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In memory of Garth Davies
The School of Criminology is deeply saddened to announce that our friend and beloved colleague, associate professor Garth Davies (1967-2026), passed away on Sunday, March 15th at the age of 58.
His passing will leave a profound gap in the intellectual and collegial life of the School. Garth was a devoted father to his daughters Leila and Keeley, and a loving brother to Grant, and son to his mother Bev. He was an excellent athlete, enjoyed hikes with his dog, playing the electric guitar as well as listening to heavy metal and blues music. He always appreciated working with his close friend and fellow criminologist Stephanie Johnston (Dawson) as well as meeting his dear friend Justin Ready on the Gold Coast in Australia. Garth had exceptional energy and enthusiasm for his family, friends and career. He wanted to make a difference in linking his research to actual crime policies. He was modest, often self effacing, and completely and unfailingly genuine in all his relationships, personal and professional. Garth was a deeply appreciated instructor of quantitative methods and terrorism courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level, as well as an all-around mentor to so many of our graduate students. He equipped hundreds of graduate students with quantitative skills that allowed them to pursue their research interests at the highest level. The infinite legacy of Garth's work is punctuated by the fact that dozens of these graduate students are now professors who teach quantitative methods to their own students in the style that Garth taught them.
Professor emeritus Raymond Corrado helped us prepare this more detailed obituary below about his career.
Garth Davies' career began at SFU in the 1990s when he completed his undergraduate degree in criminology and entered the MA program. His master’s thesis, supervised by professor emeritus Raymond Corrado, was based on an elaborate data set he created involving incidents of terrorism from the 1950s to the 1990s. His thesis showcased his sophisticated skills involving advanced statistical techniques to explore hypotheses based on a complex multi-level model of the rise and evolutions of different forms of anti-state terrorism.
Garth then made a brief detour to Rutgers University in New Jersey where he obtained his doctorate in their criminology program. His thesis was the basis for a book, which examined the situational factors affecting crime patterns in major housing projects in New York under the guidance of senior supervisor and co-author, professor Jeffrey Fagan, from Columbia University. Garth then joined the SFU School of Criminology as a lecturer in the late 1990s and then as an assistant and associate professor.
In addition to his research on crime patterns and high-density housing contexts, homicide, immigration and crime, and policing strategies, Garth returned to his research on violent political extremism. He conducted numerous major policy research projects, often in conjunction with Irwin Cohen from the University of the Fraser Valley, on a variety of crime policies especially involving policing issues.
Garth's research also involved Canadian government national and international policies on violent political extremism. He was part of a transatlantic partnership that studied joint issues of serious crime and violent extremism in Canada and Sweden, sponsored by Defense Research and Development Canada. In addition, he recently became the Director of the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society (CANSES). This initiative received five years of funding from Public Safety Canada, with the goal of developing Canadian and international networks to foster and coordinate research between academics and policy makers. The CANSES board selected Garth and his immediate team, primarily graduate students at SFU, to conduct research on the recent policy challenges posed by political extremists generally, and more recently, on incels and nihilist forms of extremism. He genuinely enjoyed and respected his interactions with his research team and repeatedly mentioned their numerous contributions to his projects and publications.
He also was a founding member and the associate director of the Institute on Violence, Terrorism and Security at SFU since 2020, and then its director in 2024. This institute engaged a number of important research projects and publications, including Canadian and European collaborations on risk assessment approaches for violent extremism.
As an instructor, Garth taught courses on methodology/statistics, as well as political extremism at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He mentored numerous graduate students and was deeply committed to promoting their academic and policy careers through engaging them deeply in his research projects and related publications. He served as associate director of the School’s graduate program and made substantial contributions to restructuring its procedures to the benefit of students and faculty. He constantly expressed his appreciation and respect for School of Criminology staff who assisted him in this administrative role and in administering his research projects and conferences.
Whether he was working with colleagues or government officials, Garth took leadership roles in fostering relationships that were founded on collaboration and mutual benefits. He worked closely with both senior and new colleagues to encourage the diversity of research and more effective teaching experiences at SFU. He made himself available for an extraordinary number of senior supervisor and committee member roles despite his extensive research related activities. His understanding of complex methodologies was of tremendous help to students and colleagues in their applications to their theses and publications.
Garth Davies is irreplaceable as a colleague, teacher, mentor and obviously to his family and friends.
Tribute messages
The memory of Garth Davies will be cherished by those who knew him, including his colleagues, students, and friends. If you wish to share a message of condolence, please send an email to crimcomm@sfu.ca.
I met Garth when I started teaching at SFU over 4 years ago. He was one of the first people to pop into my office and welcome me to the School of Criminology. We would regularly chat as we worked a few doors down from each other. We’d talk about everything from teaching to travelling. I remember a recent conversation I had with Garth where he described some upcoming conference travel. He was excited to see new cities and take time to slow down and explore. He recounted how lucky he was to be able to travel, share his work, and see the world. As others have mentioned, you’d often hear Garth before you saw him, and I always admired his awesome collection of shirts. I will miss his laughter and the generous encouragement he offered so freely to every student who came through his door.
