“If punishment was the key to public safety, we’d be the safest country in the world,” said Jeffrey Butts, the director of the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “You get more public safety by working on underlying problems.” Continue reading What America’s shoplifting panic is really about
New York City’s Department of Youth and Community Development implemented three potentially effective programs to prevent violence, reduce crime, and support resident well-being. Effective evaluations rely on detailed frameworks that guide data collection, data analysis, and the interpretation of results. To design reliable evaluations of complex programs, researchers collaborate with policymakers, agency leaders, program staff, and community residents to create detailed evaluation frameworks, revising them as necessary to account for changes in policy and practice. The evaluation frameworks presented here are draft versions offered as starting points for efforts to employ evidence-based public safety strategies in New York City. Continue reading Designing Safety
“It’s not surprising to see law enforcement get more comfortable with using various technologies,” Dr. Jeffrey Butts, a professor at John Jay College in New York City said. “The concern about law enforcement would be the fairness or equity with which they use those technologies.” Continue reading Police drone use in NYC prompts questions about privacy, discrimination
Researcher Jeffrey Butts said the city should partner with a third-party to monitor and analyze the data in a way that is “systematic and unbiased.” “As long as the internal people answer to the same boss, it’s really hard to deliver bad news,” said Butts, director of the Research and Evaluation Center at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “The chief executive often hears how great things are going and never hears that there were indicators of things not going that great.” Continue reading New York City rolls out most detailed plan yet to reduce gun violence
Some experts believe sending teenagers back to adult jails isn’t a solution to the chaos at the juvenile centers. Jeffrey Butts, director of the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, thinks the city and ACS need to rethink forced confinement for young people charged with major crimes. Continue reading NYC Juvenile Detention Staffer Arrested, Fired for Sex with Teenage Detainee
Data showing Jordan and other Ohioans that their state is more dangerous on a per capita basis than New York City probably won’t change any minds, said Jeffrey Butts, a research professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Continue reading Ohio Murder Rates Far Higher Than NYC as State’s GOP Rep. Jim Jordan Slams City’s Crime Woes
