Rutgers-Newark community,

We learned yesterday about the passing of Dr. Ronald Clarke, University Professor and past Dean for the School of Criminal Justice.  The current Dean for the School of Criminal Justice, Dr. Nancy La Vigne,  asked that we share the below information with the Rutgers University-Newark community.

In Community,

Jeffrey A. Robinson, Ph.D.

Interim Chancellor

In Memoriam: Dr. Ronald V. Clarke (1941–2025)

Rutgers University is deeply saddened to announce the passing of Dr. Ronald V. Clarke, renowned criminologist, educator, and former Dean of the School of Criminal Justice. Dr. Clarke was internationally recognized for his groundbreaking work in crime prevention and criminological theory, and his legacy has left a profound impact on both academia and public policy.

Dr. Clarke served as Dean of Rutgers’ School of Criminal Justice from 1987 to 1998, guiding it to national prominence. Before joining Rutgers, he spent 15 years in the British government’s criminological research department, the Home Office Research and Planning Unit, which he directed from 1982. During that time, he co-developed the Rational Choice Perspective on crime, helped launch the British Crime Survey, and led the team that pioneered Situational Crime Prevention—an approach that has since influenced crime reduction efforts around the world.

He authored or co-authored over 300 books, reports, and articles, including key titles such as Outsmarting the Terrorists, Become a Problem-Solving Crime Analyst, and Superhighway Robbery: Preventing E-commerce Crime. He also founded and edited the influential journal Crime Prevention Studies.

Later in his career, Dr. Clarke combined his passion for wildlife with his criminological expertise to address environmental crime. He helped establish a Center for Conservation Criminology at Rutgers, focusing on the prevention of wildlife trafficking and the poaching of endangered species.

Dr. Clarke was Associate Director of the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing and served for over two decades as a Visiting Professor at University College London. His contributions were recognized with numerous honors, including the prestigious Stockholm Prize in Criminology in 2015. In 2012, colleagues and former students published a festschrift in his honor titled The Reasoning Criminologist.

A dedicated mentor and collaborator, Dr. Clarke shaped the careers of countless students and professionals and was regarded as one of the 50 most influential thinkers in the history of criminology.

In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations to the Ronald V. Clarke Memorial Fund to support ongoing research in crime and conservation: https://give.rutgersfoundation.org/ron-v-clarke/20524.html.

Rutgers University honors Dr. Clarke’s legacy and extends its deepest condolences to his family, colleagues, and the many students and scholars around the world whose lives he touched.

Nancy La Vigne, Ph.D.