Kristin Elink-Schuurman-Laura

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Areas of Expertise

Efficacy of Forensic Evidence | Forensic Databases | Criminal Investigations

Education

Ph.D., University of New Haven, Criminal Justice, 2017
M.S., Florida Gulf Coast University, Criminal Forensic Studies, 2012
B.S., Florida Gulf Coast University, Criminal Forensic Studies, 2009

Contact

Office: PCA-251B
Phone: 305.348.0419
Email: kelinksc@fiu.edu

Biography

Dr. Kristin Elink-Schuurman-Laura is an assistant teaching professor in FIU’s Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice who specializes in forensic evidence and criminal investigation. Dr. Elink-Schuurman-Laura’s Ph.D. in Criminal Justice is from the University of New Haven and her dissertation focused on the efficacy of CODIS, AFIS, and NIBIN. While completing her degree, Dr. Elink-Schuurman-Laura was the Senior Research Associate for an NIJ funded research project that focused on forensic evidence efficacy.

Dr. Elink-Schuurman-Laura also holds BS and MS degrees in Criminal Forensic Studies from Florida Gulf Coast University. While at FGCU, Dr. Elink-Schuurman-Laura was the Project Manager for the Radford/FGCU Serial Killer Database, one of the largest non-governmental serial killer databases in the world. While obtaining her MS, Dr. Elink-Schuurman-Laura held volunteer positions in the Florida Emergency Mortuary Operations Response System (FEMORS), as well as the NCIC Cold Case and Missing Persons Task Force. As a graduate assistant, she was also in charge of administering and supervising several forensic science classes, including criminalistics and crime scene processing classes.

Select Publications

Kringen, J. A., Sedelmaier, C. M., & Elink-Schuurman-Laura, K. D. (2017). Assessing the relevance of statistics and crime analysis courses for working crime analysts. Journal of Criminal Justice Education28(2), 155-173. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511253.2016.1192211

Schroeder, D. A., & Elink-Schuurman-Laura, K. (2017). The impact of forensic evidence on arrest and prosecution. National Criminal Justice Reference Service, Office of Justice Programs. https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/250721.pdf