All Work Products, Corrections, Douglas Evans, Gina Moreno, Jeffrey Butts, JohnJayREC Products, Justice Policy Reform, Kevin Wolff, Monographs, Policy & Practice Reforms

Easily Overstated

by JohnJayREC
Easily Overstated

Policymakers, advocates, and even some researchers claim that youth confinement rates across the United States dropped in recent years due to changes in policy and practice. Such claims remain unproven, but voters and elected officials are inclined to accept them as factual because they are offered by reputable agencies and repeated in news media sources. Without reliable evidence, however, the notion that state-level youth confinement rates fall primarily in response to progressive policy reforms is merely appealing rhetoric.

Community Interventions, Evaluation, Gina Moreno, Jeffrey Butts, JohnJayREC Products, Monographs, NYC Mayor's Action Plan, Sheyla Delgado

Opinions and Perceptions of Residents in New York City Public Housing

by JohnJayREC
Opinions and Perceptions of Residents in New York City Public Housing

As part of an evaluation of the New York City Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP), researchers from John Jay College of Criminal Justice collaborated with survey specialists from NORC at the University Chicago to collect data from two probability samples of residents in public housing developments in New York City. One sample of residents came from communities involved in the MAP initiative. A second sample was from statistically matched housing developments not involved in MAP.

Data Analysis, Data Bits & Research Briefs, Jeffrey Butts, JohnJayREC Products

Older Adults Responsible for Total Growth in Drug Arrests

by JohnJayREC
Older Adults Responsible for Total Growth in Drug Arrests

The entire increase in drug crime arrests during the past decade was due to growing numbers of arrests involving adults ages 25 and older. Youth under age 18 and even young adults under age 25 were far less likely to be arrested for drug crimes in 2018 than any time in the past two decades.

Press Coverage

Twin Cities Pioneer Press: Treating Violence like a Contagious Disease? Some Think this Might be the Way

by JohnJayREC
Twin Cities Pioneer Press: Treating Violence like a Contagious Disease? Some Think this Might be the Way

As Jeffrey Butts, director of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice research and evaluation center in New York City, noted four years ago, “the public health approach of [Cure Violence] CV currently merits the label ‘promising’ rather than ‘effective.’” “CV, however, offers something to communities that other well-known violence reduction models cannot,” he added. “It is potentially very cost-efficient, and it places less demand on the political and administrative resources of law enforcement and the larger criminal justice system. "

Data Bits & Research Briefs, Jeffrey Butts, JohnJayREC Products

Youth Still Leading Violent Crime Drop: 1988-2018

by JohnJayREC
Youth Still Leading Violent Crime Drop: 1988-2018

Based on the latest statistics compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the national violent crime arrest rate declined 38 percent overall between 1988 and 2018, but the steepest declines were observed among youth ages 10 to 14 (–53%) and 15 to 17 (–54%). The arrest rate for 18-20 year-olds dropped 47 percent while the arrest rates for adults ages 21-24 and 25-49 declined 42 percent and 23 percent, respectively.

Articles, Kevin Wolff

Assessing the Efficacy of Alternatives to Incarceration within Seven Federal Districts

by JohnJayREC
Assessing the Efficacy of Alternatives to Incarceration within Seven Federal Districts

Though alternatives to incarceration (ATI) courts have existed in the state system for 30 years, such courts are a relatively new phenomena at the federal level. We assess the impact of participation in an ATI program on a number of outcomes using a quasi-experimental matching design. Results suggest that defendants who successfully completed an ATI program were employed a greater percentage of the days, and received favorable case dispositions and less severe sentences.

Press Coverage

After Mass Shootings, Trump says Prosecutions for Firearms Offenses hit Record in 2018

by JohnJayREC
After Mass Shootings, Trump says Prosecutions for Firearms Offenses hit Record in 2018

In October 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it had “smashed records” by charging more than 15,300 defendants with federal firearms offenses, 17 percent more than the previous record. The press release from the Justice Department didn’t cite the year or number for the previous record, and we were unable to reach a Justice spokesperson by deadline.