Quality youth justice systems (a) limit the use of confinement to cases where it is objectively necessary, (b) ensure the health and safety of all confined youth, (c) provide effective treatments and developmentally appropriate programming, and (d) continually monitor and evaluate their effectiveness. These goals apply to all forms of secure confinement regardless of financing or organizational configuration.
Evans, Douglas N., Jason Szkola, and Victor St. John (2019). “Going Back to College? Criminal Stigma in Higher Education Admissions in Northeastern U.S.” Critical Criminology, First Online: April 10, 2019. Abstract Access to education is a constant theme in discussions germane to correctional reform, particularly to reduce rule breaking while incarcerated and re-offending after release from prison. Focusing on the latter, we examine the extent to which education is accessible for individuals who have felonious non-violent records in the United States (US). We generated a stratified random sample of 85 institutions of higher education (IHE) in the northeastern US and…
Evans, Douglas (2019, forthcoming). Journal of Experimental Criminology, March 2019, online first Objectives Research has considered the effect of convictions on employment and housing outcomes, but there are limited studies exploring how criminal justice contact affects the initiation of relationships. This study uses an experimental design to explore how people react to criminal stigma in the context of online dating. Methods Female online dating profiles were created using pre-rated, open access photographs of women that varied in race (Black, White, Latino). These three profiles comprised the control condition. The experimental condition consisted of the same exact three profiles with one…
This study uses latent class analysis to examine adverse childhood experience (ACE) typologies among a large sample of justice-involved Florida youth between ages 10 and 18. Multilevel, multinomial logistic regression is used to assess the relationship between individual- and community-level factors and class membership.
Using data from a large sample of adjudicated juveniles in Florida, this study examines the mediating effects of drug and alcohol use, mental health problems, and their co-occurrence on the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and recidivism.
Policymakers and practitioners in the justice sector should consider evaluation research as a portfolio of strategic investments in knowledge development. Randomized controlled trials are merely one asset in a broader investment strategy.
This study uses the audit method to examine the effects of race, gender, and criminal history on housing outcomes. Testers, exhibiting characteristics suggestive of race and gender and disclosing one of three offenses, placed phone calls to rental property owners across the Midwest to inquire about renting a property. We found powerful negative effects for those with a criminal record seeking apartments, regardless of whether the offense was sexual or drug-related.
Davis, Rindcy E. and Douglas N. Evans (2018). Associations Between Mass Incarceration and Community Health in New York City. Public Health, 161: 43-48. Incarceration has escalated over the past four decades in the United States, creating a number of negative consequences for individuals, families, and communities. This study seeks to identify the associations between mass incarceration and health behaviors/perceptions on a neighborhood level. Using the street intercept method, we collected in-person survey data from residents in two New York City neighborhoods (one in the South Bronx and the other in Northern Manhattan) with similar levels of social disadvantage but significantly…
Michelle Cubellis, Douglas N. Evans, and Adam G. Fera (2018). Sex Offender Stigma: An Exploration of Vigilantism against Sex Offenders. Deviant Behavior, published online before print, January 2, 2018. The current study compiles open-source news reports involving vigilantes who targeted individuals because of their status as a sex offender (SO) or their suspected involvement in a sex offense. The Sex Offender-Vigilante database includes 279 separate incidents of vigilantism against SOs, ranging from the dissemination of unsanctioned fliers to murder. Results indicate that the stigmatization that convicted SOs experience is so pervasive that it extends even to individuals suspected of having committed…
Reducing the stigmatization of formerly incarcerated individuals is important because if they view themselves positively, it can improve their reentry and life trajectory.
Demonstrates methods of using propensity score matching for an impact analysis of the Cure Violence Public Health Model in Philadelphia.
New York City’s Stop-and-Frisk program has been a contentious police practice for more than 40 years. There is extensive research that examines attitudes toward the police; however, empirical research has yet to analyze citizens’ perceptions of stop-and-frisk.