Dawn Rault
Lecturer, SFU Criminology
I first got to know Dr Garth Davies around 1990 when I was a sessional instructor in the School of Criminology and Garth was still an undergraduate student. He was a student in a course I taught on Human Rights and Civil Liberties. He was brilliant. One of the best students I have ever taught. I have no doubt that if he had chosen to go into law he would have excelled, just like he excelled in everything else he took on. Garth was a polymath.
Law was not his preferred area of academic inquiry. He showed a penchant for research methods, particularly quantitative research methods, although he also had an affinity for qualitative methods as well. His initial graduate research took him into the area of terrorism; an area that he would come to specialize in, both as a teacher and as a researcher. When he went to Rutgers to do his PhD he could not find a supervisor to oversee work in that area, but Garth told me that graduate students always have to be flexible, and work on a topic that could be supervised by available faculty. That took him into the area of communities and crime, which would also end up being one of his teaching areas.
I have fond memories of Garth and I walking around a poster session at an annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology. I thought Garth, being the quantitative expert that he was, would criticize the methodology or statistics used by graduate students who were presenting their work. He never did that. He took the time to look over their work, and where possible offered suggestions about how they could move forward and build on the work they had already done. He was always kind and very generous with his time and thoughts.
The passing of Garth has left a huge gap in the School. It will not be the same without him around.
David MacAlister
Associate professor, SFU School of Criminology
I had the privilege of taking undergraduate courses with Garth, and his impact has stayed with me for well over a decade.
He had a way of pushing students to think more deeply and to find their voice. You could tell he truly cared about his students, their development and their future. That kind of presence is rare, and it made a lasting difference in his students’ lives.
I remember one moment in particular. After a seminar, Garth caught me scowling and challenged me to share what I was thinking. I was taken aback. No one had ever really asked for my opinion before, and I was reluctant to speak honestly. But that moment stayed with me. It was the beginning of learning to speak more frankly.
Over the course of my undergraduate degree, I would occasionally run into him, and each time he offered small pearls of wisdom that brought me great comfort, especially during a difficult time in my life. His guidance and kindness meant more than he likely knew. I wish I told him when I had the chance.
The world has lost not only a great mind, but a great person.
I’m grateful to have been one of his students.
Christine Louie
I am deeply saddened by the passing of Garth Davies. Garth played an instrumental role in my growth as a graduate student and as a person. He served on my MA thesis committee, mentored me throughout my doctoral studies, and was a constant source of guidance and kindness during my years in the School.
I had the privilege of being Garth’s TA for Crim 320 for several years, and as both a Master's and PhD student, I eagerly enrolled in every graduate-level quantitative methods course he taught. I loved his classes—so much so that I even audited Crim 863 multiple times, long after completing it during my Master’s. He teased me and thought I was a little nuts for wanting to do that, but allowed me to do it anyways. I genuinely learned something new from him every single time.
Garth’s mentorship had a profound and lasting impact on me. He didn’t just teach me how to conduct quantitative research; he taught me how to teach, how to think, and how to carry myself as an academic. His guidance set me up for a career I loved. Beyond the professional, he offered life advice, encouragement, and genuine care for my well‑being—care that meant more to me at the time than I think he ever realized.
I will miss him dearly—especially his voice and his infectious smile. His legacy lives on in the work and careers of all the students he ever taught.
Ashley Hewitt
Graduate student, SFU Criminology (2010-2017)
I was a former student of Dr. Davies when he taught Crim 320 in the Fall semester of 2024. Quantitative subjects or rather, numbers in general I tend to not do so well in, so I was apprehensive of the course in general. But Dr. Davies knew how to approach students in teaching quantitative subjects so that it was informative but didn't sound like a mouthful and made the content more digestible. I still remember when we finished our final labs and received our final grades. He sent out a final email saying we "achieved at least a C- average. Meaning that none of you will ever have to suffer through stats again (unless you go to grad school, which is a whole other conversation)." A big sign of relief, but a hilarious way to inform us of our final grades.
During the semester and we would have lectures, sometimes he would walk about his terrorism course. Terrorism did not directly relate to Crim 320, but the passion the man had for the subjects he taught was very present and in fact I did not mind whenever he did bring it up. Then there were the interesting coloured shirts he would wear to lectures, which made a lot of students laugh and brighten up our days, especially during times when exams were held. Dr. Garth Davies could really feel the room whenever he taught, so if we needed an extension on assignments or more time looking at subjects, he would and it helped us out a lot.
