Business & Public Management

Dr. Michele P. Bratina has been a faculty member in the Department of Criminal Justice at West Chester University of Pennsylvania (WCU) since 2016. She has held numerous leadership positions within regional and national professional organizations, including President of the Northeastern Association of Criminal Justice Sciences (NEACJS) (2017–2018); Executive Counselor for the International and Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Sections of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS); and leadership roles within the American Society of Criminology’s Division of International Criminology (ASC-DIC), including Membership Committee Chair. Dr. Bratina has also served as the Region 1 Trustee for ACJS, representing the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canadian provinces, and as Board Liaison to the organization’s Representative to the United Nations and Membership Committees. She currently serves as Chair of the ACJS Academic Review Committee (ARC).

Dr. Bratina is also actively engaged in statewide and community-based initiatives at the intersection of criminal justice and behavioral health. She serves as a consultant with Forensic Systems Solutions–Family Training and Advocacy Center (FTAC), where she leads meetings of Pennsylvania’s statewide Forensic Interagency Task Force (FITF), bringing together justice, behavioral health, advocacy, and community stakeholders to address issues affecting justice-involved individuals with behavioral health needs. She also serves on Pennsylvania’s Statewide Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Steering Committee, contributing to collaborative efforts to strengthen and advance crisis intervention initiatives across the Commonwealth. Locally, she serves on the Advisory Board of the Chester County affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

At WCU, Dr. Bratina has served as Advisor for Nu Beta, the university’s chapter of Alpha Phi Sigma, the national criminal justice honor society, and continues to serve as Advisor for NAMI on Campus, which she co-founded with two former students in 2020. She previously served as Practicum Coordinator for the Department of Criminal Justice, overseeing experiential learning and professional placement opportunities for criminal justice students.

Prior to entering academia, Dr. Bratina worked in Florida in forensic and children’s mental health, behavioral health systems, and criminal justice program leadership. She is the author of textbooks, book chapters, practitioner-oriented publications, and numerous scholarly research articles. Collectively, her teaching, research, and professional work focus on police-based crisis intervention and specialized response programs, human exploitation, and trauma-informed care across the lifespan, with particular attention to both individuals with lived experience and the criminal justice professionals who serve them.

• Ph.D. Criminology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
• M.A. Criminal Justice, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
• B.S. Applied Behavioral Science, Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg

Dr. Bratina holds the following Certifications: Crisis Intervention Team Coordinator (CIT International), Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) instructor, and SAMHSA-certified trainer for How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses.

Dr. Bratina is co-author with James Fagin of CJ 2019 and CJ 2022 (Pearson), and the author of Forensic Mental Health: Framing Integrated Solutions, 2nd Edition (Routledge). Her research has focused on specialized training for criminal justice professionals and the development of community partnerships in forensic mental health. Other areas of interest include secondary trauma among law enforcement officers and examining offending/offending risk and victimization through a trauma-informed lens. Dr. Bratina’s publications have appeared in the Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, International Journal of Police Science and Management, Police Practice and Research, Abuse: An International Impact Journal, Salus: An International Journal of Law Enforcement & Public Safety, the Journal of Correctional Health Care, and the Journal of Community Mental Health.    

Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS):
·      Region One Trustee
·      Executive Counselor, International Section
·      Executive Counselor, Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Section

American Society of Criminology (ASC):
·      Executive Counselor, Division of International Criminology

Northeastern Association of Criminal Justice Sciences (NEACJS):
·      Co-Chair, Professional Development Committee, Annual Meeting
·      Program Committee, Annual Meeting
·      NEACJS Chair, Criminal Justice Policy Review (CJPR) & NEACJS Paper Award
·      Immediate Past President
·      President
·      First Vice President
·      Second Vice President
·      Chair, Awards Committee

Pennsylvania Statewide Forensic Interagency Task Force (FITF)

Chester County Police Crisis Intervention Team (CIT):
·      Executive Steering Committee
·      Curriculum Committee

• West Chester University of Pennsylvania (WCUPA) University Writing Council Advisory Board: Representative, College of Business & Public Management
• Advisor, Nu Beta Chapter of Alpha Phi Sigma (National Criminal Justice Honor Society)
• Co-Advisor/Founder NAMI on Campus (National Alliance on Mental Illness)

• Theories of Crime and Delinquency
• Forensic Mental Health
• Mental Health and the Criminal Justice System