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Dr. Kim Varma

Professor
JOR 833
416-979-5000 Ext. 552680
LinkedIn  (external link) 

Spotlight

Kim Varma, Asssociate Professor

Kim Varma is a Professor in the Department of Criminology. She received her PhD and MA in Criminology from the University of Toronto, and BA (Sociology) from Wilfrid Laurier University. 

Dr. Varma's research examines a range of topics in criminology including; community crime prevention and child protection, social assistance fraud, decision-making in the youth justice system, and Canadian youth justice policy. She has authored peer-reviewed articles and chapters on public perceptions of community crime prevention, crime and the criminal justice system, youth sentencing, and bail, and is co-author (with Kanwal Khokhar) of the recently published book, Guardians of the Community: The Block Parent® Program of Canada (2025). University of Toronto Press.

Education

University Degree
University of Toronto PhD
University of Toronto MA
Wilfrid Laurier University BA

Courses

Course Code Course Title
CRM 304 Youth Justice in Canada
CRM 306 Corrections in Canada
CR 8103 Graduate Seminar in Restorative Justice

Selected Publications

  • Bell, S.J. and Varma, K.N. (2026). Young Offenders and Youth Justice: A Century After the Fact, 6th edition. Tophat/Nelson. 
  • Varma, K.N. & K. Khokhar, (March 2025). Guardians of the Community: The Block Parent© Program of Canada. University of Toronto Press. 112 pages. 
  • Varma, K.N. (2023) Volunteering for community crime prevention: examining guardianship and the Block Parent program of Canada. Crime Prev Community Safety. (external link) 
  • Varma K. and E. Leroux (2019) “Understanding the Nature and Scope of Adolescent Sexual Offending Across Canada.” The Annual Review of Interdisciplinary Justice Research Volume 8.
  • Landau, T. and Varma, K. (2014) A Tale of Three Programs - Reflections on Criminological Studies at Ryerson University. The Annual Review of Interdisciplinary Justice Research Volume 4 (Fall 2014).
  • Varma, K. and A. Ward (2014).  Social assistance fraud and zero tolerance in Ontario, Canada. Canadian Review of Social Policy, vol 70: 78-92.
  • Varma, K. and V. Marinos (2013). “Three Decades of Public Attitudes Research on Crime and Punishment in Canada”.  Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 55(4): 549:562.
  • K. Ismaili, J.Sprott, and K.Varma eds. (2012). Canadian Criminal Justice Policy: A Contemporary Reader. Toronto: Oxford University Press.
  • Varma. K. (2007). "Parental involvement in youth court" Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 49(2) 231-260.
  • Varma, K. (2006) "'Face'-ing the offender: Exploring public attitudes towards young offenders," Contemporary Justice Review, 9(2), 175-187.
  • Varma, K. (2002) "Exploring 'youth' in court: An analysis of decision-making in youth court bail hearings," Canadian Journal of Criminology, 44(2): 143-164.

Selected Media and Invited Public Lectures

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