Dr. Theodore S. Lentz is an assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His research areas are the geography of crime and justice, decision-making, and crime networks. He uses quantitative methods, including geographic information systems and spatial simulation, to examine the social processes that underlie crime patterns. He has worked with crime analysts to improve gun violence response and prevention.

Dr. Lentz teaches Introduction to Criminal Justice, as well as statistics and spatial analysis courses. He is also involved in the Graduate Admissions Committee and serves as Chair for the Social Justice Committee.

Education:

• Ph.D., Criminology & Criminal Justice, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 2020
• M.S., Criminal Justice, Texas State University, 2016
• B.A., Criminal Justice & Geography, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 2014

Professional Interests:

• Geographic criminology
• Decision-making
• Crime networks
• Urban sociology
• Gun violence

Current Committee Service:

• Social Justice Committee (chair)
• Graduate Admissions Committee

Professional Affiliations:

• American Society of Criminology

Publications:

• Huebner, B.M., T.S. Lentz, & M. Gibson. Systematic case review strategies: An application for jail population reduction. Justice Quarterly. doi: 10.1080/07418825.2020.1819384.
• Huebner, B. M., Lentz, T. S., & Schafer, J. A. (2020). Heard shots–call the police? An examination of citizen responses to gunfire. Justice Quarterly, 1-24. doi: 10.1080/07418825.2020.1799063.
• Hipple, N. K., Huebner, B. M., Lentz, T. S., McGarrell, E. F., & O'Brien, M. (2020). The case for studying criminal nonfatal shootings: Evidence from four Midwest cities. Justice Evaluation Journal, 3(1), 94-113.
• Lauritsen, J. L., & Lentz, T. S. (2019). National and local trends in serious violence, firearm victimization, and homicide. Homicide Studies, 23(3), 243-261.
• Lentz, T. S. (2018). Crime diversity: Reexamining crime richness across spatial scales. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 34(3), 312-335.

Curriculum Vitae