Dr. Charles Bell

Biography

Dr. Charles Bell is an assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice Sciences. His research explores African American students' and parents' perceptions of out-of-school suspension, school safety measures, and law enforcement officers throughout Michigan and Illinois. Dr. Bell's research builds upon the street code theory and suggests some students seek physical altercations and out-of-school suspension as a strategy to gain popularity, respect, and toughness. His work also confirms Black students and their parents harbor negative perceptions of out-of-school suspension, students feel school officials target them for suspension based on their style of dress, hair, and music preference, and frequent out-of-school suspension functions as a precursor to Black educational flight. Dr. Bell's current book, Code of the School: Punishment, Violence, and Victimization in Public High Schools, expands upon this work and is under contract with Johns Hopkins University Press.

Dr. Bell has been interviewed and cited by several news outlets such as Atlanta Black Star, The Conversation, WGLT, WDET Detroit, Aljazeera America, Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency, and Detroit PBS.