Jacob Kaplan, Founder

Dr. Jacob Kaplan founded 1930 Research LLC in 2024 to provide expert guidance in transforming complex crime data into actionable information. With a Ph.D. and M.S. in Criminology from the University of Pennsylvania, Jacob brings a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience to every project. He served on the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Advisory Policy Board (APB) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Subcommittee, where he advised on national crime data standards and recommended modifications to the FBI’s UCR data. Jacob holds a Public Trust from the United States government

Jacob authored A Criminologist’s Guide to R: Crime by the Numbers (CRC Press, 2022), a widely-used textbook introducing users to the R programming language. His technical contributions include six popular R packages, such as fastDummies(over 2.2 million downloads) and asciiSetupReader(50,000 downloads). With eight years of experience in R, he has also led numerous workshops, teaching data cleaning, analysis, and visualization skills to new users.

Jacob’s research includes policing, discrimination, and the proper use of crime data, with over a dozen peer-reviewed manuscripts published in criminology, political science, and interdisciplinary journals. His work focuses on using complex datasets to answer causal questions and drive evidence-based policy. Drawing on over 100 hours of police and corrections ride-alongs, as well as conversations with law enforcement leadership, police analsts, and civil rights advocates, Jacob brings a unique perspective to crime data analysis, ensuring his insights reflect the practical realities of the criminal justice system.

Jacob is passionate about working with clients to transform raw data into useful information, helping them address challenges, optimize resources, and achieve measurable goals.