Faculty Profile

Dampen the Fuse to Prevent the Explosion

Timothy McVeigh’s execution dominates the headlines. Memories of the Columbine school shootings refuse to fade. There is a growing awareness of workplace and domestic violence. These are healthy signs, according to James Kenny.

Kenny, an expert on violence and assistant professor of criminal justice on the Teaneck-Hackensack Campus, says that “we are dealing with it and that’s a first step.”

He stresses violence as a process. “The bombing or the shooting of today probably started out years or months ago as harassment, as a threat or as destruction of property,” he says.

Fairleigh Dickinson’s Criminal Justice Program

This is the approach he uses in his course in victimology. “We must recognize that it’s easier to deal with these people in the early stages than it is when you have a bomb ready to explode. We all can address small problems in small ways.

“I try to help people recognize violence in its early stages — how it evolves from character assassination to more serious things. Violent offenders don’t just snap without warning, they have been providing warning signs for a long time. We need to be more alert, and we’re more alert now than we used to be.”

Kenny spent almost 20 years with the Internal Revenue Service — conducting field investigations, managing treasury officers and serving as an internal consultant for leadership practices. At night, he worked on his doctoral degree in criminal justice at Rutgers University and taught part time. “Now I teach full time and consult part time. In essence, I’ve flip-flopped my careers. Hopefully, more flip than flop.”

A much sought-after consultant, Kenny was selected to participate at the U.S. Justice Department/National Victim Center Symposium on Workplace Violence and has been a member of expert panels on school and workplace violence throughout the eastern seaboard.

At Fairleigh Dickinson, he teaches courses that range from terrorism to victimology to workplace/school violence. He also finds the time to write and is currently investigating violence against women in the workplace — a topic he’s probed in his articles “The Hidden Land Mines” and “The Process of Employee Violence: The Building of a Workplace Explosion.” His other articles include “Stalking in the Workplace: The Enemy Among Us” and “Domestic Violence and the Workplace: How to Help a Friend.”

Kenny feels the issue of sexual harassment is a good example of how to lessen violence. “People spoke up, and there is probably less sexual harassment now than ever before. We focused on it and have done a very fine job of getting it under control.”

In his work with parents and schools, he is often asked, “How can we have an impact on violence in our child’s school?” His answer is direct. “When parents want to know what they can do, I tell them ‘everything.’ Most violence isn’t learned in school, it’s taught at home. If you examine the background of a child who commits violence at school, you find a disproportionate amount of these kids have witnessed violence or have been physically or sexually abused or neglected at home. We have to help families resolve problems in their homes before they become society’s problems.”

He adds, “Columbine is a good case study. Did the school cause the shootings? No, but it was a contributor to the process of violence. Two students, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, felt they were targeted by the jocks. They had raised complaints and tried to get justice by working with the system. In their minds, there was to be no justice through the system, so they would secure it themselves. When you look for a reason for the violence, there is always a reason, and it usually involves the perpetrator’s version of justice.”

As an expert in victimization, Kenny has clear views on the gun-law debate. “In 31 states, you can carry a concealed weapon. Now it’s true that guns don’t kill, people do; but guns clearly make it easier to kill. In 1998, guns were used by offenders in 68 percent of all homicides. We ban lawn darts and regulate toasters and pesticides. [After cigarettes] guns are the second most deadly consumer product, so it isn’t unrealistic to regulate guns.”

Kenny is an advocate of the new character education program in the schools of New Jersey. This K–12 program focuses on the core ethical values of respect, responsibility, fairness and honesty. “It’s an excellent start,” he says. “Many kids need greater moral and emotional strength. If you have a healthy body, you can fend off disease; a body that’s weak can’t fend off the attack. There will always be some level of drugs, gangs or violence. Some kids are very susceptible. They need greater moral and emotional strength.”

He concludes, “We used to assume that kids came to school with social and moral skills. We must not assume that and help teach those skills along with the academic skills.”

— G.J.

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