Peter J. Benekos

Peter Benekos is professor of criminal justice and sociology at Mercyhurst College. He previously worked as a corrections counselor with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. His research interests include juvenile justice policy and adultification of juveniles. He is the co-author (with Alida V. Merlo) of Crime Control, Politics & Policy (Anderson Publishing) and co-editor (with Alida V. Merlo) of Controversies in Juvenile Justice and Delinquency (Anderson Publishing). In 2010, Professor Benekos received the Teaching Excellence Award, presented by Mercyhurst College, and in 2011, he received an Outstanding Mentor Award, presented by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. He was co-recipient of the Donal MacNamara Award for Outstanding Journal Publication, presented by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences for the article entitled “A Preliminary Study of Student Attitudes on Juvenile Justice Policy.” Benekos is past president of the Northeastern Association of Criminal Justice Sciences.