Criminal justice, public safety, and legal services
For courts, corrections, law enforcement, public safety, attorneys and law firms, justice organizations, and the people working on institutional reform. Dr. Starks has seen the system from several sides: as a drug court coordinator, the owner of a bail bonds company, a criminologist who studies pretrial justice, an instructor inside prisons, and an expert witness.
What the work addresses
In a justice system, identity and culture shape decisions with real consequences: who is stopped, who is charged, and who goes home on bail. Dr. Starks' work with justice professionals looks at institutional power, decision-making, accountability, and organizational culture.
It draws on his research into bail and pretrial practice, including his dissertation, "A Bail of Two Cities: Atlanta vs. Philadelphia, The First Criminal Court Phase," and on the years he spent working inside the system.
His work in criminal justice
Inside the system, in the classroom, and on the stand.
- Since 2016BCS & Associates, Inc.
Expert witness services and legal consulting for private defense attorneys, public defenders, law firms, court systems, accused defendants, and justice organizations, advising on racialized outcomes, cultural dynamics, systemic inequity, and institutional behavior.
- May 2016Lynchburg Police Department, Virginia
Diversity and implicit bias training, "Better Police Practices, Understanding Implicit Bias in the Workplace," for about 170 law enforcement officers, the entire department.
- 2015U.S. Department of Justice
Peer reviewer for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
- July 2014Virginia Cares, Lynchburg
"Reentry and the Challenges You Face."
- Since 2012National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice
Member from 1997 to 2005, and again since 2012. He served on the South Carolina Chapter's board of directors from 2002 to 2005 and was co-advisor of the Benedict College chapter from 2002 to 2003. The South Carolina Chapter gave him its Outstanding Community Service Award in 2004.
- September 2012Justice Policy Institute, Washington, D.C.
Panelist, "For Profit Bail Industry."
- August 2011State of Delaware Department of Probation
Seminar, "The Issue of Crime Is Bigger Than You."
- 2009 to 2010Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program
Certified instructor. Taught "Problems of the Criminal Judiciary" with incarcerated students and campus students in the same classroom, and spoke at Inside-Out graduations at the Gander Hill and Crest Hill facilities in Delaware.
- 1999 to 2005B. Chad Bonding
Owned and ran a bail bonds company, helping clients secure and finance cash and surety bonds.
- 1997 to 1998Richland County Solicitor's Office, South Carolina
Juvenile Drug Court Coordinator: screening clients, referring them to case management, and developing cases. Before that, an intern with the Adult Drug Court, screening participants and presenting cases in court.
- 1997South Carolina Department of Public Safety
Administrative Specialist in the Office of Professional Responsibility, maintaining case records and compiling data.
Research and writing
- 2018"Strategies to Mend the Broken Fences Between Law Enforcement and Minority Communities"
In The African American Experience: The American Mosaic, ABC-CLIO. Get the free guide.
- 2015"Willingness to Record Police-Public Encounters: The Impact of Race and Social and Legal Consciousness"
Race and Justice, with Ashley K. Farmer and Ivan Y. Sun.
- 2014"Race and Three Strikes"
In Color Behind Bars: Racism in the U.S. Prison System, Praeger.
- 2012"A Bail of Two Cities: Atlanta vs. Philadelphia, The First Criminal Court Phase"
Doctoral dissertation, University of Delaware, an examination of racialized pretrial practices, courtroom culture, and policy outcomes.
- 2011"Racial Politics of Juvenile Justice Policy Support: Juvenile Court Worker Orientations Toward Disproportionate Minority Confinement"
Race and Justice.
- 2009"Denying Bail is Cruel and Unusual Punishment"
Op-ed, Delaware News Journal. Read it.
Courses he has taught include Bail/Pretrial Process in the United States; Criminology; Law Enforcement; Juvenile Delinquency; Probation, Pardon, and Parole; and Race and Crime. He is a member of the American Society of Criminology and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.
Organizations he has worked with
- Lynchburg Police Department
- Lynchburg Fire Department
- State of Delaware Department of Probation
- National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice
His work with these organizations includes consulting, speaking, training, academic and staff positions, leadership roles, research collaborations, and community service. A name on this list is not an endorsement.
In his words
"The purpose of bail is to ensure the appearance of accused criminals in court, not to infringe upon their civil liberties before they stand trial."
"How can the community understand the nuances of policing without being in the room where the conversations are held?"
How justice organizations work with him
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Training for officers and staff
Departments, units, command staffImplicit bias and community relationships, built on the four constructs and shaped to the agency, the way he trained the entire Lynchburg Police Department.
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Expert witness and legal consulting
Defense teams, public defenders, courtsAdvising legal teams, organizations, and courts on racialized outcomes, cultural dynamics, systemic inequity, and institutional behavior.
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Keynotes and panels
Conferences, associations, forumsBail and pretrial justice, policing and community, and race in the courts, from a criminologist who has worked on more than one side of them.
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Institutional reform
Practices, data, and cultureReviews of practice and culture for justice organizations that want to change how decisions get made, from the consulting firm he has run since 2016.
One Framework, applied to justice work
Every engagement is built on the Be The Messenger Framework: four constructs, and the Messenger Method that runs underneath them. The Framework stays the same from one field to the next. What changes is how it is applied to the specific challenges, culture, professional responsibilities, and institutional conditions of the people in the room.
- IdentityWho you are
- CultureWhere you come from
- DiversityWhat connects us
- RespectHow you show up
The Messenger Method: Self-Reflection, Self-Awareness, and Self-Consciousness.
Request a proposal
Tell us about the organization or the case, who would be involved, and your timeline. We will come back with next steps.
- Your request goes to Dr. Starks' office.
- We reply with availability and set up a short call to shape the engagement.
- You get a proposal, a W-9, and anything else your procurement office needs.
Rather talk first? Book a training consultation or a keynote and speaking call.
Prefer email or phone? info@brianchadstarks.com or 434-329-9002.