One thing I am glad about is after the final lecture I said to Dr. Davies, "Sir the patterns on your shirts were more confusing than the topics covered in this class, so I thank you". We had a laugh and conversed about future plans and got to shake his hand, thanking him for his guidance throughout the semester. Little did I know it was the last time I would ever get to do so. My condolences go out to the family of Dr. Davies and I thank him for his guidance. I feel very honoured to have been in at least one of his classes throughout my time at SFU.
Alan Sohn
I met Garth in a quite interesting situation. That was the time I was struggling in Criminology, feeling confused about the future. While exploring a solution, I constantly reached out to Garth in Fall 2021 and Spring 2022. Despite declining my request to serve as my supervisor, he encouraged me to pursue a major that really speaks for me. After I changed my major to Political Science, I still met Garth from time to time in the department when he attended meetings. He always joked that I finally made a good choice. But deep down, I knew he knew what was best for me in advance.
You will be missed, Garth. Thank you for your heartfelt advice, which encouraged me to make a positive change. Thank you for your charismatic lectures on terrorism, which initiated my thoughts on switching to Political Science. Thank you for your humour in teaching CRIM320; it truly made the materials more understandable. I am wrapping up my Honours in Political Science next month and starting my MA in September. I always meant to share this with you in person...
Constance Ruan
BA Honours, Political Science ('26)
The thing about Garth? His ability to be fully present in the moment, and completely engaged with the person in front of him. I once asked him if he knew that he had this gift to make people feel like they were the only person in the room. He brushed this off, like it was no big deal. But it is a big deal.
We show people that they are important to us by the quality of the attention we pay to them, and this was Garth's gift. I feel so fortunate to have been the recipient of Garth's gifts, and I will honour him by striving to bring that same presence into my daily life, as he so naturally did in his own.
Christie Carlson
Graduate Program Assistant, SFU Criminology
I first met Garth when I was deciding whether to accept my PhD offer. He took time to answer my questions, share with me strategies on being a PhD student, and hyped up my PhD supervisor. In his words: “I like working with Richard. Richard is my friend.”
Garth’s knowledge and passion for teaching the quantitative research methods seminar was evident in the way he challenged us grad students to “do more” with our data analysis. He equipped us with over 10 different types of quantitative research methods and detailed notes on each that he explicitly forbade us from sharing publicly. Garth was always up for having a conversation with us grad students on literally anything, such as sharing with us his love for longitudinal data analysis, his preference for heavy metal music, and educating us on the tale of the Gimli glider that originated from his hometown in Manitoba. Once, he told us about his excitement to buy himself suits during a trip he took, and we ended up convincing him to wear one to our seminar. He’s the only person I can think of with the personality and charisma to pull off a vibrant purple suit with a darker indigo like reflection!
Garth’s enthusiasm for research was not only evident in conversations I had with him but was also reflected through the way he was talked about by graduate students and faculty who worked closely with him on projects. Garth was integral to the culture, research, and the graduate student support system at SFU Criminology. His passing is a huge loss for the school and will continue to be felt by many.
Natalie Chu
PhD student, SFU Criminology
I am so saddened by Garth's passing. He was one of the greats and a person that the world needed for longer than we had him. I first met Garth in my undergrad in CRIM at SFU as my professor for CRIM 321 (qualitative research methods) and that semester, he tried to kill us. 3 qualitative projects in a semester is maniacal. Sheri later joked that he was trying to kill his TAs too.
Garth always scared me a bit and I told him so over the many years I was at SFU. You always knew when Garth was around because you usually heard him before you saw him. He was a brilliant methodologist and teacher and quickly became one of my mentors to which I emulate my own teaching.
In my Masters, I took advanced quantitative methods with Garth. I have fond (and slightly traumatized) memories of being in the computer lab downstairs in WMC for our class with the most awesome group of classmates and being constantly entertained and inspired by Garth each week. He made up words and I think my favourite was when he talked about himself in third person. "Please do not do this because you will bring Garth a great deal of dishappiness" tops the list. I also had the honour of TA'ing for Garth in CRIM 320. I learned so much from him over the years.
During my time as a Masters student, there were many hallway and doorway conversations with Garth about CRIM, research, teaching, life. Garth was the one who encouraged me to pursue research methods alongside my RJ work and told me that future students would benefit from my teaching them methods (plus it would make me employable because everyone hates teaching methods). He was right - I've been teaching intro to CRIM methods since I graduated with my MA. Garth allowed me to embrace my nerdy methods side!!
Years after I graduated from SFU, I ran into Garth. We caught up and I told him that I was a newly minted department chair at Langara. That I was teaching methods and remember all the torture he put us through, but that I learned so much and my students benefited from that. He told me, "You did good, kid, and will continue to do good things". Thank you, Garth. You will be missed greatly.
Melissa Roberts
Instructor and Community Programs Division Chair, Langara College
BA and MA alumnus, SFU Criminology (2003-2010)