Lum named 2023 Distinguished Scholar by the American Society of Criminology Division of Policing

Cynthia Lum, Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society and director of George Mason University’s Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy, has been named the recipient of the 2023 Distinguished Scholar Award from the American Society of Criminology’s (ASC) Division of Policing. 

The award recognizes an established academic/researcher whose outstanding contributions to the field of policing either consists of a single outstanding work, a series of theoretical or research contributions, or the nominee’s accumulated scholarly contributions. 

“I am thrilled that Cynthia has received this recognition,” said James Willis, Criminology, Law and Society department chair. “Cynthia is at the vanguard of the movement to ensure that scientific evidence gets a seat at the table of police policy and practice. As a scholar and researcher, she has made important contributions to knowledge about what works in making policing more effective and fairer, and as director of the internationally recognized Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy, she has been instrumental to disseminating high quality scientific research and fostering closer researcher-practitioner partnerships. She has received many awards and prizes over the course of her distinguished career, and this honor is equally well deserved."

Lum was nominated for the award by former students and David Weisburd, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society and executive director of the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy. “Professor Lum is one of the most important police researchers in the field,” he said. “Her work has contributed to a wide range of knowledge about the police, but she has made particularly seminal contributions in the area of evidence-based policing. She not only contributes to the science of policing, but she has ‘made the scene’ of policing in a way that few police scholars have. Her work, which is widely cited, has also had tremendous influence on the reality of policing in the field.”

Kiesong Kuen, doctoral candidate in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society, also received a 2023 ASC Award—the Outstanding Student Article Award—for his article titled "What Makes Police Officers Resist Research and Evidence-Based Policing? Examining the Role of Organizational and Environmental Factors." This award is given to a single outstanding paper on the topic of policing written by a student enrolled in a recognized PhD program. 

Lum and Kuen will be honored at this year’s ASC annual meeting in Philadelphia during the Policing Division’s annual reception and awards ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 16.