Dr. William Lally
- About
- Education
- Awards & Honors
Biography
In addition to his instructional background, Dr. William Lally is a graduate of Northwestern’s School of Police Staff and Command, as well as the University of Illinois Police Training Institute. In July of 2015 he graduated from the National Forensic Academy with a concentration in crime scene management. Aside from his training, he has over 20 years experience as a law enforcement officer. Past duties range from traffic control and criminal investigations to patrol sergeant and chief of police.
Current Courses
206Fundamentals of Criminal Investigation
Teaching Interests & Areas
Dr. Lally's teaching philosophy centers on the role of facilitator as opposed to lecturer. He prefers student-centered teaching that encourages learning by both student and teacher. Classroom dynamics that allow for an exchange of ideas and foster a degree of student input provide for better learning environments than those that only allow for one-way discourse.
Research Interests & Areas
Dr. Lally's research interests explore how race, gender, and class, as social characteristics, can influence legal outcomes. His research includes studies that utilize data from the National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS) in an effort to propose an integrated theoretical model that has the capacity to predict adjudication outcomes with an acceptable level of credibility. Although much work has been done focusing on how social characteristics may influence law enforcement practices, few have attempted to combine various models into one framework. Social geometry uses a muti-dimensional approach in its attempt to explain observed variations in the behavior of law. In addition, social geometry posits that by holding constant the conduct of parties involved, case outcomes vary with their location and direction in social space, or their social geometry.