Samuel Peterson

Samuel (Sam) Peterson is a policy researcher at RAND and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. He has broad interests in topics within and outside of criminal justice. His most recent research includes estimating state-level household firearm ownership, estimating state-level hospitalizations for gunshot injury, evaluating NYPD's Neighborhood Policing philosophy, evaluating police-led diversion efforts, a tabletop exercise to improve police-community relations, research to understand persistent neighborhood violence, and research to understand the formation and impact of subgroups (cliques) within the Los Angeles County Sheriffs department. 

Peterson also has prior research experience in gun violence prevention, sexual assault at American colleges and universities, school-based victimization among adolescents, and substance use within adolescent social networks. His applied research experience includes working with a variety of criminal justice and community stakeholders. Peterson completed his Ph.D. in criminal justice at the University of Cincinnati.