Dr. Dennis M Savard is an assistant professor of criminal justice at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan, United States. He is a specialist in private security operations, workplace violence, policing operations, and correctional issues. He is the principal consultant for Forensic Criminology Consultants in Michigan, United States. He provides security consulting services to the private and public sectors on issues of premise liability for negligent security. He specifically addresses crime foreseeability, standards of care, and causation issues. He also consults on issues as diverse as use of force, police pursuits, jail suicide, health care services, failure to protect, other conditions of confinement, and miscarriages of justice. He has been a practicing forensic criminologist for nearly a decade. He teaches introduction to criminal justice, criminological theory, forensic investigations, and evidence and criminal procedure.
Dr. Dennis M. Savard’s current research interest is focused on testing the predictive power sociological and psychological variables have on the risk of suicide among jail inmates. Using the Survey of Inmates in Local Jails, He is able to identify inmates who have a history of suicide attempts and compare this with their sociological and psychological history, such as marital status, employment status, homelessness, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and psychiatric disorders. Preliminary findings show that a history of psychiatric disorder and homelessness is the strongest predictor of past suicide attempts. The initial empirical findings of this study can help correctional staff identify the various characteristics of jail inmates that are associated with past suicide attempts and ultimately help in preventing further attempts while confined in a correctional setting. Other research interests are concerned with examining the efficacy of a therapeutic program that was used to treat a group of inmates in England, and how gendered spaces in society change the gender gap in crime and how situational dynamics shape the victimization experiences of men and women. Finally, he is also interested in studying the etiology of excited delirium (ExD) and liability issues associated with using force in ExD incidents.
