Advancing research and evidence-based practice for victims of crime.

The Violence & Victimization Research & Policy Institute is committed to advancing research on the correlates and consequences of violence and informing evidence-based policies to reduce victimization. Our research uses mixed method approaches to: (1) identify the individual and contextual risk factors for violent offending and victimization; and (2) evaluate the efficacy of violence prevention initiatives, including gun control legislation. Current and past projects have focused on homicide, gun violence, mass shootings, school violence, domestic violence, and homicide-suicide.

PROJECTS

• A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of the Impacts and Implementation of Florida’s Risk Protection Order (RPO) Law, 2018-2023 
• Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Related Deaths Demonstration Project 2017-2020
• The Individual, Situational, and Contextual Risk Factors for Violent Firearm Injury and Firearm Homicide: A Comparative, Policy-Focused Approach
• A Mixed-Methods Examination of the Unique Root Causes of School Violence
• Leon County Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative
• Gender-Bias Motivated Fatal Shootings of Women in Florida, 2020
• A Comprehensive Assessment of Deadly Mass Shootings, 1980-2018
• Stars of Hope Survivor Program Impact Study
• Individual, Institutional, and Community Sources of School Violence: A Meta-Analysis 2016 – 2017
• Evaluation of the Palm Beach County Domestic Violence Homicide Prevention Demonstration Initiative 2013 – 2014

DIRECTOR | Emma E. Fridel, Ph.D. 

FACULTY AFFILIATES 
Jillian Turanovic, Ph.D., University of Colorado Boulder  
Krista Flanigan, J.D., Senior Criminal Justice Expert, ICF International Inc.    

CONTACT INFORMATION
For more information on the Violence & Victimization Research & Policy Institute, contact Dr. George B. Pesta.