Dr. Demar F. Lewis IV is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland in Fall 2023 and will begin his tenure appointment as an Assistant Professor in January 2024. He is a sociologist and critical criminologist trained in Black Studies and public policy whose research examines how historical and contemporary notions of safety influence the ways that Black people organize their lives. This has led Dr. Lewis to develop multiple research studies to advance understandings of how racial violence, police violence, and resource deprivation influence perceptions of safety in the United States in the past and present.

His current projects examine (1) the influence of gentrification and resource deprivation on policing practices and Black Americans’ perceptions of community safety in Cincinnati, (2) the evolution of the “defund” mandate in U.S. politics, (3) the health consequences of carceral violence and racism in the U.S., and (4) the causes and consequences of U.S. lynchings. To pursue his research agenda, Dr. Lewis uses historical methods, qualitative interviews, statistical analyses, and computational methods. 

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