Dr William (Patrick) McClanahan
IAS Open Programme
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law
Dr McClanahan is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law. His work examines how the person, the situation, and the broader context shape perceptions of criminal opportunities to better understand and prevent crime.
Most recently he spent six months collecting data in US prisons with incarcerated burglars. In this project he used virtual reality technology to better understand how environmental factors influence burglary target selection.
Dr McClanahan has published extensively on criminal perceptions and decision-making. Dr McClanahan’s research has been published in Q1 academic journals such as Psychology, Crime, and Law, Personality and Individual Differences, Big Data and Society, Behavioural Policy, and Education and Psychological Measurement. His work has been featured in programs such as The Stanford Social Innovation review, and the Doing Time: Talking Crime podcast. He is the winner of prestigious research awards.
During their IAS Fellowship, Dr McClanahan is collaborating with Dr Neema Trivedi-Bateman from the School of Social Sciences and Humanities.