Profile: Laura Hickman

Laura Hickman is engaged in research activities that help inform policymakers and the community about effective approaches to controlling crime and helping victims.

Assistant Director, Criminal Justice Policy Research Institute, Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Criminology & Criminal Justice, University of Maryland
M.S. Administration of Justice, Portland State University
B.S. Psychology, University of Oregon
Dr. Hickman earned her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland (College Park) in Criminology and Criminal Justice. She spent seven years as a researcher at the RAND Corporation before coming to Portland State in 2007. Currently, Dr. Hickman serves as Assistant Director of the Criminal Justice Research Policy Institute (CJPRI) and teaches courses both online and on campus.

The focus of Dr. Hickman's research is on evaluating and improving criminal justice policy and practice. Her work covers a range of topics including capital punishment, domestic violence, corrections, and immigration. Currently, she is co-directing the National Evaluation of Safe Start Promising Approaches, funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. This 15-site evaluation examining the effects of promising interventions is designed to ameliorate the harms of children's exposure to violence.

Current Courses

AJ 320: Theories of Crime and Justice (Campus)
AJ 330: Crime Control Strategies (CCJ Online)

Curriculum Vita (pdf)

Contact Information

Urban Building, 570C
(503) 725-5201
LHickman@pdx.edu