Affiliated Researchers
Heidi S. Bonner
Heidi Bonner, a doctoral student in the School of Criminal Justice at the University at Albany, is employed at the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services as a research specialist. She is currently part of team that is monitoring and evaluating the 2009 state drug law reforms. Ms. Bonner is a former senior analyst at the Finn Institute where she was involved in a number of projects including an evaluation of a civilian review process and a nationwide assessment of police training programs. She also previously worked as a research assistant at the University at Albany’s Hindelang Criminal Justice Research Center. She holds an M.S. from San Jose State College and an M.A. from the University at Albany, where she was the recipient of the Walter M. Francis Policing Award in 2007 and the Lt. John F. Finn Scholarship in 2009. Her research interests include the study of decision making in policing, the application of judgment and decision making theories and methodologies as a means to explain police behavior, and the evaluation of criminal justice policies and programs.
Shelagh E. Dorn
Shelagh Dorn, a doctoral student at the University at Albany, is employed at a fusion center as a senior supervising intelligence analyst. She has worked extensively in the intelligence analysis training field as an instructor and as a subject matter expert and has previous experience in law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical services. Her areas of interest include: intelligence-led policing; evaluation research; law enforcement best practices; intelligence and fusion centers; and accountability mechanisms, satisfaction levels, and performance measures. Mrs. Dorn has served as a coordinator or research assistant for a variety of research projects through the University at Albany, including an evaluation of one city’s Citizen Police Review Board, the Police Early Warning System Project, the Albany Police Department Police Services Project, and the Capital District Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) Program.
Chris Harris, Ph.D.
Dr. Harris currently works as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology at UMass Lowell. He holds a Ph.D. in criminal justice from the University at Albany. His research interests are primarily in police performance and public perceptions of police, as well as evaluation research of various police initiatives. He has been involved in research with various police departments in New York State, including serving as the principal research analyst for Project Safe Neighborhoods in Syracuse, as well as an analyst for the Crime Analysis and Problem Solving partnership between the Albany police department and the University at Albany’s School of Criminal Justice. Chris was the recipient of the University at Albany School of Criminal Justice’s Distinguished Dissertation and the Walter M. Francis Policing awards.
MoonSun Kim, Ph.D.
Dr. Kim is currently an Assistant Professor at the State University of New York College at Brockport. He earned his Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from the University at Albany. Dr. Kim’s research interests include program evaluation, international criminal justice, crime and spatial analysis, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). He has an extensive background in statistical and spatial analysis, from which the Institute’s work benefits through his collaboration in examining the effectiveness of strategic and programmatic crime reduction initiatives, such as gun interdiction patrols, wireless video surveillance, and safe passage initiatives.
John D. McCluskey, Ph.D.
John McCluskey is currently an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He earned his Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from the University at Albany in 2002. His research interests include procedural justice, compliance, and criminology. He has worked as a consultant and researcher with a variety of criminal justice agencies throughout the U.S. That research has included the process and outcome evaluation of delinquency intervention programs, violence reduction initiatives, and community partnership-building efforts. His ongoing work with the Detroit police department is focused on a National Institute of Justice sponsored evaluation of a gun-violence reduction effort in that city.
