His resentment of the police was transparent in his lectures as a new assistant professor of criminology at Florida State University. One day, a police sergeant who was taking one of his courses blurted, “ Dr. Kirkham, with all due respect, you have no idea what cops go through every day…one of you needs to get out of the ivory tower and try walking in our shoes for a while.” The challenge that day marked the beginning of what would become nationally known as the “professor/cop project.” The idea of a Berkeley-educated university criminologist becoming a police officer to study the police “up close and personal” at first seemed absurd to Professor Kirkham; however, he was intrigued at the prospect of doing something that no social scientist had ever done—penetrate the “thin blue line” of the highly secretive police subculture that has traditionally denied access to outsiders.
It took almost two years for George Kirkham to secure a leave of absence from his university, graduate from a police academy, and become Badge #9027—a uniformed officer working a high-crime beat in a large city for six months. From his first night on duty, Kirkham was hit by a series of ice water shocks that would change him and his view of the police in ways he could not have imagined.
Dr. Kirkham is Professor Emeritus at the Florida State University College of Criminology & Criminal Justice. He has served as an expert witness and consultant in over 1,000 civil actions in nearly every state. His skilled testimony at depositions and trials, along with the quality of his written reports, has been a significant factor in the outcome of many cases.
During 2025 alone, his trial testimony in four major premises cases resulted in awards in excess of 130 million dollars: $100 million in a wrongful death at an apartment complex (Campbell v. Akam, et al.); $7 million as the result of injuries inflicted by a nightclub ‘bouncer.’ (Herron Fields v. Munchies Pizza Club); $11 million in a wrongful death suit (Estate of Vinh Chung v. AK Family Holdings); and $12.5 million in a bar incident that resulted in a closed head injury inflicted by a patron (Douglas Shephard v. Saltwater Hippie Beach Bar).
Dr. Kirkham has also had extensive experience as a consultant and expert witness in defense cases, providing exposure assessments and deposition and trial testimony for defense attorneys and their insurance carriers. As a criminologist specializing in civil litigation, he has been retained by both sides of the bar in approximately equal numbers.
Negligent Security & Premises Liability
As a criminologist and former law enforcement officer, Dr. Kirkham has been called upon many times in nearly every state throughout the nation to provide expert witness testimony on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants in private security-related litigation involving the following offenses:
Homicide
Sexual battery
Child molestation
Armed and strong-arm robbery
Residential and commercial burglary
Gang-related violence
Kidnapping
Carjacking and vehicle theft
Shoplifting and larceny
Arson
Workplace crimes of violence
Dr. Kirkham has extensive experience in all aspects of police malpractice litigation, including excessive force involving firearms, takedown maneuvers, K-9 deployment, Tasers, chemical sprays, baton use, “bean bag” rounds, positional asphyxia, and vehicular pursuits (including “PIT” tactics). He has evaluated training and supervision failures, improper evidence handling, negligent retention, and violations of investigative procedures. His expertise extends to crisis de-escalation, SWAT and hostage negotiation, probable cause determinations, high-risk vehicle stops, handcuff-related injuries, and deaths or injuries from vascular neck restraints or use of “stop sticks” and air assets during pursuits.
Dr. Kirkham is thoroughly familiar with professional police standards and procedures promulgated by organizations such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), and the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF).
A former board member of Americans for Effective Law Enforcement, Dr. Kirkham has served as a lecturer, consultant, and trainer to more than fifty law enforcement agencies at the federal, state and local levels. He has received numerous professional honors, including the Freedom’s Foundation at Valley Forge Award, the J. Edgar Award, the Distinguished Service Award of the Reserve Law Officers of America, and a Letter of Commendation from Clarence M. Kelley during his tenure as FBI Director.
George Kirkham began his career as a 22-year-old criminologist at one of the nation’s toughest prisons, Soledad (Spanish for “solitude”). Having never before seen or spoken to a criminal, he was assigned as a counselor to the 300 inmates of the “R” cellblock. He quickly learned that two major forms of violence at the prison were the sexual assault of new inmates (“fish”) and suicide. During his two years at Soledad, he wrote his master’s thesis on the problem of rape behind bars. Years later, as a university professor, he convened a national seminar on suicide in prisons and jails. After enduring a major riot at Soledad, Kirkham went on to the sprawling Santa Clara County Jail in California, where he served as project director for the nation’s largest evaluation of placing minimum-security inmates into work-furlough programs.
Two of Dr. Kirkham’s three degrees in criminology emphasized corrections, and throughout his career he has frequently been qualified by courts across the country as an expert on jail and prison standards—including intake, classification, use of excessive force by security personnel, and failure to provide indicated emergency medical or psychiatric care. He is thoroughly familiar with the standards of both the American Correctional Association (ACA) and the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC).
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gkirkham@krimedr.com