Bobby Boxerman
Email: rdb359@umsystem.edu
Bobby is a PhD candidate in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at UMSL, with an anticipated graduation date of January 2025. He obtained a Bachelor of Science from Missouri University of Science and Technology and a Master of Arts from the University of Missouri – Saint Louis. His research interests include public safety policies, police training and wellbeing, and crime and geography. His dissertation examines role heterogeneity and orientation among police recruits. Bobby is also involved in applied criminal justice research; he has worked at the Regional Justice Information Service since 2021 as a part-time research analyst, where he has studied geographic crime distribution to better equip local law enforcement responses, as well as contributed to the Bureau of Justice Statistics annual Firearm Inquiry Statistics Program (FIST). He has also worked for the Council on Criminal Justice as a crime analysis consultant since 2022, where he has co-authored a series of reports on national crime trends. His work with the Council has been used by the White House, and featured on local and national outlets such as the Washington Post, New York Times, and St. Louis Post Dispatch.
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Benjamin Hamilton
Email: bchb83@umsystem.edu
Ben joined UMSL's Criminology and Criminal Justice PhD program in 2015 after entering the MA program a year prior. He earned his BA in Criminal Justice at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, and his research interests include offender decision making, measurement of theoretical constructs, evaluation of criminal justice interventions, and quantitative methods.
Dissertation Title: “Net Benefits and Offender Decision Making: Investigating some Overlooked Predictions of a Rational Choice Theory of Crime.”
Dissertation Committee: Kyle Thomas (Chair), Lee Ann Slocum, Janet Lauritsen, and Thomas Loughran.
Areas of Interest: Offender decision making, measurement, evaluation research, partial identification, and quantitative methods.
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Sarah Kirk
Email: skxwz@umsl.edu
Sarah Kirk is a Ph.D. candidate in Criminology and Criminal Justice with expertise in applied research, data analysis, and program evaluation. Her research advances criminological theory by refining life course approaches, enhancing methodological rigor through innovative measurement strategies, and strengthening community engagement by addressing pressing challenges in violence prevention and public safety. She has collaborated on federally funded projects, translating findings into actionable insights for policymakers, nonprofits, and community partners. Skilled in quantitative and mixed methods, she specializes in making complex data clear and accessible. She is passionate about developing evidence-based solutions that improve public safety and community well-being.
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Ellie Lyne
Email: emlctb@umsystem.edu
Ellie is a PhD candidate in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at UMSL, with an anticipated graduation date of Summer 2026. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology & Criminal Justice and Psychology from Marquette University and a Master of Arts in Criminology & Criminal Justice from the University of Missouri – Saint Louis. Her research centers on courts, judicial decision-making, gender, LGBTQ+ communities, and the use of virtual technology in legal processes. Ellie’s dissertation, “ Dual Decision-Making: Assessing Gender and Custody in Civil Protection Order Cases,” integrates qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze how gendered stereotypes surrounding victimhood and parenthood shape judicial outcomes in civil protection order cases. She has published in the Journal of Crime and Justice and has coauthored a report for the MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge. Ellie currently serves as a research consultant for Ventura County, California, under the state’s Racial Justice Act. As an instructor, she has designed and taught undergraduate courses, including Courts and Statistical Analysis in Criminology and Criminal Justice, in both in-person and online formats.
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