Flash Robberies: A Brief Report of Current Trends in Retail Theft

Brought to you by The Institute for Predictive Analytics in Criminal Justice
(a joint venture of Tarleton State University and the Texas A&M System)
See the Report

About us


Recent social and political events that have affected the United States and its criminal justice system have led to a great deal of interest regarding the understanding and analysis of data. Although great efforts have been made in recent years to capture essential criminal justice data specific to motor vehicle contacts with the police, use of force incidents, and in custody deaths, there is a clear gap in the analysis and policy recommendations relevant to these data points. Therefore, the purpose of the proposed Institute will be to address the existing gap and other data analytic needs in the criminal justice system.

The Institute for Predictive Analytics in Criminal Justice’s (IPAC) central mission is to advance research in criminal justice through the analysis of data with the goal of developing and implementing evidence-based-policy and practices.

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Meet the Team

Alejandro del Carmen, Ph.D.

Director of IPAC, Professor and Associate Dean of the College of Liberal and Fine Arts and the School of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Strategic Studies at Tarleton State University

Dwight D. Steward, Ph.D.

Principal Economist at EmployStats

Camille Gibson, Ph.D., C.R.C.

Interim Dean of the College of Juvenile & Psychology at Prairie View A&M University and Executive Director of the Texas Juvenile Crime Prevention Center

Deborah A. Sibila, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi (TAMUCC)

Fei Luo, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Texas A&M International University

Thomas D. Petrowski, J.D.

Visiting Assistant Professor in the School of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Strategic Studies at Tarleton State University

Wendi Pollock, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi

Eric Morrow, Ph.D.

Associate Professor in the Department of Government, Legal Studies and Philosophy at Tarleton State University

Galia Cohen, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor and Director of the Division of Public Administration, Tarleton State University

Kimberly Chism, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, California State University - Sacramento

Rhonda Dobbs, Ph.D.

Criminal Justice Department Head and Associate Professor in the School of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Public Administration at Tarleton State University

Barry Bowling, MA

Research Associate at Tarleton State University

Jie Tao, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Public Administration at Tarleton State University

John Ray, Ph.D.

Director of the Institute for Law Enforcement & Protective Services Excellence at Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX)

Casey Heath, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Tarleton State University

Stan Korotchenko, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Tarleton State University

Chris Copeland, D.Sc.

Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Tarleton State University