In April 1957, the Crime Prevention Association of Philadelphia donated a gift to Penn to memorialize J. Francis Finnegan, a leader in Philadelphia crime prevention in the 1940's and 1950's. Each year, this prize is awarded at graduation in recognition of the best senior thesis submitted by a criminology major.
In order to be considered for the prize, the student must submit their honors thesis by April 1.
PAST WINNERS
2019 Jillian Reeves - Beyond the Screen: Does Law & Order: SVU Increase Sex Crime Reporting?
2018 Alison Thompson - A retrospective study on the effect of police de-escalation training on officer use of force and safety
2017 Ruth Grossman - Did the 2010 OxyContin reformulation raise Philadelphia's heroin-related mortality rates more than the national average?
2016 Tilyn Nicole Bell - An evaluation of King County, WA's Buyer Beware Program: An assessment of the implementation and effects of a pilot prostitution policy
2015 Hannah Danielle Krinsky - Nutrients and delinquents: The effects of banning junk foods in American schools on violent juvenile conduct
2014 Emily Anne Leven - Transit police in the neighborhood: The effects of a SEPTA police initiative on crime
2013 Olivia Choy - Heart rate as a mediator of the social adversity-antisocial behavior relationship
2012 Corey Conyers - An investigation into the crime reduction effects of CCTV cameras in Lancaster, PA
2011 Zach Sommers – The effects of demographic factors on sentencing and probation outcomes
2010 Jill Portnoy – The second to fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) and its relation to crime, aggression and psychopathic personality