Cynthia Lum
Associate Professor
Policing, crime and place, criminal justice evaluation research, democratization and justice, counterterrorism.
Dr. Lum researches primarily in the area of policing, security, and translational criminology. Her works in this area have included evaluations of policing interventions for crime prevention effectiveness, developing research to practice translation tools for law enforcement, examining place-based determinates of street-level police decision-making, understanding counterterrorism efforts by state and local law enforcement, and examining the relationship between drugs and violence. With Christopher Koper and Cody Telep, she has developed the Evidence-Based Policing Matrix, a translation tool designed for police practitioners to better institutionalize and utilize research on "what works" in policing into their strategic and tactical portfolio. Dr. Lum was recently awarded the U.S. Attorney General’s Citizen Volunteer Service Award for outstanding volunteer service to the Department of Justice. She is currently the Deputy Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy, and co-directs its evidence-based policing research program.
Current Research
"The Evidence-Based Policing Matrix Demonstration Project." Principal Investigator with Christopher Koper (Co-PI), Cody Telep, Julie Hibdon and Julie Grieco. Funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance.
"Evaluation of the Transportation Security Administration’s Comprehensive Strategy to Security in U.S. Airports." Co-Principal Investigator with David Weisburd (PI), Charlotte Gill, Devon Johnson, Linda Merola, Jaspreet Chahal, and Heather Vovak. Funded by the Department of Homeland Security.
"Realizing the Potential of Technology for Policing: A Multi-Site Study of the Social, Organizational, and Behavioral Aspects of Implementing Policing Technologies.” Principal Investigator with Christopher Koper (PI), James Willis (Co-PI), and Julie Hibdon. Funded by the National Institute of Justice via PERF.
"Translational Criminology." Springer Briefs. Series editor with Christopher Koper.
Selected Publications
Lum, Cynthia, Cody Telep, Christopher Koper and Julie Grieco. (forthcoming). Receptivity to Research in Policing. Justice, Research and Policy 14(1).
Lum, Cynthia, Julie Hibdon, Breanne Cave, Christopher Koper and Linda Merola. (2011). License plate reader (LPR) police patrols in crime hot spots: An experimental evaluation in two adjacent jurisdictions. Journal of Experimental Criminology. 7(4), 321-345.
Lum, Cynthia, Charlotte Gill, Breanne Cave, Julie Hibdon, and David Weisburd. (2011). Translational Criminology: Using existing Evidence for Assessing TSA’s Comprehensive Security Strategy at U.S. Airports. For C. Lum and L. Kennedy (Eds.), Evidence-Based Counterterrorism Policy. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag.
Lum, Cynthia. (2011). Violence, Drug Markets and Racial Composition: Challenging Stereotypes Through Spatial Analysis. Urban Studies 48(13): 2717 - 2734.
Lum, Cynthia, Christopher Koper and Cody Telep. (published online, 2010). The Evidence-Based Policing Matrix. Journal of Experimental Criminology 7(1): 3-26.
Lum, Cynthia. (published online, 2010). The Influence of Places on Police Decision Pathways: From Call for Service to Arrest. Justice Quarterly 28(4): 631-665.
Lum, Cynthia. (2009). Translating Police Research Into Practice. Ideas in American Policing. Washington, DC: Police Foundation. http://www.policefoundation.org/pdf/Ideas_Lum.pdf
Lum, Cynthia. (2009). Community Policing or Zero Tolerance?: Preferences of Police Officers from 22 Countries in Transition. British Journal of Criminology 49:788-809.
Lum, Cynthia, Maria (Maki) Haberfeld, George Fachner and Charles Lieberman. (2009) Police Activities to Counter Terrorism: What We Know and What We Need To Know. In David Weisburd, Thomas Feucht, Idit Hakimi, Lois Mock and Simon Perry (Eds.), To Protect and to Serve: Police and Policing in an Age of Terrorism - and Beyond (pp. 101-142). New York, NY: Springer.
Courses Taught
CRIM 100 Introduction to Criminal Justice
CRIM 401 Policing in America
CRIM 405 Law and Justice Around the World
CRIM 491/492 Administration of Justice Honors Seminar
CRIM 760 Crime and Crime Policy