Christopher E. Kelly, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA (USA). For the past decade, Dr. Kelly has been at the forefront of studying humane and effective interrogation methods, and translating his research into practice. With funding from the Departments of Justice, Defense, and Homeland Security, Dr. Kelly has collaborated with large American police departments to examine emerging investigative interviewing approaches in the field, having conducted a field experiment with the Philadelphia Police Department and a training evaluation of science-based interviewing with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Currently, Dr. Kelly and his team are developing a validated training course on evidence presentation methods. In addition to his grant activity, publishing, and presentations to academic and practitioner audiences, Dr. Kelly is a sought-after expert around the world, ranging from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in British Columbia to the State Prison Service of the Kyrgyz Republic. Dr. Kelly serves on the editorial boards of Psychology, Public Policy, and Law and Legal and Criminological Psychology, and he is an active member in the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group (iIIRG).
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- 2012 - Ph.D., Temple University, Criminal Justice
- 2001 - M.A., University at Albany, Criminal Justice
- 2000 - B.S., Drexel University, Sociology
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- 2012-2013, Postdoctoral Associate, Hindelang Criminal Justice Research Center, University at Albany
- 2008-2011, Senior Research Analyst, Hindelang Criminal Justice Research Center, University at Albany
- 2001-2004, Adult Probation/Parole Officer, Philadelphia, PA
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- Kelly, C. E. & Russano, M. B. The Science of Interviewing: How Do We Know What We Know? (in press). In G. Oxburgh et al. (Eds.), Interviewing and Interrogation: A Review of Research and Practice since World War II. Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher.
- Izotovas, A., Kelly, C. E., & Walsh, D. (2021). The Domains of PEACE: Examining Interviews of Suspected Sex Offenders. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 36(4), 743-757. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-021-09465-8
- Kelly, C. E., Meehan, N., McClary, M., & Jenaway, E. (2021). Just a Normal Conversation: Investigative Interviewing in a County Jail. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 48(8), 1166-1184. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854821993509
- Kelly, C. E. & Valencia, E. J. (2021). You Ask and Do Not Receive, Because You Ask Wrongly. International Journal of Police Science and Management, 23(1), 42-54. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461355720955077
- Kelly, C. E., Dawson, E., & Hartwig, M. (2021). Context Manipulation in Police Interviews: A Field Experiment. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 17(1), 67-86. https://doi.org/10:.1007/s11292-019-09389-8
- Kelly, C. E., Dawson, E., & Hartwig, M. (17 December 2019). Context Manipulation in Police Interviews: A Field Experiment. Journal of Experimental Criminology. Advance online publication. doi 10:.1007/s11292-019-09389-8
- Kelly, C. E., Welsh, W. N., & Stanley, J. (2019). The Treatment Group and Recidivism: A Multilevel Analysis of Prison-Based Substance Abuse Treatment. The Prison Journal, 99(5), 515-534. doi: 10.1177/0032885519875002
- Meehan, N., Kelly, C. E., & McClary, M. (2019). The Snitching Hour: Investigations and Interviews in a County Jail. Security Journal, 32(2), 198-217. doi: s41284-018-0157-y
- Kelly, C. E., Russano, M. B., Miller, J. C., & Redlich, A. D. (2019). On the Road (to Admission): Engaging Suspects with Minimization. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 25(3), 166-180. doi: 10.1037/law0000199
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- Visualizing the Membership of Organized Criminal Syndicates: A Field Evaluation of the Reporting Information about Networks and Groups (RING) Task (April 2022-October 2023). Role: Principal Investigator (Co-PI for subcontract: Lorraine Hope, University of Portsmouth, UK). Source: Department of Homeland Security, Center of Excellence in Criminal Investigations and Network Analysis (CINA) at George Mason University.
- Evidence Disclosure Strategies in Investigative Interviewing (March 2021-December 2022). Role: Principal Investigator (Co-PI for subcontract: Nathan Meehan, Second Sight Training Systems). Source: Irregular Warfare Technical Support Directorate (formerly Combatting Terrorism Technical Support Office).
- Improving Intelligence Interviewing II: A Quasi-Experimental Study with Criminal Investigators (October 2019-March 2021). Role: Principal Investigator (Co-PI for subcontract: Melissa Russano, Roger Williams University). Source: High Value Detainee Interrogation Group.
- Improving Intelligence Interviewing: A Quasi-Experimental Study with Correctional Investigators (October 2018- September 2019). Role: Principal Investigator. Source: High Value Detainee Interrogation Group.
- Improving Intelligence Interviewing: A Quasi-Experimental Study with Correctional Investigators (2018-19). Role: Principal Investigator. Source: High Value Detainee Interrogation Group / Federal Bureau of Investigation.
- Academic Excellence Award, 2016, International Investigative Interviewing Research Group (iIIRG).
- Studying Effective Information Elicitation Techniques during Correctional Interviews (2015-16). Role: Co-Principal Investigator (PI: Nathan Meehan, Naval Research Laboratory). Source: High Value Detainee Interrogation Group / Federal Bureau of Investigation.
- Inducing Information Disclosure in Interviews through Priming: A Field Experiment (2014-15). Role: Principal Investigator for subcontract. Source: High Value Detainee Interrogation Group / Federal Bureau of Investigation. Subcontract from University of Texas at El Paso, PI: Christian A. Meissner.
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- Interrogation and investigative interviewing
- Jury decision-making in capital punishment trials
- Prison-based substance abuse treatment