Ken Novak

Ken Novak is currently a Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology at the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC), where he has worked since 1999. He was Principal Investigator for several federally funded initiatives, including Smart Policing Initiative, Crime Gun Intelligence Center, Project Safe Neighborhoods, and the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program. He has collaborated with a number of local and federal organizations and community groups in an effort to identify best practices, including the Kansas City (MO) Police Department, the Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, the Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission, the Overland Park Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He has published scientific research on policing, racial profiling, the use of force, perceptions of the police, foot patrol, and focused deterrence. He is co-author of Police and Society, 8th ed. (Oxford University Press). Dr. Novak is a member of the the American Society of Criminology, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and the American Society of Evidence-Based Policing. He has a Ph.D. and M.S in criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati, and a B.S. in criminal justice from Bowling Green State University.