ICT, Research and Teaching for Criminal Justice Practitioners Dr Joel Miller School of Criminal Justice Rutgers-Newark

Introduction

Questions What research methods are important to teach to CJ practitioners / future CJ practitioners? How does the teaching of these methods prepare students for the practice of CJ? How does ICT support or impact the teaching of these methods?

Outline Evidence-based criminal justice policy-making Teaching practitioners to use evidence in policy-making Technology and teaching 3 examples Conclusions

Evidence-based criminal justice policy-making

Evidence-based policy-making (EBP) Shift towards evidence-based policing-making (especially from 1990s) Reflects broader shifts in public policy-making Inspired, in part, by federal assessment of “what works” in addressing crime and offending (Sherman et al., 1997) Influenced by innovations in criminal justice strategies for addressing crime and offending behavior

Problem-oriented policing Key principles Shift from traditional policing philosophy Police officers to focus on key problems of concern Address underlying problem causes Systematic analysis of data to understand problems Use of data to evaluate and refine response SARA model Goldstein (1990)

Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model Corrections systems (e.g. prison, parole, probation) to target effective methods of rehabilitation Measure the risk posed by system clients of recidivism, and respond proportionately (uses actuarial methods) Measure criminogenic needs of system clients (e.g. criminal peers, antisocial attitudes, antisocial Target services at key criminogenic needs with effective services (e.g. cognitive behavioral programs) Bonta and Andrews (2007)

Technology and EBP Shifts in technology have supported evidence-based approach   Computerization of criminal justice system records (i.e. electronic administrative data) Data relates to case management, services, crime and recidivism Facilitates generate, sharing and analysis of data Other advances: Analytical software – notably Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Online survey tools

Teaching practitioners to use evidence in policy-making

Teaching practitioners Research and statistical skills Bivariate and multivariate data analysis Data collection and measurement Evaluation methods Planning skills Interpreting prior evaluation literature Designing mechanisms, Use of logic models A “problem-solving” approach Influenced by “Action Research” model (Lewin1946) Practitioners or policy-makers as participants/partners in research to develop policies/practices

Steps in problem-solving Specification of problem/issue Research/data analysis to describe and understand problem Review of prior interventions Design of intervention of policy or practice Implementation Evaluation Refinement, in response to evaluation evidence

Examples of problems Particular types of crime, delinquency or disorder Policies or actions of justice officials Offender recidivism Street crime Domestic violence Graffiti etc. Jail overcrowding Racial profiling by police Serving mental health needs among jail inmates etc.

Technology and teaching

Technology and teaching Technologies for use in teaching echo those that support EBP in criminal justice previously described (computerization of records, analytic software, online data collection tools) Three examples: Using criminal justice data from online archives Use of GIS using available data Online surveys

Example 1: Online crime/criminal justice data archives

Student projects using data from online archives Patterns and predictors of recidivism among probationers Prison suicide Patterns of motor vehicle theft Patterns of drug abuse School bullying and cyberbullying

Example 2: Mapping with GIS

Mapping with GIS Environmental features of a Brazilian favela Miller and De Souza (2012)

Mapping with GIS Homicides in a Brazilian favela, 2000-2006 Miller and De Souza (2012)

Mapping with GIS Crime hotspots in Newark, 2008 Miller, Caplan and Ostermann (2016)

Example 3: Collecting data with web-based survey tools

Online survey tools

Online survey tools Compliance with risk assessment (community corrections staff)

Conclusions

Conclusions Evidence increasingly important in CJ policy-making and practice Educating current/future practitioners may best emphasize a problem solving / “action research” approach (rather than traditional academic model) Technological innovations that support evidence-based policy-making also support teaching methods, including Electronic data on crime and justice issues Analytic software, such as GIS Web-based data collection tools

ICT, Research and Teaching for Criminal Justice Practitioners Dr Joel Miller School of Criminal Justice Rutgers-Newark