Diane Marano is a retired Camden County prosecutor now working toward her Ph.D. in childhood studies.
CAMDEN — As an assistant prosecutor in Camden County for more than two decades, Diane Marano witnessed firsthand the problems caused by gun violence among young people.
Now, she’s searching for solutions.
After a 25-year career in the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, Marano is pursuing her Ph.D. in childhood studies at Rutgers–Camden. Inspired by her work as an assistant prosecutor, she is committed to helping young people achieve better outcomes in life.
“I’d like to see fewer young men getting hurt and killed, and I’d like to see fewer young men getting locked up,” Marano says. “I’m driven to pursue new knowledge that could lead to improving young people’s lives.”
A Medford resident, Marano graduated from the Rutgers School of Law–Camden in 1978 before committing 21 of her 25 years in the prosecutor’s office as a section chief of the juvenile unit.
Upon her retirement in 2007, Marano became one of 14 students in Rutgers–Camden’s inaugural class of the nation’s first Ph.D. program in childhood studies.
“I was casting around for what to do when I retired, and this campus had a kickoff event for the new Ph.D. program,” she says. “While I was a prosecutor, I was a part of various committees tasked with finding out the needs of youth. Working as a prosecutor generated a lot of questions about children and coming up with solutions to some of the problems they face. I thought that the Ph.D. program really was for me.”
Marano is working on a dissertation about how and why juveniles acquire and use guns. Through research with the New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission, Marano had a chance to interview young men in several transitional facilities.
“I’ve spoken with young men who were victims of violent crimes, had parents who were hurt or killed, or were victims of poverty,” Marano says. “Those are events that usually bring them into activities like drug dealing and gang involvement, and those activities introduce them to gun possession.”
Marano explains that many of the young men she interviewed for her research were drawn to the street for various reasons and obtained a gun after entering that lifestyle.
“Even if the gun was initially acquired for protection, they soon realize they could use it for other things, like armed robbery and street fighting,” Marano says. “There are so many problems for which a gun becomes the answer, like the need for money or the need for protection. Some of them say it all goes together: drugs, money, and violence. For most people, it’s going to be difficult to get away from it. It won’t be a quick fix.”
Marano is hoping to utilize her research to understand why young men are inclined to travel down that path.
“There has to be a solution at many different levels, such as reaching them individually, through their families, or through the community,” Marano says. “Camden has a lot to offer. There are a lot of agencies working with youth to make a positive change and I think that’s a good start.”
Media Contact: Ed Moorhouse
(856) 225-6759
E-mail: ejmoor@camden.rutgers.edu
