Tom Nolan

Articles by: Tom Nolan

The uncomfortable questions facing Capitol Police over the security breach by MAGA mob

13th January 2021

Tom Nolan; Visiting Associate Professor of Sociology - Emmanuel College

OPINION: Coverage of protesters storming the Capitol Building in Washington DC was watched around the world, with many questioning the ease with which rioters gained entry to the heart of federal government; Tom Nolan, Associate Professor of Sociology at Emmanuel College, Boston, believes the events of the day will be viewed by many experts as ‘an international embarrassment for American law enforcement’.

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Militarization has fostered a policing culture that sets up protesters as ‘the enemy’

OPEN

27th July 2020

Tom Nolan; Visiting Associate Professor of Sociology - Emmanuel College

Analysis: The militarisation of police departments in the United States has been a feature of domestic law enforcement since 2001. Visiting Associate Professor of Sociology at Emmanuel College Tom Nolan examines the impact of this approach on civil disorder.

United States: What policing during the pandemic can tell us about crime rates and arrests

Policing and the pandemic

OPEN

12th May 2020

Tom Nolan; Visiting Associate Professor of Sociology - Emmanuel College

Opinion: Tom Nolan, Visiting Associate Professor of Sociology at Emmanuel College, Boston University, explores how the pandemic is affecting crime statistics in the United States and the impact it is having on the police response.

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Contact

Tom Nolan
Visiting Associate Professor of Sociology
Email:
[email protected]

Profile
Tom Nolan was a city of Boston, Massachusetts police officer for 27 years. During Tom's career at the BPD, he worked uniformed patrol for 10 years, including a stint in the department's elite Mobile Operations Patrol (motorcycle/SWAT) unit. In 1988 Tom was promoted to sergeant, sergeant-detective in 1990, and lieutenant in 1995. As a sergeant and sergeant-detective, Nolan worked in the Anti-Gang Violence Unit (now Youth Violence Strike Force) and the Anti-Corruption Division of the Bureau of Internal Investigations-he spent his last 10 years as a uniformed lieutenant and shift commander in the patrol division. Nolan accepted an appointment as a Senior Policy Advisor at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) in Washington, DC in May 2011 and remained with DHS through May of 2012, traveling throughout the United States providing training and consulting on civil rights and civil liberties issues for state and major urban area fusion centers. DHS sought Tom's expertise in the area of federal law enforcement use of force policies, sexual assault reporting procedures in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities, domestic extremist groups, as well as compliance with provisions of the Constitution pertaining to civil rights and civil liberties issues in the intelligence-driven collection and retention of information on individuals and groups. Tom has been an Associate Professor in Criminal Justice at Boston University, the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, and Merrimack College. He has also taught at Tufts University and the Urban College of Boston. Tom is currently a Visiting Associate Professor of Sociology at Emmanuel College in Boston.