About our author

A pioneer in law enforcement, Denise K. Gosselin was the first uniformed female officer in her hometown, Lunenburg, Massachusetts, and the first female campus police officer at the community college she attended. The Massachusetts Senate honored her in 1978 as the first woman appointed constable for the City of Fitchburg. In 2011, Dr. Gosselin was named Alumna of the Year at Mt. Wachusett Community College, where she now serves as a member on the Board of Trustees.

Dr. Gosselin graduated in the 61st Recruit Training Troop of the Massachusetts State Police in January 1980. During the years that followed she served as a uniformed officer performing route patrol activities, as an instructor at the Massachusetts State Police Academy, and as a detective in major crime investigations. Recognized as a local expert in child abuse investigation, she has spoken on cable television and radio. She appeared on the America's Most Wanted television show in connection with a fugitive in a case she was investigating. She has made many presentations at professional meetings with the Department of Social Services, Department of Mental Health, and Office of the District Attorney. She has testified in numerous major crime cases in both criminal and civil hearings.

Dr. Gosselin served as a faculty member and Department Chair in the Criminal Justice and Sociology Department at Western New England University until her retirement as Professor Emerita in 2017. Her other publications include Heavy Hands: An Introduction to the Crimes of Family Violence, currently in its 6th edition, and Crimes and Mental Disorders: The Criminal Justice Response. Dr. Gosselin has contributed to the Encyclopedia of Police Science, the Encyclopedia of Juvenile Justice, and the Encyclopedia of Domestic Violence, as well as to chapters of Women, Law, & Social Control and Policing & Victims.

Dr. Gosselin is an experienced Criminal Justice Program Reviewer. Her major presentations and invited lectures have been at the 12th United Nations Congress on Crime and Criminal Justice in Salvador, Brazil; the Massachusetts State Police Academy, at West Point Military Academy, Campbell University, NC; and at Gwynedd-Mercy College, PA.

As a lifetime member of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS), Denise has served as Region One Trustee 2013-2016 and ACJS Trustee-at-Large 2009-2012. As a member of the Northeastern Association of Criminal Justice Sciences, she has served as president, vice president and secretary. Dr. Gosselin is also a member of the European Society of Criminal Justice and is a co-founding member of the Everywoman Everywhere Workgroup, from the Harvard Kennedy School project of the International Commission on Violence Against Women and Girls.

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