Christopher Inkpen

Christopher Inkpen is a research sociologist and demographer at RTI with quantitative analysis, machine learning, and demographic and population estimation techniques expertise. Dr. Inkpen works on various projects and initiatives, including the Integrated Dynamic Risk Assessment for Community Supervision. This project develops a novel algorithm that examines the time-specific risk of arrests for probationers and parolees in Georgia and incorporates dynamic risk and protective factors.

He also works on the Community Supervision Evaluation Partner project, funded by Arnold Ventures, which examines the impact of legislative reforms on community supervision populations. In addition, he led the public opinion poll and survey analysis efforts for national and site-specific surveys on criminal justice reform for the Evaluation of the MacArthur Foundation Safety and Justice Challenge. For the Evaluation of the West Harlem Reentry and Restoration Project, Dr. Inkpen led the outcome analysis of the program, including conducting quantitative studies and developing field surveys, focus groups, and qualitative interviews. He also manages the data management processes for the National Evaluation of the Arnold Public Safety Assessment Tool, which aims to promote safety and justice.

Before arriving at RTI in 2017, Dr. Inkpen was a Data Science Fellow at WaterSmart Software, a firm that uses technology solutions that aid water utilities communicate better with consumers. He was also an advanced analytics intern at the Pew Research Center, where he authored several publications and designed data visualizations using Tableau, R, and CartoDB. He is a member of the American Society of Criminology, American Probation and Parole Association, the American Correctional Association, and the Population Association of America. He is fluent in Spanish and programming languages like R, Python, Stata, and SPSS.

Some of Dr. Inkpen’s notable publications include How Long is Long Enough: Using Abbreviated Criminal Histories for Pretrial Assessment Instruments?, The Utility of Drug Testing for Probation Risk Classification and Differences in Time to Reported First Arrest by Race, National Origin, and Immigrant Generation: A Test of Assimilation Theories.