Claire Kelling

Education & Professional History

Virginia Polytechnic and State University, BS; Pennsylvania State University, PhD

Dual PhD in Statistics and Social Data Analytics (Penn State)

BS Statistics, BA Economics, Women’s and Gender Studies Minor (Virginia Tech)

Excessive use of force by police presents an urgent problem of concern to sociologists, statisticians, policymakers, and the general public. The relationship between police use of force and a range of potential explanatory factors has been widely studied in the field of criminology with various conclusions. These factors potentially include socioeconomic characteristics of communities, other point-level data such as violent crime, and individual characteristics of both the officer and citizen involved in the use of force incident. My research addresses a series of important problems at the intersection of criminology and spatial statistics and is directly motivated by potential impact on policy.

To get involved in research in my lab, please feel free to contact me at any time. I am enthusiastic about getting folks involved, with any level of experience. I also welcome internal or external collaborative opportunities.