Sara Thompson
Professor
Faculty of Arts
Department of Criminology
Toronto, Ontario
skthompson@torontomu.ca
Office:
(416) 979-5000 ext. 2092
Expert In
Bio/Research
Dr. Sara Thompson holds a BA (Hons.), MA, and Ph.D. in Criminology from the University of Toronto. Her research and teaching interests fall in the areas of social inequality, exclusion and marginalization, the social and spatial distribution of urban violence, policing, hate crime, ‘pathways’ to ...
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Bio/Research
Dr. Sara Thompson holds a BA (Hons.), MA, and Ph.D. in Criminology from the University of Toronto. Her research and teaching interests fall in the areas of social inequality, exclusion and marginalization, the social and spatial distribution of urban violence, policing, hate crime, ‘pathways’ to radicalization/violent extremism, and the negative effects that state-based policies and practices may have on those directly affected by them. She has been with the Department of Criminology since 2008. From 2014-2023 Thompson served as Associate Director of the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society (TSAS), which engages in policy-relevant research and dissemination on issues related to terrorism/violent extremism, security and society. Thompson is currently co-Principal Investigator (with Dr. Ajay Sandhu) of a three-year project entitled “Reducing the Excessive Use of Force and Increasing Police Transparency and Accountability: Examining the Impact of Body Worn Cameras for Achieving Social Justice Ends” funded by a SSHRC Insight Grant.
Thompson also currently serves as Steering Committee Member of the International Radicalization Prevention Team (ITERP) (2018-ongoing); Academic Advisor to Yorktown Family Services/West Toronto Youth Hub (2019-ongoing); Academic Advisor to Toronto Public Health’s ongoing Community Violence Initiative examining the extent of exposure to community violence and its physical and mental health impacts in Toronto (2019-ongoing); Committee Member – Toronto Police Service Community Advisory Panel on the Collection of Race-Based Data – 2020-2023); Co-creator/lecturer/facilitator – Hate Crime/Violent Extremism Advanced Investigators Course – Ontario Police College (2016-ongoing); co-Chair of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) Research Advisory Committee (2018-ongoing); and Vice Chair of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee. She has presented on her research at a range of domestic and international academic and practitioner conferences and has briefed high level government and police officials on issues related to urban violence, hate crime, terrorism/violent extremism, and program evaluation. One of the key drivers of her work is the desire to inform effective, legally responsible and socially engaged violence-prevention policies and programs.
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Thompson also currently serves as Steering Committee Member of the International Radicalization Prevention Team (ITERP) (2018-ongoing); Academic Advisor to Yorktown Family Services/West Toronto Youth Hub (2019-ongoing); Academic Advisor to Toronto Public Health’s ongoing Community Violence Initiative examining the extent of exposure to community violence and its physical and mental health impacts in Toronto (2019-ongoing); Committee Member – Toronto Police Service Community Advisory Panel on the Collection of Race-Based Data – 2020-2023); Co-creator/lecturer/facilitator – Hate Crime/Violent Extremism Advanced Investigators Course – Ontario Police College (2016-ongoing); co-Chair of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) Research Advisory Committee (2018-ongoing); and Vice Chair of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee. She has presented on her research at a range of domestic and international academic and practitioner conferences and has briefed high level government and police officials on issues related to urban violence, hate crime, terrorism/violent extremism, and program evaluation. One of the key drivers of her work is the desire to inform effective, legally responsible and socially engaged violence-prevention policies and programs.
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