Washington, DC
Dr. Janice Iwama is an Associate Professor in the Department of Justice, Law & Criminology at American University in Washington, D.C., and a 2021 National Institute of Justice Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Scholar. She received her Ph.D. in Criminology and Justice Policy from Northeastern University. Her research examines policing, violent crime, and communities, with particular attention to the intersections of race, ethnicity, immigration, and crime.
A central focus of Dr. Iwama’s work is strengthening partnerships between researchers and law enforcement agencies and translating rigorous research into evidence that can inform policy and practice. She has extensive experience collaborating with law enforcement agencies across the United States, including municipal police departments, state police agencies, sheriff’s offices, and federal and local criminal justice partners. Her collaborative research has addressed traffic enforcement and racial disparities, gun violence, hate crimes, community-police relations, and other issues in policing.
More recently, Dr. Iwama’s research has expanded to examine officer mental health and wellness, including the evaluation of multi-agency police peer-support programs. Across her work, she is committed to producing rigorous, actionable research that responds to the needs of law enforcement agencies, advances evidence-based policing, and strengthens connections between research, policy, and practice.