Current Research
My current work focuses on crime and violence against older adults including the impact of ageism on responses to criminal victimization, animal cruelty issues, and collaborations with community partners. Examples of these projects are listed below.
Responses to intimate partner and family violence against older women
This National Institute of Justice-funded study is examining responses to intimate partner and family violence against older women including police reporting, police responses, and use of services. The project started January 2022 and was completed in 2025.
I presented select findings from this project on intimate partner homicide at the 2023 National Research Conference for the Prevention of Firearm-Related Harms and the 2024 National Research Conference for the Prevention of Firearm-Related Harms. Patterns of police reporting and response from this project appear in a 2025 Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice article.
Animal cruelty crimes reported to police
This ongoing work is in partnership with colleagues at the Animal Welfare Institute to explore animal cruelty crimes reported to police including arrest patterns and co-occurring offenses. Findings on co-occurring offenses appear in the Journal of Criminal Justice Policy and summarized in a 2022 LSE American Politics and Policy blog. Our 2024 study examines the link between animal cruelty and domestic violence. This work appears in the Journal of Family Violence.
Community partnerships
Partnering with community and non-profit partners is an important part of my work as a researcher.
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I continue to collaborate with the Animal Welfare Institute in a range of roles including ad-hoc research projects that explore animal cruelty crimes (as noted above). Since 2023, I have served as a data consultant for AWI's Center for the Study of Animal Cruelty Data.
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In Spring 2022, I was appointed by DC Mayor Bowser to serve as the Public Safety Domain co-chair for the Age-Friendly DC Task Force, and I continue to serve in this role.
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From 2019-2022, I partnered with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to support their analysis of attempted child abductions by strangers.
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Open Access publications (freely available)
Addington, L.A. & Randour, M.L. (2024). Using National Incident-Based Reporting System Data to Explore Animal Cruelty Incidents That Occur with Intimate Partner and Family Violence: A Brief Report. Journal of Family Violence.
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Highlights from this research appear in The Conversation in a discussion of arrests in domestic violence cases when pets are abused.
Additional peer-reviewed publications and references
For a list of my peer-reviewed publications and references, see my Google Scholar page or contact me.