the Professor of the Year award by the UWG Honors College.

For more information about Fuller, visit the UWG Sociology and Criminology website at http://www.westga.edu/~soccrim/ for more information about Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents.

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