Dee Harper has been teaching sociology at Loyola University since 1973. Currently, he teaches classes on criminology for City College, and he is the graduate degree coordinator for the recently established criminal justice graduate program. Harper received a bachelor of arts from George Peabody of Vanderbilt University, a master of arts and doctorate degree from Louisiana State University, and was a post-doctoral fellow at Tulane University. While at Tulane he began teaching sociology courses at Loyola and has been on the faculty ever since. I caught up with Harper in his office in Stallings Hall, where we chatted about sociology, criminology, a grant he's working on, recent and past statistical work and a few maters of personal interest.
Harper is originally from Nashville, Tennessee.
The grant will provide training for police officers in the second district on improving responses to domestic violence calls. Supporters of the grant include the Tulane Medical Center, Louisiana Department of Health, the Center for Disease Control, YWCA, District Attorney Office, and NOPD's second district. The grant was inspired, researched, and co-written by Dabdoub for a class project. Among the problems are not enough follow-ups, too large a number of dual arrests, and victims often drop charges or even turn on police while assailants are being arrested. To help solve this, Harper will be working with the second district to train officers on approaches that will ensure both the officer's and the victim's safety.