Mahesh Nalla

Professor of Criminal Justice Michigan State University

  • East Lansing MI

Mahesh Nalla is an expert in global crime and security issues, ranging from sexual harassment to the security guard industry.

Contact

Michigan State University

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Media

Biography

Mahesh Nalla research projects are centered in two areas: (a) civil society, security, legitimacy and trust in public and private police, and (b) gendered spaces & victimization, and domestic violence in emerging democracies. One of his multi-nation projects on firearm-related violence for the United Nations resulted in forming the cornerstone of the draft (UN ECOSOC) International Protocol Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition and Other Related Materials, as a supplement to the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. He spearheaded the development and introduction of the first full-time online master's in Criminal Justice in 1998, for which he received an Award for Excellence – Creative Program Credit-Award in 1999 presented to Michigan State University by the University Continuing Education Association Region IV. He served in various administrative roles for the School including Interim Director and Director of Graduate Studies. He is Editor-In-Chief of the International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice, which is the official journal of the American Society of Criminology’s International Division.

Industry Expertise

Education/Learning
Research
Writing and Editing

Areas of Expertise

India
Sexual Crimes
Domestic Violence
Security Guard Industry

Education

University of Albany

Ph.D.

Andhra University, India

M.A.

University at Albany

M.A.

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Journal Articles

Is police integrity an important predictor of citizen satisfaction in police in post- colonial emerging democracies? The case of India

Asian Journal of Criminology

2018

The focus of this study is to examine citizen satisfaction with the police. Specifically, the authors aim to understand the factors that determine citizen satisfaction with police services in India, a former English colony and a relatively new republic that has achieved a significant economic development in recent decades. Findings from analysis of a convenience sample (N = 845) obtained from four Northern states in India suggest that perceived procedural fairness, fear of crime, and age of the respondents predict satisfaction with police services. Moreover, perceived professionalism of police officers is found to increase their perceived procedural fairness.

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Sustaining police officers’ motivation in aviation security

Journal of Transportation Security

2017

The focus of the present study is airport police officers. The aim of this studyis to examine factors that determine and shape airport police officers’ work motivationin the context of goal-setting theory advanced by Locke and Latham (1990a) toimprove the effectiveness of airport security. More specifically, we ask whether goaldifficulty and goal specificity influence officers’ motivation. Additionally, we seek todetermine if goal commitment, task significance, self-efficacy, feedback, rewards, andparticipatively set goals have a positive effect on police officers’ motivation. The results indicate that goal difficulty, goal specificity, task significance, commitment, self-effi-cacy, and rewards are related to police officers’ sense of motivation. That is, the goal-setting model is a practical tool that increases motivational skills of airport police officers to bolster aviation security. Thus, this model is a good starting point for assisting airport police officers in their work context and offering important insights and implications, theoretically and practically, in the field of aviation security

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The influence of organizational and environmental factors on job satisfaction among security guards in Singapore.

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology

2016

This study examines the determinants of security guards’ job satisfaction in Singapore. Specifically, data gathered from 251 security guards and security supervisors are analyzed to assess how job and organizational characteristics such as autonomy, supervisory support, innovation, pay and benefits, and support from other employees (non-security) affect the participants’ job satisfaction. In addition, given the nature of their work that brings them in close contact with citizens, the authors examine to what extent the environmental factor of perceived citizens’ views of security guards helps explain the level of satisfaction. The findings suggest that job autonomy, pay and benefits, and perceived support from other employees in the organization are strong predictors of participants’ job satisfaction.

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