The Criminology Academy
Michelle Lyttle Storrod, PhD
- Assistant Professor
Media Expertise:
- Criminal Justice
- Gender & Sexuality
- Social Justice
- Technology
Affiliated Programs
Education
- PhD, Childhood Studies (2021)
Rutgers University (NJ) - MSc, Children, Youth & International Development (2016)
Birkbeck University of London (LDN) - BA, Sociology (2005)
University of Birmingham (BI)
About Me
My scholarship addresses urgent questions about juvenile justice, youth violence, gender, gangs, and technology-facilitated harm. I received my PhD from Rutgers University–Camden, I am an affiliate of the SAFElab at the University of Pennsylvania and the coauthor of the curriculum for the largest violence prevention charity in Europe.
My cross-national scholarly pursuits center on the intricate intersection of youth, social media, and crime. Specifically, my research delves into how young people utilize social media platforms and mobile devices within the context of crime and victimization including drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and serious youth violence. I also look at how the juvenile system treats digitally facilitated harms.
My research takes place in the UK and the US. I have shared my research at the House of Lords and the Ministry of Justice; it is also cited in a range of UK policies.
Drawing from over a decade of practical experience working with gangs, the direction of my research is deeply rooted in a commitment to supporting young people, with a focus on girls. I am a qualitative researcher who incorporates digital methodologies as part of ethnographic, and youth led methods.
My most recent work funded by the NJ Gun Violence Research Center looks at ecological factors around community violence and the role of women in community violence intervention conducted in spaces that include the digital world.
Research Interests
- Juvenile justice
- Gangs
- Youth violence
- Gender & crime
- Technology-facilitated violence & victimization
Media Expertise
- Gangs and social media
- Community gun violence intervention
- Gender and juvenile justice
Publications
- Lyttle Storrod, M., & Van Damme, E. (2025) Mothers & Gang Intervention; A Cross National Account, International Criminology https://doi.org/10.1007/s43576-025-00176-2
- Lyttle Storrod, M. (2024). “It Started With a Nude”: Gangs & Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence. International Criminal Justice Review, 34(3), 245-261. https://doi.org/10.1177/10575677241230475
- Lyttle Storrod, M. (2022) Ecological ruptures & Strain: girls, juvenile justice and phone removal. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy https://doi.org/10.5204/ijcjsd.2188
- Gordon, F., Klose, H., & Storrod, M.L. (2021) Youth (in)justice and the COVID-19 pandemic: rethinking detention internationally through a public health lens. Current Issues in Criminal Justice [Special Edition — Covid-19, Criminal Justice And Carceralism: Critical Reflections And Change] https://doi.org/10.1080/10345329.2020.1859966
- Tucker, S., Meloy. M., Storrod. M. L., Curtis, K. & Napolitano., L. (2019). Mentoring vulnerable youth in one of America’s most dangerous cities: from tough homes and violent streets to college classrooms, Youth Justice 19(3), 262-277. https://doi.org/10.1177/1473225419886931
- Meloy, M., Curtis, K., Tucker, S., Previ, B., Storrod, M. L., Gordon, G., & Delacruz, M. (2018). Surviving all the way to college: pathways out of one of America’s most crime ridden cities. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi.org/10.1177/1473225419886931
- Storrod, M. L. & Densley, J. A. (2017). ‘Going viral’ and ‘going country’: the expressive and instrumental activities of street gangs on social media. Journal of Youth Studies, 20(6), 677-696. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2016.1260694
Professional Affiliations & Memberships
American Society of Criminology, Academy Of Criminal Justice Sciences, European Society of Criminology
Awards
- David K Sengstack Princeton Fellowship, Rutgers University 2020/21
- Rutgers Graduate Student Paper Award, Rutgers University-Camden 2020
- Remarkable 31 Award for Gender Equality, Rutgers University-Camden 2020
- Rutgers Camden Chancellor's Awards for Civic Engagement, Rutgers University-Camden 2019
In the Media
Noteworthy
Criminal Justice Faculty Member Receives Funding for Gun Violence Research
Michelle Lyttle Storrod, assistant professor of criminal justice, has received over $54,000 from the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center for a two-year grant intended to study the role of women in community violence intervention. The unique comparative study will take place in Chester, Philadelphia, and Camden, New Jersey, and will include students working hands-on to collect and analyze data from social media, community focus groups, and more.
Lyttle Storrod has previously received additional funding from the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center for work in other areas of researching gun violence including a focus on measuring community attitudes towards gun violence in the Philadelphia region.
Criminal Justice Professor Publishes Findings on Impact of Phone Removal Among Girls in the Juvenile Justice System
Michelle Lyttle Storrod, assistant professor of criminal justice, published a paper in the International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy demonstrating that removing access to phones for young females in the juvenile justice system can cause a rupture of girls’ digital ecology. The research, generated from an ethnographic study, showed that phones act as a positive and protective force supporting girls through feelings of safety, helping them cope with challenging events at home and on the street.
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