Dr. Roberto Santos

Associate Professor of Criminal Justice

Co-Director, Center for Police Practice, Policy and Research

Graduate Certificate in Crime Analysis Coordinator

Interests

Dr. Santos is a retired police commander from a large police agency in Florida where after 22 years worked in, supervised, and commanded every division within the agency. As such, his interests lie in policing. He assists police agencies and conducts evidence-based and practice-based research to “translate” research to practice and vice versa. Dr. Santos focuses on areas of crime reduction approaches and strategies, crime and place, environmental criminology, police use-of-force, police training, criminal investigations, organizational change and leadership, police and community partnerships, crime analysis, and experimental research methodology.   

Recent Professional Activities

Dr. Santos co-created a crime reduction approach, called Stratified Policing, that provides the means for a police organization to systematize and sustain proactive crime reduction practices taking “what works” and “making it work” within the police organization. His book entitled, Stratified Policing: An Organizational Model for Proactive Crime Reduction and Accountability will be available in late 2020. He is active in assisting police agencies around the U.S. and internationally in organizational change, evaluation, and sustainability processes for institutionalizing proactive crime reduction strategies, problem solving, and accountability. In addition, he has conducted a quasi-experiment and random controlled trial (RCT) testing police response in, what he has coined as, “micro-time hot spots.” This work has resulted in recent grant funding, several peer-reviewed journal articles, and a police guidebook.  Dr. Santos was inducted into George Mason University’s Evidence-Based Policing Hall of Fame for leading rigorous research and the implementation of evidence-based practices into day-to-day police operations. Dr. Santos recently completed work with the Office of Community-Oriented Policing Services to publish a guidebook to assist police supervisors to implement and carry out community-oriented policing. Dr. Santos is currently the co-PI for three federal grants that include partnerships with over 20 police departments and criminal justice agencies to develop an organizational framework for institutionalizing community policing; to implement an innovative technology and proactive offender-focused strategies; and to create a model for proactive police response to prevent domestic violence and increase victim safety.   Additional information about Dr. Santos’ research, publications, and other professional activities is available on his curriculum vita.