TCNJ

39 SPRING 2021 thing and drilling down as much as possible and getting into as many minutiae as you can," he says. "But there's something to be said about being well rounded and well informed about the justice system because you don't know when your knowledge of one area of the system may come in handy on your current research." After arriving at TCNJ in 2014, Mazeika began inviting interested students to join his research projects, from helping conduct intake inter- views with the Trenton Violence Reduction Strategy initiative to studying how technology that picks up the sound of gunshots can help map unreported gun crime. Bruce Stout, professor emeritus and past chair of TCNJ's criminology department, praises the way Mazeika's research is frequently centered in the public sphere. Stout successfully spearheaded efforts to redefine the department's professional standards to recognize impactful public research alongside more traditional academic publishing. Mazeika's work, including the recent collaboration with the Asbury Park Press, is exactly what Stout had in mind when he pushed for the change. "Dave's the embodiment, in my view, of what a real-world criminol- ogist should do — his work is focused on improving the justice system, and therefore the quality of life for every- one," Stout says. After the police pursuit story appeared in the newspaper, Stout met Mazeika for lunch; instead of simply describing his own role in the project, Mazeika also talked about guiding his students through the research process. "I thought, 'That is exactly what we should be doing: getting students involved,'" Stout says. "What makes TCNJ unique is there is a focus on this kind of thing. We talk all the time about the teacher-scholar role. This is how it should live. You get students involved. And Dave always does that." Before graduating last year, Scales made a point to thank Mazeika. Participating in the police pursuit research, along with Mazeika's crime mapping class, helped Scales discover a passion for criminology that would lead him to a job as a mission support specialist with the New Jersey State Police, which he started in September 2020. And making headlines elevated the students' experience even more. When the story hit the paper, Scales bought a copy to share with his mother. Stack's grandmother marveled at seeing her granddaughter's name in print. For Stack, the feeling of seeing her work as part of something with such wide impact was "humbling." "It's just surreal," she says. "Being here at TCNJ, I think sometimes people assume because it's a smaller school you're not going to get those same big opportunities — but, if any- thing, I've gotten way more than I ever anticipated." ■ Liz Leyden is a writer in New Jersey. New Jersey Trooper Christopher Scales died in the line of duty in 2002.

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