Faculty and Staff Profile

Kyle McLean

Educational Background

Ph.D. Criminology & Criminal Justice
University of South Carolina 2018

M.A. Criminology & Criminal Justice
University of South Carolina 2014

B.S. Criminal Justice
Appalachian State University 2012

Courses Taught

JUST 2880 - The Criminal Justice System
JUST 4910 - Policing
JUST 4950 - Critical Issues in Policing

Profile

Dr. McLean graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice in 2018 and was named a National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Sciences (LEADS) Academic in 2019. Dr. McLean works with law enforcement officers across the country to assess and recommend evidence-based practices for police departments. Dr. McLean is leading a team of researchers that was recently awarded more than $892,000 from the National Institute of Justice to evaluate a police de-escalation training program.

Research Interests

Dr. McLean's research interests focus on understanding police-community relations and evaluating efforts to reform the police to better reflect community demands of policing. Accordingly, Dr. McLean has conducted research in the areas of police legitimacy, police training, police culture, police use of force, and body-worn cameras.

Research Publications

Selected recent works:

McCarthy, Molly, Kyle McLean, & Geoff Alpert. 2024. The influence of guardian and warrior police orientations on Australian officers' use of force attitudes and tactical decision-making. Police Quarterly. DOI: 10.1177/10986111231189857.

McLean, Kyle, Justin Nix, Seth W. Stoughton, Ian T. Adams, & Geoffrey P. Alpert. 2023. An experimental look at reasonable suspicion and police discretion. Policing: An International Journal. DOI: 10.1108/PIJPSM-01-2023-0002.

McLean, Kyle, Arif Alikhan, & Geoffrey P. Alpert. 2022. Re-examining the use of force continuum: Why resistance is not the only driver of use of force decisions. Police Quarterly. DOI: 10.1177/10986111211066353.

McLean, Kyle & Justin Nix. 2021. Understanding the bounds of legitimacy: Weber’s facets of legitimacy and the police empowerment hypothesis. Justice Quarterly. DOI: 10.1080/07418825.2021.1933141

Stogner, John, Bryan Lee Miller, & Kyle McLean. 2020. Police stress, mental health, and resiliency during the COVID-19 pandemic. American Journal of Criminal Justice. DOI: 10.1007/s12103-020-09548-y.

McLean, Kyle, Scott E. Wolfe, Jeff Rojek, Geoffrey P. Alpert, & Michael R. Smith. 2020. A randomized-controlled trial of social interaction police training. Criminology & Public Policy. DOI: 10.1111/1745-9133.12506.

McLean, Kyle. 2019. Justice-restoring responses: A theoretical framework for understanding citizen complaints against the police. Policing & Society. DOI: 10.1080/10439463.2019.1704755.

McLean, Kyle, Scott E. Wolfe, Jeff Rojek, Geoffrey P. Alpert, & Michael R. Smith. 2019. Police officers as warriors or guardians: Empirical reality or intriguing rhetoric? Justice Quarterly. DOI: 10.1080/07418825.2018.1533031.

Honors and Awards

American Society of Criminology Division of Policing Early Career Award (2023)
Outstanding Ph.D. Alumni Award. University of South Carolina. (2023)

Links