Charlotte Gill

Director of the MS Program

Associate Professor

Community-based crime prevention, place-based criminology, policing, youth and crime, program evaluation, mixed-methods research, research synthesis

Dr. Charlotte Gill is an Associate Professor and Deputy Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society, George Mason University. She received her PhD in Criminology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010. Her primary research interests are community- and place-based crime prevention approaches, particularly with juveniles and youth; community policing; program evaluation; and research synthesis. Dr. Gill has two decades of experience in applied experimental and quasi-experimental research and has partnered with police departments and community groups around the United States to develop and test community-led approaches to place-based prevention and improve police responses to people with mental health issues. She is a 2017-19 Andrew Carnegie Fellow and has received several awards and honors, including the 2018 Mentoring Excellence award from Mason OSCAR and the 2019 SCHEV Outstanding Faculty - Rising Star award.

Selected Publications

Gill, Charlotte. (2026). The social determinants of safety in a rural community: Voices from Appalachian Kentucky. Cambridge University Press Elements in Criminology.

Gill, Charlotte, David Weisburd, and Madeline McPherson. (2025). Beyond the police: Community led partnerships for meaningful crime prevention and social justice. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 714(1), 150-168.

Gill, Charlotte, Rachel Jensen, and Heather Vovak. (2025). A quasi-experimental evaluation of RADAR: Response Awareness, De-escalation, and Referral for people with behavioral health issues. Police Practice and Research, 26(2), 170-192.

Gill, Charlotte, David Weisburd, Denise Nazaire, Heather Prince, and Claudia Gross Shader. (2024). Building a "Beautiful Safe Place for Youth" through problem-oriented community organizing: A quasi-experimental evaluation. Criminology & Public Policy.

Gill, Charlotte, David Weisburd, Cody W. Telep, Zoe Vitter, and Trevor Bennett. (2014). Community-oriented policing to reduce crime, disorder, and fear and increase satisfaction and legitimacy among citizens: A systematic review. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 10(4), 399-428.

Courses Taught

CRIM 320 Crime & Place

CRIM 491/492 Honors Seminar (2016-17)

CRIM 511 Evidence-Based Crime and Justice Policy

CRIM 516 Evaluation of Crime and Justice Policies and Practices

CRIM 517 Research Practicum in Justice Policy and Practice

CRIM 760 Evidence-Based Crime Policy

CRIM 781 Justice Program Evaluation

CRIM 795 Criminological Theory

Education

PhD, Criminology, University of Pennsylvania (2010)
MPhil, Criminology, University of Cambridge (2004)
MA (Cantab.), Law, University of Cambridge (2003)

In the Media

Rethinking crime prevention: Data, community, and real-world impact. Geography of Crime podcast by CAP Index, April 2026.

Dissertations Supervised

Muneeba Azam, Understanding Through Experience: Utilizing a Use of Force Simulator to Examine Community Members’ Perceptions of Police (2026)

I-Ching Jen, Exploring Collective Efficacy in Online Neighborhoods (2026)

Rachel Jensen, What is 'Objectively Reasonable'? Resistance and Force in Police and Persons with Behavioral Health Issue Interactions (2024)

L. Cait Kanewske, “Things Have Changed Around Here”: Perceptions of Crime and Safety in Rural Southeastern Kentucky (2023)

Denise Nazaire, Cultivating Community Engagement in Youth Violence Prevention: A Community-Led, Place-Based, Data-Driven, Non-Arrest Approach (2018)