Jerry
Ratcliffe BSc
PhD FRGS
Jerry Ratcliffe is a Professor of Criminal Justice at Temple University, Philadelphia. He also directs the Center for Security and Crime Science at Temple University. In a previous life he was a police officer with the Metropolitan Police in London (UK) where he served for a number of years on patrol duties, in an intelligence and information unit, and as a member of the Diplomatic Protection Group. Due to a severe winter mountaineering accident while ice climbing in the Scottish Highlands, he left the police after 11 years of service. He completed a B.Sc. with honors in Geography and GIS at the University of Nottingham (UK) and has a Ph.D. from the same institution.
As a lecturer in policing (intelligence) with Charles Sturt University based at the New South Wales Police College in Australia, he ran graduate programs in criminal intelligence, and for a number of years coordinated Australia's National Strategic Intelligence Course. Professor Ratcliffe was also a senior research analyst with the Australian Institute of Criminology, where he conducted one of the first evaluations of an intelligence-led policing operation. In 2007, Professor Ratcliffe was awarded the Professional Service Award for outstanding contributions to criminal intelligence analysis by the International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts (IALEIA), and in 2010 awarded the Distinguished Service Award for continued dedication and outstanding contributions to the law enforcement community, by the Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Units.
He has published over 60 research articles and four books including: 'Intelligence-Led Policing' (Willan, 2008), 'Strategic Thinking in Criminal Intelligence' (Federation Press, 2004 and 2009); 'GIS and Crime Mapping' (Wiley, 2005) and 'Policing Illegal Drug Markets' (Criminal Justice Press, 2005). Recent research articles have examined shooting patterns in Philadelphia, the effectiveness of CCTV, and drug gang investigations by the New Jersey State Police. He was the lead researcher on the Philadelphia Foot Patrol Experiment, a randomized controlled trial of the impact of foot patrol on violent crime hotspots. This collaborative project with the Philadelphia Police Department won the IACP Excellence in Research Award.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and publishes and lectures on environmental criminology, crime mapping, intelligence-led policing and crime reduction. Jerry was an officer in the British Army reserves (Royal Engineers), has climbed the three highest mountains in Africa, led an expedition down the Selenga river in Siberia, and was the first non-Iban tribesman to successfully navigate (with a traditional carved boat) the rapids of the Temburong river in Borneo. He likes to scuba dive, fly his light sport seaplane, and drink single malt whisky... but not all at the same time.
