Research
A research program in five parts.
My research sits at the intersection of community-level criminology and cross-national comparison, with a strong methodological core in quantitative analysis, mixed methods, and program evaluation. I work in five overlapping areas.
Theme 01
Community Violence & Prevention
Applied research on violence reduction in mid-sized US cities, with a focus on Kansas City. Program evaluation, neighborhood-level analysis, and translating findings into policy that funders and city councils can act on.
- —KC360 Violence Prevention Programs Evaluation — Department of Health, $1.3M, PI (2023)
- —Neighborhood Survey on Violence (2-year) — KC City Council, $346,153, PI (2024)
- —KCPD Analyst Training Seminar Series — Bloch Foundation, $60,000, PI (2024)
Theme 02
Comparative & Cross-National Criminology
Cross-national research on crime, policing, and social unrest, with deep regional expertise in the Western Balkans — Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Slovenia. Fieldwork conducted in Serbo-Croatian.
- —Football Hooliganism, Politics, and Organized Crime in the Balkans — UNODC, invited talk (2024)
- —Dissertation: Economic Hardship, Outgroup Animosity, and Low Trust in Institutions in Belgrade, Serbia
- —Cultural Contexts of Individualism vs. Collectivism — European Journal of Criminology (2018)
- —Multi-country COVID-19 policing studies across Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines
Theme 03
Policing
How policing changes under pressure — from pandemic disruption to organizational reform — across national contexts and city sizes.
- —Policing during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Global Perspective (Springer, 2024) — co-authored book
- —Exploring Changes in Urban, Small Town, and Rural Policing during COVID-19 — Policing: An International Journal (2024)
- —Assessing Police Stress in the Philippines during COVID-19 — Asian Journal of Criminology (2024)
- —Effects of Unanticipated Police Reform on Community Cooperation — Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice (2024)
Theme 04
Juvenile Justice
Evaluation, stigma, and intervention design for justice-involved youth — with a particular focus on electronic monitoring and school absenteeism.
- —Electronically Monitored Youth: Stigma and Negative Social Functioning — Crime & Delinquency (2023)
- —Reducing Truancy and Absenteeism: Nebraska's Initiative — Justice Evaluation Journal (2018)
- —Evidence-Based Nebraska annual evaluations (2017–2023)
Theme 05
Quantitative Methods & Program Evaluation
Survey design, multilevel and Bayesian modeling, structural equation modeling, and applied program evaluation for cities, foundations, and agencies. Over $1.7M in funded evaluation work in 2023–2024 alone.
- —Training in Bayesian Analysis, Multilevel Modeling, SEM, and IRT
- —Survey instrument design and translation (Serbo-Croatian, English)
- —Multiple city- and foundation-funded program evaluations