Dr. Hamilton’s research centers on innovation in risk and needs assessment development. Specifically, Dr. Hamilton works directly with adult corrections and juvenile justice agencies to create assessments that are optimized for their agency’s needs. These state-of-the art assessment tools are administered in dozens of states, hundreds of times a day, assisting correctional practitioners by guiding the provision of interventions and programming to improve the lives of those incarcerated and in the community. He has published over 50 journal articles, chapters, and books on risk and needs assessment, evidence-based practices, and correctional program efficacy.

In 2026, Dr. Hamilton received the Distinguished Scholar Award from the American Society of Criminology’s Division on Corrections and Sentencing. His work developing risk-needs assessments was also recognized with the Division’s 2023 Marguerite Q. Warren and Ted B. Palmer Differential Intervention Award.