“Unfortunately, Raise the Age came into being just before the entire world of crime and justice changed in 2020 and 2021. If you just look at recidivism without accounting for that general environmental disruption, you’re not conducting research — you’re counting stuff. … But, to draw causal inferences that way is irresponsible.” Continue reading Debate over ‘Raise the Age’ lingers as juvenile gun cases soar
Democrats should cue up a more enlightened sequel full of popular ideas that will make communities safer without resorting to simply locking more Americans up. Think summer jobs for teens. Think funding for drug rehab centers. And yes, maybe think about more money for better-trained police. Continue reading Slate Magazine — It’s Time for a New Crime Bill
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 analyzed emails from admission departments in response to inquiries about how a felony record would affect admissions decisions. Results from multivariate models indicate that the institution type (public vs. private) significantly predicts how an IHE would use an individual’s criminal history in admissions decisions. Public IHEs are less likely to consider criminal history when reviewing an individual’s application and IHEs with higher proportions of minority students are associated with reduced consideration of an applicant’s criminal history in admissions decisions. Continue reading Going Back to College? Criminal Stigma in Higher Education Admissions in Northeastern U.S.
As one state wrestles with the effects of trying juvenile defendants in adult courts, others reconsider the practice. Continue reading The Atlantic — Treating Young Offenders Like Adults Is Bad Parenting
Reducing youth crime is a complicated business, and I think we all know that it takes more than punishment. If it were possible to stop crime by simply increasing punishment, we would certainly know it by now. Continue reading Statement of Jeffrey A. Butts to the New York Commission on Youth, Public Safety and Justice
Butts, Jeffrey A. (2012). Transfer of Juveniles to Criminal Court is Not Correlated with Falling Youth Violence. Research and Evaluation Data Bits [2012-05]. New York, NY: Research and Evaluation Center, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. Since the 1990s, nearly every state in the U.S. expanded its provisions for transferring juveniles to criminal court, especially provisions that do not require judicial … Continue reading Transfer of Juveniles to Criminal Court is Not Correlated with Falling Youth Violence
