By Eric Ruble
(Photo: Corran Bellman)
At the USC Price School of Public Policy, students at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels work with faculty to conduct research with practical results for the real world. Corran Bellman knows his contributions can create positive change. The second-year master’s of public policy student is currently working alongside faculty researchers at two of USC Price’s 15 research centers – the Safe Communities Institute (SCI) and the Homelessness Policy Research Institute (HPRI) – to provide solutions for society’s most vulnerable communities.
Building a robust database with national impact
Bellman’s work in SCI focuses on the new LEWIS Registry, the nation’s first unified database tracking police misconduct. Launched in May 2021, the registry intends to include all U.S. law enforcement officers who have resigned or have been terminated due to misconduct.
Bellman is currently combing through data, ensuring the all of the information in the registry is accurate and attributed to proper sources. In many cases, that entails verifying a former officer’s termination or resignation with local or national news sources.
Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, the need for a nationwide record of law enforcement accountability became clear, and the LEWIS Registry is filling that gap. Bellman said he is excited to be part of a landmark project in its early stages.
“Coming to Price was the perfect fit for me and the logical next step because it gave me the opportunity to focus on quantitative data analysis and things that I wasn’t as comfortable with,” he said.
Bellman is working under Professor Erroll Southers, the director of SCI. Southers has done extensive work analyzing the criminal justice system, homegrown violent extremism and school violence prevention. In addition to launching the LEWIS Registry, he has published major research on a number of topics since arriving at USC in 2003, including examinations of active shooter incidents and counterterrorism. Bellman looks forward to expanding his interests by studying the work of Southers and other experts involved with SCI.
“I wanted to learn more about some of the real policy efforts that have been undertaken in the vein of police reform,” Corran said of working with Southers. “I’m also really interested in violent extremism, which SCI also does work on.”
Continuing work in homelessness research
Bellman came to Price because of the School’s reputation of driving meaningful change. “One of the things that drew me to Price and – I think – draws other people to Price is the focus on real policy solutions,” he said.
He chose to conduct research at the HPRI because their focus allows him to build upon work he began as an undergraduate. When he was earning his bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Bellman studied homelessness in Los Angeles County.
“[HPRI] gave me the opportunity to continue that kind of work,” he said.
HPRI is housed within the Sol Price Center for Social Innovation and accelerates solutions for homelessness in L.A. County by conducting high-impact research, advocating for evidence-based approaches and engaging government leaders.
Bellman said he wants his work to translate to material policymakers can use when developing solutions.
“I’m really trying to figure out what is being done here. What are some of the serious policy efforts realistically being implemented?” he said.
Moving toward a meaningful career
Bellman is driven by the principle that concrete evidence can supply policymakers with the data they need to advocate for change. He fully intends for the projects he is working on to provide those in power with usable information.
“There’s always room for extensive research on a policy issue or problem, but I’m really trying to focus on what has been done [and] what is being considered,” he shared.
Bellman is unsure whether he wants to go into the public or private sector upon graduation next year, but he intends to pursue a career in emergency response or national security. Regardless of the path he chooses, he knows it will involve a key part of the USC Price mission: bettering communities through hands-on problem solving. With extensive, varied research in his arsenal, he will be well prepared to tackle that challenge.