Aaron Stagoff-Belfort
Sociology
Aaron Stagoff-Belfort is a sociology Ph.D. student at the University of Chicago and a Research Assistant for the UChicago Justice Project. His research interests lie at the intersection of policing and the criminal legal system, urban sociology, and race-class inequality. He uses mixed methods to advance two related research agendas. The first investigates how policing might effect socioeconomic wellbeing and health, particularly the role policing plays in producing inequality and stratification. The second explores approaches to building safer neighborhoods without relying on punitive social control mechanisms. Both bodies of work consider the role of community and state institutions in providing security and how institutions outside of the legal system can build social cohesion and enhance community safety. Prior to coming to the University of Chicago, he worked as a Program Associate in the Redefining Public Safety Program at the Vera Institute of Justice in New York City. He received a Bachelor of Arts in the College of Social Studies at Wesleyan University.