A world-renowned expert in geographic information systems and crime analysis will give a presentation Friday, Dec. 7, on the impact that different types of hotels and motels have on crime levels in surrounding areas.

Dr. Jim LeBeau, a professor in the Center for the Study of Crime, Delinquency, and Corrections at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, will present “Sleeping with Strangers: Crime and Disorder in Hotels and Motels” at 2 p.m. Friday in the Arkla Room (Room 119) of Ross Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Jeff Walker at 501-569-3083.

“Jim LeBeau’s research is a critical part of the advancements in research concerning neighborhoods and crime in the past 20 years,” Walker said. “His work in geographic information systems as well as neighborhood and crime characteristics have made him internationally recognized in this area.”

LeBeau uses a broad-based approach to understanding crime in neighborhoods that includes social factors, economic factors, and political factors, among others. He has traveled to Japan to study the geography of correctional institutions in that country and worked in his university’s artificial intelligence lab to learn about neural networking algorithms.

Through his research, LeBeau has explored the spatial and temporal rhythms of violence and calls to the police, the relationship between heat stress and domestic disputes, and the spatial-social environmental impacts of police sting operations.

LeBeau’s talk is part of the Sheriff Orval Walker Lecture Series presented by the UALR Department of Criminal Justice. Earlier presentations have included Dr. Matthew Lee of Louisiana State University, who discussed the connection between violence and public health.

UALR’s Sheriff Orval Walker Lecture Series honors a police officer of Mena and sheriff of Polk County. He was one of the first American paratroopers, serving in the 501st Airborne Division and was on Omaha Beach on D-Day. He died last August at the age of 92. He is the father of Dr. Jeffrey Walker, chair of UALR’s Department of Criminal Justice, whose family created the lecture series in his memory.