WHO I AM

I am an Assistant Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at The University of Alabama. My scholarship is driven by an interest in the situational and cognitive mechanisms of crime: why individuals choose to offend, how citizens evaluate safety and risk, and what leads people to enact or relax protective behaviors.

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My research pairs immersive Virtual Reality (VR) environments with traditional factorial surveys and qualitative interviews to examine risk perception across three core domains: criminal decision-making, public safety, and victimization. Through the Virtual Burglary Project, I work with incarcerated individuals to analyze how offenders interpret real-time deterrence cues, ambiguous physical environments, and opportunities for crime.

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Extending beyond the offender perspective, my work investigates public safety interventions and victim decision-making. Using virtual simulations, I evaluate how situational crime prevention tools, such as ambient lighting or surveillance imagery, affect citizens' subjective fear of crime and sense of well-being. Additionally, I draw on behavioral economics and opportunity theories to model vulnerability, examining why individuals compromise protective measures for routine convenience, such as leaving property unattended or bypassing security protocols, to inform actionable, low-cost nudges for situational crime prevention.

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My academic background includes a Ph.D. in Psychology and an MPhil in Social and Developmental Psychology from the University of Cambridge, as well as a B.S. in Psychology with a second major in Criminal Justice from Roanoke College. This interdisciplinary foundation allows me to integrate psychological decision theory with crime science, translating empirical insights into effective, real-world prevention strategies.

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I am an active Research Affiliate and Partner Group Head within the Max Planck Society, an Editorial Board Member for Psychology, Crime & Law, and a regular peer reviewer across criminology, psychology, and interdisciplinary urban science journals. At UA, I contribute to departmental leadership through service on graduate, executive, and student-focused committees.

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Ultimately, my goal is to bridge rigorous empirical science with actionable crime prevention. I welcome collaborations with fellow researchers, public safety practitioners, and prospective students interested in innovative methodologies, crime science, and decision-making research.