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Bio
Dr. Kevin Petersen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Dr. Petersen received his Ph.D. in Criminology, Law and Society from George Mason University in 2023. Prior to that, he served as a victim advocate for the Roanoke County (VA) Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
Broadly, Dr. Petersen’s research interests include policing, courts, evidence-based crime policy, legal decision-making, and quantitative research methods. He has conducted numerous studies examining the relationship between policing and crime prevention, the effect of body-worn camera footage on criminal prosecutions, and factors that predict criminal sentencing outcomes. His work has appeared in outlets such as Justice Quarterly, Criminology and Public Policy, Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Aggression and Violent Behavior, and Journal of Experimental Criminology.
Recent Publications
Petersen, K. (in press). Is it all relative? Proposing the use of marginal effects for meta-analysis of binary outcomes in criminology and criminal justice. Journal of Criminal Justice.
Petersen, K., Johnson, B., Galvin, M., & Redlich, A. D. (in press). The hidden discount: Examining racial disparity in suspended sentences. Criminology.
Petersen, K., Lum, C., & Koper, C. S. (2025). What motivates officers to be proactive and evidence-based? Analyzing organizational and individual correlates. Police Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1177/10986111251353521
Petersen, K., Koper, C. S., Taylor, B. G., Liu, W., & Sheridan-Johnson, J. (2025). Less-Lethal weapons and civilian injury in Police use of force encounters: A Multi-agency analysis. Journal of Urban Health, 102(2), 389-399. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-024-00940-1
Joseph, H. L., Liu, W., Petersen, K., Sheridan-Johnson, J., & Taylor, B. G. (2025). Subject injury and police use of force in mental health crises. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 101, 102104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2025.102104
Lum, C., Sumwalt, J., Koper, C. S., & Petersen, K. (2025). Institutionalizing Evidence-Based Policing through a Case of Place Approach in Suffolk County, New York. Justice Evaluation Journal, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/24751979.2025.2474099
Petersen, K., Weisburd, D., Hinkle, J. C., Telep, C. W., & Fay, S. (2024). Does level of geography influence proactive policing’s impact on crime? A synthesis of systematic reviews of three evidence-based policing strategies. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 101988. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2024.101988
Hinkle, J. C., Weisburd, D., Telep, C. W., & Petersen, K. (2024). When is problem-oriented policing most effective? A systematic examination of heterogeneity in effect sizes for reducing crime and disorder. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 18, paae053. https://doi.org/10.1093/police/paae053
Weisburd, D., Petersen, K., Telep, C. W., & Fay, S. A. (2024). Can increasing preventive patrol in large geographic areas reduce crime? A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Criminology & Public Policy. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12665
Weisburd, D., Wilson, D. B., Petersen, K., & Telep, C. W. (2023). Does police patrol in large areas prevent crime? Revisiting the Kansas City preventive patrol experiment. Criminology & Public Policy, 22(3), 543-560. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12623
Petersen, K., Redlich, A. D., & Wilson, D. B. (2023). Where is the evidence? Comparing the effects of evidence strength and demographic characteristics on plea discounts. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 39(4), 919-949. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-022-09555-8
Petersen, K., Papy, D., Mouro, A., & Ariel, B. (2023). The usage and utility of body-worn camera footage in courts: A survey analysis of state prosecutors. Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, 20(3),534-569. https://doi.org/10.1111/jels.12358
Petersen, K., & Lu, Y.-F. (2023). The downstream effects of body-worn cameras: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Justice Quarterly, 40(6), 765-790. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2023.2181855
Petersen, K., Weisburd, D., Fay, S., Eggins, E., & Mazerolle, L. (2023). Police stops to reduce crime: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 19(1), e1302. https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1302
Petersen, K., Mouro, A., Papy, D., Casillo, N., & Ariel, B. (2023). Seeing is believing: The impact of body-worn cameras on court outcomes, a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Miami Beach. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 19(1), 191-211.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-021-09479-6
Courses Taught
CJUS 2320 – Introduction to Courts
CJUS 2370 – Research Methods in Criminal Justice
CJUS 6000 – Secondary Data Management and Analysis