Shannon Davenport

Dr. Shannon A. Davenport is a scholar, educator, and consultant whose work bridges academic research, community engagement, and student-centered instruction. She holds a Ph.D. in Juvenile Justice from Prairie View A&M University and has taught extensively in criminology, research methods, and statistics at Prairie View A&M University, the University of Houston-Clear Lake, and North Carolina Central University. 

Her research examines police–youth interactions, emotional regulation among school-based law enforcement, and the structural mechanisms that contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline. Her recent article, "Regulating the Badge: Exploring Emotional Regulation and School Law Enforcement Officers’ Interaction with Youth" (2025), published in the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, advances understanding of how officers’ emotional responses shape their encounters with young people in educational settings. Dr. Davenport is also the co-author of "Police and YOUth" (Routledge, 2021) and has contributed to peer-reviewed journals such as Humanity & Society and the Journal of Juvenile Justice.

Dr. Davenport’s research explores the intersections of juvenile justice, policing, and social inequality, with a particular focus on how youth experience and interpret interactions with law enforcement. Her work examines emotional regulation among school-based police officers, the dynamics of police–youth encounters, and the broader mechanisms that contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline. Her recent publication on emotional regulation among school law enforcement officers underscores her commitment to understanding how officers’ internal processes shape youth outcomes. 

Her broader research agenda includes police legitimacy, welfare policy, social control, and the criminalization of marginalized populations. She is also deeply interested in how structural disadvantage, race, and community context influence perceptions of safety and procedural justice. Dr. Davenport employs mixed-methods research, applied statistics, and program evaluation to generate evidence-based findings that inform policy, enhance law enforcement training, and advance the well-being of youth and communities impacted by the justice system.