Steve Chermak
Professor of Criminal Justice
Steven M. Chermak is a professor in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University.
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Steven M. Chermak is a professor in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University. Dr. Chermak is also a lead investigator affiliated with The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terror (START). Dr. Chermak’s terrorism research has focused on four general areas. First, he studies the criminal and terrorist activities of domestic terrorists. Projects include understanding patterns of violence of far right, far left, and al-Qaeda inspired extremists, documenting
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how lone wolf attacks are different than group-inspired terrorist attacks, and examining the characteristics of foiled terrorist plots. Second, he studies the intelligence practices of State, Local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies. Third, he is studying the sources of funding used by terrorist organizations, with a particular emphasis on examining their use of counterfeited products. This research looks at what crimes terrorist organizations commit to fund their activities, how they are networked to other organizations or individuals to commit such acts, and assesses the impacts of these crimes. Finally, he has studied the media’s role in relation to crime and terrorism issues.
Dr. Chermak’s research has been funded by the Department of Homeland Security, National Institute of Justice, and the Michigan State Police. He has published two books, seven books and numerous research reports. His research has appeared in a number of journals including Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Criminology and Public Policy, Justice Quarterly, Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, Journal of Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice Policy Review, and the Journal of Crime, Conflict, and the Media. Before joining the faculty at Michigan State University in 2005, Dr. Chermak was faculty member at Indiana University in Bloomington from 1992-2005.
Education
State University of New York at Albany: Ph.D., Criminal Justice | 1993
State University of New York at Albany: M.A., Criminal Justice | 1988
Bowling Green State University: B.A., Criminal Justice | 1987
Selected Press
19 years after 9/11, Americans continue to fear foreign extremists and underplay the dangers of domestic terrorism
The Conversation | 2020-09-10
This article was co-authored by Steven Chermak, professor of criminal justice at Michigan State University. On a Tuesday morning in September 2001, the American experience with terrorism was fundamentally altered. Two thousand, nine hundred and ninety-six people were killed as the direct result of attacks in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania. Thousands more, including many first responders, later lost their lives to health complications from working at or being near Ground Zero. Nineteen years later, Americans' ideas of what terrorism is remains tied to that morning. The 9/11 attacks were perpetrated by al-Qaida terrorists. They resulted in nearly 18 times more deaths than America's second most devastating terrorist attack – the Oklahoma City bombing that occurred 15 years earlier. That intense loss of life has meant that the 9/11 attacks have come to symbolize terrorism for many Americans.
Threats of violent Islamist and far-right extremism: What does the research say?
The Conversation | 2017-02-21
On a Tuesday morning in September 2001, the American experience with terrorism was fundamentally altered. Two thousand, nine hundred and ninety-six people were murdered in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania. Thousands more, including many first responders, lost their lives to health complications from working at or being near Ground Zero...
SHSU study explores honor crimes in the U.S.
The Item | 2016-08-16
Researchers on the study also included Joshua D. Freilich, of John Jay College, and Steven M. Chermak, of Michigan State University. It is available online via the Journal of Family Violence.
The Orlando shooting: exploring the link between hate crimes and terrorism
The Conversation | 2016-06-15
Some are calling the mass shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub an act of terrorism. Others are calling it a hate crime against the LGBT community. President Obama declared it an “act of terror and an act of hate.”
Can it be both?...
