Biography

I am a Ph.D. student in Political Science at the University of Utah and a National Institute of Justice LEADS scholar. I study policing and criminal justice policy. I am particularly interested in public perceptions of police use-of-force and the criminal justice system, investigative techniques in sexual assault cases, and crime deterrence policy. I have published a number of peer-reviewed studies in academic journals, reporting research in the areas of police use-of-force, police attitudes and behaviors, and crime deterrence.

Interests

  • Policing
  • Criminal Justice Policy
  • Bayesian Statistics
  • Machine Learning
  • Text Analytics

Education

  • PhD Student, Expected 2022

    University of Utah

  • MA in Forensic Psychology, 2016

    University of North Dakota

  • BSc in Criminal Justice, 2004

    Weber State University

Recent Publications

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Mandatory Sexual Assault Kit Testing Policies and Arrest Trends: A Natural Experiment

While mandatory SAK testing policies are often advocated for based on the belief that they will increase arrest rates for sexual assault (among other proposed benefits), we add to growing empirical evidence that policy interventions beyond mandatory SAK testing are needed to increase arrest rates for sexual assault.
Scott M. Mourtgos, Ian T. Adams, Justin Nix, Tara N. Richards
PDF DOI
Mandatory Sexual Assault Kit Testing Policies and Arrest Trends: A Natural Experiment

The Ethics of Emotional Labor in Public Service: The Case of Children's Services Forensic Interviewers

Negative psychological outcomes experienced by forensic interviewers can be explained by the emotional labor they engage in. Under an ethic of care, it would be unethical to require emotional labor in forensic interviewing and not equip workers with the skills to do it.
Sharon H. Mastracci, Scott M. Mourtgos
PDF DOI
The Ethics of Emotional Labor in Public Service: The Case of Children's Services Forensic Interviewers

Assessing Public Perceptions of Police Use-of-Force: Legal Reasonableness and Community Standards

How do public expectations of police use-of-force align with the strict professional and legal guidelines under which police officers train and operate?
Scott M. Mourtgos, Ian T. Adams
PDF DOI
Assessing Public Perceptions of Police Use-of-Force: Legal Reasonableness and Community Standards

The rhetoric of de-policing: Evaluating open-ended survey responses from police officers with machine learning-based structural topic modeling

Machine learning-based textual analysis is a viable tool for police survey research. Analyzing large numbers of police free-text responses provides more nuanced understanding of police perceptions of the public.
Scott M. Mourtgos, Ian T. Adams
PDF DOI
The rhetoric of de-policing: Evaluating open-ended survey responses from police officers with machine learning-based structural topic modeling
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Accomplish­ments

LEADS Scholar

National Institute of Justice Jul 2020

Recent Posts

Don't Forget the Good with the Bad and the Ugly: Topic Modeling a Policing Commission Listening Session

Following the summer of civil unrest in 2020, one capital city in the western US (like many other cities around the country) formed a Racial Equity in Policing Commission. According to the city’s administration, the commission was formed to examine the police department’s policies, culture, and budget.
Last updated on Feb 5, 2021 8 min read police, topic modeling, text analysis

Fleeing Police: Evaluating and Forecasting Police Turnover

Key Findings A significant increase in officer resignations occurred mid-2020, well beyond what the previous 5-year trend can explain. A similar rise in retirements was not indicated. A causal impact analysis suggests that the increase in resignations was caused by the circumstances experienced locally following the death of George Floyd at the end of May 2020.
Last updated on Dec 16, 2020 7 min read police, bayesian

Policing in a Pandemic: How Pracademics and Data can Help

This blog post was originally posted on the website for the Police Practice & Research journal and can be viewed here. Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health emergency that has drawn on for an extended period.
Last updated on Dec 13, 2020 7 min read police

Explaining Federal Crime Control Policy with Punctuated Equilibrium Theory

Introduction Historically, efforts to reduce crime have been regarded as the responsibility of state and local governments. The late-1960s saw a dramatic shift in this attitude with the passage of the 1968 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act.
Last updated on Dec 2, 2020 9 min read criminal justice policy, punctuated equilibrium

Police Twitter Rhetoric post George Floyd: Differences by Party in the US Senate

Introduction Following the death of George Floyd while in police custody on May 25th 2020, protests and riots spread across the United States. Over the following months, politicians weighed in on Floyd’s death, policing, and ideas regarding police reform.
Last updated on Aug 20, 2020 10 min read police, political parties, text mining

Projects

First Responder Sexual Assault Training: An Evaluation

Key Findings Officers’ initial response and reporting on sexual assault investigations were believed to be contributing to poor victim retention for these cases. We trained every officer in a four-hour block with victim-centered techniques, hoping to improve initial response to, and police-victim interactions during, reports of sexual assault.

Evaluation of a Jurisdiction’s Mandatory Sexual Assault Kit Testing Policy

In 2014, a jurisdiction’s police department came under public criticism regarding past non-testing of sexual assault kits (SAKs) for sexual assault investigations. From 2004 through 2013, approximately 77% of all SAKs received by this jurisdiction were never submitted to a crime laboratory for processing.

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