The Data Behind Mass Shootings
Jillian Peterson is the Co-Founder of the Violence Project — a nonpartisan think tank dedicated to reducing violence and improving policy and practice through research and analysis. Chanda and Jillian sat down together to talk about the psychology of mass shootings, the best ways to prevent this violence, and the power of human connection during times of crisis.
Jillian Peterson
Jillian Peterson is a professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Hamline University and Co-Founder of The Violence Project, a nonpartisan think tank. She has a Ph.D. in Psychology and Social Behavior from the University of California, Irvine. Prior to graduate school, Jillian worked as an investigator on death penalty cases in Chicago and New York City.
Her areas of research and expertise include forensic psychology, mental illness in the criminal justice system, police training, violent crime, mass shootings, crisis intervention and de-escalation, and violence prevention policy. Jillian is currently leading a two-year research project, funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, examining the life histories of 160 mass shooters over the past 50 years.
