Testimony to the New York City Council

Reducing delinquency and youth violence among justice-involved young people is a complicated business. Public safety is best protected when youth justice providers work with young people in their own communities, and when the efforts of courts and children’s services are coordinated with prevention agencies, schools, social services, neighborhood organizations, and faith-based groups. Continue reading Testimony to the New York City Council

Foreign Affairs

Jailhouse Blues Nicaragua’s Take on Prison Reform by Jennifer Peirce In 2013, a group of men incarcerated at Nicaragua’s La Modelo prison started a Facebook page. The page, which they maintained via contraband cell phones, began as an effort to publicly document the usually hidden details of their daily lives: bruises from beatings by guards and fellow inmates, emoji-studded and sentimental messages to their wives … Continue reading Foreign Affairs

Violent Crime Rates in U.S. Cities with Populations over 500,000: 1985-2015

Data Source: Violent crimes reported to the Uniform Crime Reports program, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice, as prepared by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data and disseminated by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington, DC (www.ucrdatatool.gov) for 1985-2012 as well as data obtained directly from FBI reports for 2013, 2014 and 2015 (preliminary 6-month 2015 figures weighted to represent 12 months). … Continue reading Violent Crime Rates in U.S. Cities with Populations over 500,000: 1985-2015

Cursing the Darkness

  Jeffrey A. Butts October 18, 2015 Researching the effectiveness of social policies is like pointing a flashlight inside a dark room. You can can only see what passes through the beam of light. Depending on the size of the room and the power of the beam, you may learn relatively little about the entire room. And, whoever holds the flashlight controls what you can … Continue reading Cursing the Darkness

New York City Gun Violence: 2004-2014

Shootings per 1,000 population by Sheyla Delgado, Kevin Wolff, and Jeffrey Butts Research & Evaluation Center July 28, 2015 With funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the New York City Council, the Research & Evaluation Center at John Jay College is conducting a program of studies known as NYC Cure. One study involves a partnership with the Center for Court Innovation (CCI) … Continue reading New York City Gun Violence: 2004-2014