What is SToPA?
The Small Town Policing Accountability Lab is developing a toolkit for procuring, structuring, and analyzing policing data in small towns that lack the resources and systems to make their own data public. The lab already serves two towns, Williamstown MA and Durham NC, and is working to expand accountability in small towns across the United States. Join the lab to help bring visibility and accountability to policing in all of our communities.
SToPA in Action!
QSIDE will pilot our Small Town Police Accountability (SToPA) toolkit in seven communities around the country as part of a broader program to create more equitable community safety models. We are looking for individuals to help serve as consultants to each of our pilot sites. This opportunity is open to scholars at all stages of their academic careers. Please contact Jude Higdon, jude@qsideinstitute.org, with any questions or to express interest in the opportunity.
How Can I Join?
The SToPA Lab meets bi-weekly. If you want to join the SToPA Lab fill out this form and one of our directors will contact you shortly!
Meet our Team!
SToPA Director, Jude Higdon.
Jude Higdon. Ed.D. currently serves as the Chief Operations Officer for the QSIDE Institute. As the co-founder of the QSIDE Institute, Jude has helped to develop programs to promote and further the use of cutting edge quantitative methods to understand and address historical oppression and marginalization. Previously, Jude worked at the convergence of technology and education at other institutions of higher learning including Minnesota State Mankato, the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy and College of Liberal Arts, Northwestern University, the City Colleges of Chicago, Brandeis University, Harvard University, Duke University, and the University of Southern California. He has also developed online learning environments for several major not-for-profit organizations including the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the American Red Cross, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Jude holds an Ed.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Southern California, an Ed.M. in Technology in Education from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, and a B.S. in Political Science from Northwestern University.
SToPA Director Emeritus, Manuchehr Aminian.
Dr. Manuchehr Aminian is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Manuchehr’s research interests include early detection of viral infection with machine learning, spectral image segmentation, and passive tracer problems. Manuchehr currently serves as the co-director for QSIDE’s DSPACE (Data Science, Police Accountability, and Community Engagement) Research Lab.
SToPA Director Emeritus, Ariana Mendible.
Dr. Ariana Mendible is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics at Seattle University. Her experience in data-driven modeling led her to research that applies data science to social justice contexts. Ariana currently serves as a co-director for QSIDE’s DSPACE (Data Science, Police Accountability, and Community Engagement) Research Lab.
SToPA Director Emeritus, Claire Kelling.
Dr. Claire Kelling (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Statistics at Carleton College, and earned her Dual PhD in Statistics and Social Data Analytics from Penn State. Claire’s goal is to integrate evidence-based practice and policy on crime and policing using the power of statistics and data. Claire currently serves as a co-director for QSIDE’s DSPACE (Data Science, Police Accountability, and Community Engagement) Research Lab.
SToPA Director Emeritus, Anna Haensch.
Dr. Anna Haensch is a Senior Data Scientist in the Tufts University Data Intensive Studies Center with a secondary appointment (Associate Professor) in the Department of Mathematics. Dr. Haensch has a Ph.D. in mathematics from Wesleyan University. Dr. Haensch’s research are in computational number theory, specifically in using modern computational tools and capabilities to answer longstanding, previously intractable, open problems. When not exploring ways data science can be used as tools to make a safer and more equitable world, Haensch can be found making art.