Logan Somers – Assistant Professor

Armstrong Campus
Office: University Hall
Phone (912) 478-0492
Email: LSomers@georgiasouthern.edu
Biography
Logan J. Somers is an Assistant Professor in the Criminal Justice and Criminology Department at Georgia Southern University. He earned his Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University in 2021.
His research focuses largely on emerging issues within policing such as officer work experience, police use of force, officer mindset (i.e., perceptions of danger), and evidence-based policing. This work can be seen in the Criminal Justice and Behavior, Police Quarterly, Criminal Justice and Policy Review, Policing and Society, Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, and Behavioral Sciences and the Law among others.
Education
Ph.D., Criminology and Criminal Justice (2021) Arizona State University
M.S., Criminology and Criminal Justice (2016) Arizona State University
B.S., Justice Studies (2014) Westminster College
Teaching Interests
Policing, CJ Systems and Policy, Research Methods
Published Research
Somers, Logan J., & Terrill, William. (Accepted). Assessing the relationship between officers’
broad cultural attitudes and their situational perceptions of firearm danger. Policing: An
International Journal.
Terrill, William, Zimmerman, Laura, & Somers, Logan J. (Online first). Applying video-based
systematic social observation to police use of force encounters: An assessment of de-
escalation and escalation within the context of proportionality and incrementalism. Justice
Quarterly, 1-32. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2023.2222819
Somers, Logan J., & Foster, Jacob T. (Online first). Going above and beyond: Assessing the
characteristics of officers who complete additional in-service training. Police Practice and
Research: An International Journal, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/15614263.2022.2152028
Somers, Logan J. (2023). Towards a better understanding of police experience: An assessment of
the unique shifts, crime areas, and duty assignments that officers have worked, The Police
Journal, 96(2), 212-229. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X211064710
Terrill, William & Somers, Logan J. (2023). Viewing firearm danger through the lens of police
officers. Homicide Studies, 27(1), 55-76. https://doi.org/10.1177/10887679221108329
Somers, Logan J., & Terrill, William. (2022). Confidence in their craft: An assessment of the
relationship between officer work experiences and their perceptions of self-efficacy,
Criminal Justice & Behavior, 49(11), 1656-1675.
https://doi.org/10.1177%2F00938548221105879
Somers, Logan J., & Terrill, William. (2022). Examining the relationship between the unique
work experiences and cultural orientations of police officers, Criminal Justice Studies, 35(2),
182-199. https://doi.org/10.1080/1478601X.2021.2019032
Paoline, Eugene A., William, Terrill, & Somers, Logan J. (2021). Police officer use of force
mindset and street-level behavior. Police Quarterly, 24(4), 547-577.
https://doi.org/10.1177%2F10986111211025523
Last updated: 7/31/2023