Faculty Biography - Ronald Helms

Associate Professor
Sociology Department
Western Washington University
Bellingham, WA 98225-9081
Arntzen Hall 526
Phone: (360) 650-7927
Fax: 360-650-7295
Ronald.Helms@wwu.edu

Ronald Helms earned a B.A. from California State University, Chico (1987); he then obtained M.S. (1994) and Ph D. (1997) degrees from the University of Oregon. Dr. Helms spent two years on faculty at Washington State University before joining the Sociology faculty at Western Washington University.

Dr. Helms’ research has focused primarily on the political sociology of punishment. In addition to research on felony sentencing decisions, Dr. Helms has published aggregate time series research on political and social determinants of various punishment/social control outcomes. In 2005-06 Helms’ research attention has focused on the effects of participatory institutions such as education, marriage, and the political process on patterns of homicide and other violence. Other recent quantitative research assessed gang influences on central city homicide rates. Two forthcoming studies addressed social and political determinants of county deputy employment rates and wage variation for local sheriffs. Helms’ research has recently incorporated emerging insights concerning the ways energy production and consumption patterns vary systematically with violence rates throughout the U.S.

Recent Publications

Helms, Ronald. “The Politics of Punishment: An Empirical Study of ‘Law in Action’ in Criminal Sentencing.” Journal of Criminal Justice. (Forthcoming).

Helms, Ronald and S. E. Costanza. “Modeling the Structural Sources of Discretionary Use of Civil Asset Forfeiture and Drug Arrests in U.S. Counties.” Policing & Society. (Forthcoming).

Helms, Ronald. “Locally Elected Sheriffs and Money Compensation: A Quantitative Analysis of Organizational and Environmental Contingency Explanations.” Criminal Justice Review. 33:1 (March 2008): 1-24.

Costanza, S.E., Kilburn, John C., and Helms, Ronald. “Chapter 5: Counterterrorism” in Terrorism in  America. Edited by Borgeson, Kevin and Valeri, Robin. Jones & Bartlett Publishers, Boston, MA., 2008.

Helms, Ronald. “Dumping Community Problems: Western Washington University’s New Jail Class.”  American Jail Association and Academe. 1:2 (2007): 2,4.

Helms, Ronald. “The Impact of Political Context on Local law Enforcement Resourcing: An Analysis of Deputy Employment rates in US Counties.” Policing & Society, 17:2 (2007):182-206.

Helms, Ronald and Gutierrez, Ricky S. “Federal Subsidies and Evidence of Progressive Change: A Quantitative Assessment of the Effects of Targeted Grants on Manpower and Innovation in Large U.S. Police Agencies.” Police Quarterly, 10:1 (2007): 87-107.

Helms, Ronald and David Jacobs. “Social Context and Sentence Length: Towards a Political  Model of Contextual and Individual Influences.” Social Forces. 81:2 (2002): 577-604.

Jacobs, David and Ronald Helms. “Racial politics and redistribution: Isolating the contingent influence of civil rights, riots, and crime on tax progressivity.” Social Forces. 80:1 (2001): 91-121.

Jacobs, David and Ronald Helms. “Toward a Political Sociology of Punishment: Politics and Changes in the Incarcerated Population.” Social Science Research, 30 (2001): 171-194.