Justin Escamilla, Deputy Chief Administrator

Justin brings over 7 years of applied research and program evaluation experience within the public safety and criminal justice sectors to his role at COPA. He started at COPA in 2022 as Deputy Chief Administrator of the Policy, Research, and Analysis Division, where he provides senior-level research, analysis and policy direction in identifying patterns of misconduct, practices that contribute to it, and recommendations to reduce it.

He previously served in a leadership role within the research unit of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority leading a team of researchers in developing processes, methods, and reports that analyzed criminal justice and community data on violence and disadvantage, evaluated the implementation and impact of community programs, and supported data-driven decision-making about grants. Prior to that, Justin contributed to local and national police research efforts on trust and legitimacy as a researcher at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Justin received his undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and his doctorate in Criminology, Law, and Justice from the University of Illinois at Chicago.