Timo Zheng

Graduate Research Assistant

Substantive interests: Prisoner re-entry; family relationships and employment; recidivism; victimization among marginalized populations; corrections and justice policy evaluation. Methodological interests: Statistical methodology; measurement; latent variable modelling; high-dimensional criminological data.

Timo is a doctoral student in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society at George Mason University. He received his Bachelor of Law from Shanghai University of Political Science and Law in 2018 and his Master of Social Science from the University of Macau in 2020. He also passed the Chinese Bar Examination. His research interests include community health, victimization among minority groups, quantitative legal studies, justice policy evaluation, and theoretical statistics. He enjoys teaching and is committed to improving student learning outcomes. At George Mason University, he taught CRIM 315: Research Methods and Analysis in Criminology and was scheduled to teach CRIM 315 in Fall 2026, and CRIM 402 Punishment and Corrections in Spring 207. Please use this link for office hour via Zoom.

Current Research

Zheng, X. High-Dimensional Criminological Data and the Boundaries of Interpretation

Zheng, X., Wang, Z., &Zhu, S. (2026). Deepening understanding of family ties during prison reentry: Differentiating parent–child and intimate-partner relationship dimensions.

Xu, T., Zhu, S., Zheng, X., & Borjas, M. (2026) U.S. State Workplace Protection Policies and Mental Health Among Non-Remote Metropolitan Employees During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Selected Publications

Peer Reviewed Journal Articles:

Gross Shader, C., Gill, C., Zheng, X., & Carleton, B. (2024). City government as super-controller: A systematic review of non-police mechanisms that city governments can apply to reduce crime at hot spots. Aggression and Violent Behavior,78,101957.

Gross Shader, C., Gill, C., Zheng, X., & Carleton, B. (2025). Effective Local Government Strategies for Addressing Crime Hot Spots. Applied Police Briefings, 2(1), 59–61. https://doi.org/10.22215/apb.v2i1.5152

Technical Report:

Charlotte Gill, Madeline McPherson, Xiaotian Zheng, & Claudia Gross Shader (2023): Rainier Beach Campus Safety Continuum. Report prepared for the National Institute of Justice.

Courses Taught

2027 Spring
CRIM 402 Punishment and Corrections - Spring 2027 (F2F) (scheduled)
2026 Fall
CRIM 315 Research Methods and Analysis in Criminology (F2F)
Summer
CRIM 315 Research Methods and Analysis in Criminology (online synch)
Spring
CRIM 315 Research Methods and Analysis in Criminology (F2F)

Education

Expected August 2027 Ph.D. in Criminology, Law and Society -

Dissertation: Employment, Family, and Criminal Justice Re-Engagement During Prisoner Re-entry.

Chair: Dr. César J. Rebellon.

George Mason University

2020 Criminology and Criminal Justice -

Master of Social Sciences

University of Macau

2018 Penology -

Bachelor of Laws

Shanghai University of Political Science and Law

Recent Presentations

Xiaotian Zheng (2025): Bridging the Gap in Criminological Stats Education: An Instructional Guide to Advanced Custom Results in R, the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting 2023, D.C.

Xiaotian Zheng (2024): Understanding the Current Victimization of LGBTQ Group at the Community Level – Risk Factors and Post-victim Care, the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting 2024, CA

Charlotte Gill, Madeline McPherson, & Xiaotian Zheng (2023): Uniting Campus and Community: Extending PBIS and Restorative Practices from Schools to Neighborhoods, the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting 2023, PA

Xiaotian Zheng (2023, Poster): A Quantitative Research on the Statutory Sentencing Factors in China, the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting 2023, PA