UrbComp Ph.D. student Stacey Clifton credits conference with informing her dissertation research interests in intelligence-led policing

As a National Science Foundation trainee in the Urban Computing certificate program, Stacey Clifton, a Ph.D. student and sociology major, had the opportunity to attend the American Society of Evidence-Based Policing Conference last month.

The conference, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, provided valuable information and insights related to her research on police socialization and subculture, and community, evidence-based, and predictive policing. Clifton said that what she learned enabled her to further pinpoint her dissertation research interests in intelligence-led policing.

“This conference was beyond beneficial for my studies, specifically due to the narrowed focus of sessions surrounding evidence-based policing,” she said. “The sessions were composed of academics and practitioners in the field covering topics from new evidence-based policing strategies to ethics surrounding these endeavors.”

Clifton said that the conference also provided the opportunity to network with many prominent individuals.

“Although this was the first time I’ve attended this conference, I do hope to continue my attendance in future years to stay abreast of new topics within this realm,” she said.

The Urban Computing certificate program is funded by a five-year grant from the National Science Foundation’s Research Traineeship Program, which encourages bold, new, potentially transformative, and scalable models for STEM graduate education training.