Wesley S. McCann is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society. He holds a PhD in criminal justice and criminology from Washington State University where he also competed on the track and field team. He has published numerous articles dealing with terrorism, immigration, and criminal law and courts, and is the author of National Security and Policy in America: Immigrants, Crime, and the Securitization of the Border (Routledge, 2020) as well as recent publications on CBRN Terrorism in leading terrorism journals.
An expert on extremism, preventing/countering violent extremism (P/CVE), and criminal law, he is currently researching why non-state actors pursue chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons; whether military intervention influences the tactics and weapons terrorist groups pursue and use; the impact of the Department of Homeland Security’s 287(g) program on local crime; and the correlates of anti-immigrant sentiment. He is also leading a research team on state judicial selection requirements and processes to inform federal judicial reform efforts.
His work has appeared in Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, Terrorism and Political Violence, Criminal Justice Policy Review, Journal of Applied Security Research, Social Science Quarterly, American Journal of Criminal Justice, International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, Criminal Justice Review, Corrections, Criminal Law Bulletin, Journal of Criminal Justice Education, and various law reviews.
Selected Publications
McCann, Wesley S. (2021). Islamic Extremism and CBRN Weapons. Terrorism and Political Violence
McCann, Wesley S. (2021). The Siege: Religious-Inspired Terrorism and CBRN Weapons. Journal of Applied Security Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/19361610.2020.1860631
McCann, Wesley S. and Boateng, Francis (2019/2020). National Security and Policy in America: Immigrants, Crime, and the Securitization of the Border. London, U.K.: Routledge.
McCann, Wesley S., & Pimley, Nicholas (2019). Eliminating Extremism: A Legal Analysis of Hate Crime and Terrorism Laws in the United States. Terrorism & Political Violence. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2019.1699794