{{short description|American sociologist and criminologist}} {{Infobox scientist | honorific_prefix = | name = Colin Loftin | honorific_suffix = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = <!--(filename only, i.e. without "File:" prefix)--> | image_size = | image_upright = | alt = | caption = | birth_date = <!--{{birth date |YYYY|MM|DD}}--> | birth_place = | death_date = <!--{{death date and age |YYYY|MM|DD |YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date)--> | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = <!--{{coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}--> | other_names = | pronounce = | residence = | citizenship = | nationality = | fields = Sociology, criminology | workplaces = University at Albany, SUNY | patrons = | education = | alma_mater = University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | thesis_title = Warfare and Societal Complexity: A Cross-cultural Study of Organized Fighting in Preindustrial Societies | thesis_url = https://www.proquest.com/docview/302534302/citation/98A2DCC8A4884642PQ | thesis_year = 1971 | doctoral_advisor = <!--(or | doctoral_advisors = )--> | academic_advisors = | doctoral_students = | notable_students = | known_for = | influences = | influenced = | awards = | author_abbrev_bot = | author_abbrev_zoo = | spouse = <!--(or | spouses = )--> | partner = <!--(or | partners = )--> | children = | signature = <!--(filename only)--> | signature_alt = | website = <!--{{URL|www.example.com}}--> | footnotes = }} '''Colin Loftin''' is an American criminologist and Distinguished Professor at the University at Albany School of Criminal Justice. At the University at Albany, he is also the co-director of the Violence Research Group, along with David McDowall.
==Education and career== Loftin received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1971. He was an assistant professor of sociology at Brown University from 1969 to 1976, after which he joined the faculty of the University of Michigan. In 1983, he became an associate professor at the University of Maryland at College Park, where he was promoted to full professor in 1985. In 1996, he joined the faculty of the University at Albany, where he was named a Distinguished Professor in 2014.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.albany.edu/scj/files/CLoftinCV.pdf | title=Colin Loftin Curriculum Vitae | date=November 2013 | accessdate=23 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release | url=https://www.suny.edu/suny-news/press-releases/november-2014/11-13-14-distinguished-faculty/ | title=SUNY Board of Trustees Appoints 11 Faculty to Distinguished Ranks | publisher=State University of New York | date=13 November 2014 | accessdate=23 June 2017}}</ref>
==Research== Loftin's research focuses on the application of statistics to the study of violence.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.albany.edu/scj/colin-loftin-far.php | title=Colin Loftin | publisher=University at Albany | work=School of Criminal Justice Website | accessdate=23 June 2017}}</ref> This includes a 1991 study he authored with McDowall which found that rates of gun homicide and gun suicide in Washington, D.C. declined shortly after their handgun ban took effect.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1991/12/05/dc-gun-law-works-or-so-new-study-says/661becb4-2978-4fff-90e3-71da0e938eec/ | title=D.C. Gun Law Works, Or So New Study Says | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=5 December 1991 | accessdate=23 June 2017 | author=Goldstein, Amy}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/06/AR2008070602118.html | title=Packing Protection or Packing Suicide Risk? | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=7 July 2008 | accessdate=23 June 2017 | author=Vedantam, Shankar}}</ref> He has also studied public support for mandatory sentencing laws, finding that 90% of citizens surveyed in Detroit, Michigan supported such laws, and that 65% said they would support them even if they did not deter crime.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1982/08/25/officials-divided-on-merits-of-mandatory-sentencing/c131d567-8e82-43fd-bab9-8dcfc25281a4/ | title=Officials Divided on Merits Of Mandatory Sentencing | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=25 August 1982 | accessdate=23 June 2017 | author=Kiernan, Laura A.}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loftin, Colin}} Category:Living people Category:University at Albany faculty Category:American criminologists Category:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Category:Brown University faculty Category:University of Michigan faculty Category:University of Maryland, College Park faculty Category:Year of birth missing (living people)