Our Research

Our Research Aims

Understand the effects that changes and reforms in criminal justice organizations have on the community and the employees within those organizations.

Assess the innovative ways that governments, nonprofit organizations and communities aim to enhance public safety outside of traditional reliance on the criminal justice system.

Redefine what constitutes evidence in the justice sector, incorporating both empirical data and lived experience.

Our Research Portfolio

Civil Summons Enforcement Project

This project seeks to understand the nature, prevalence and patterns of civil summons in New York City.

Assessing Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement

This study employs an experimental design and mixed methods (interviews, surveys, virtual reality simulations and administrative data) to evaluate peer intervention training in policing.

Evaluating the Community Immersion Program

This research evaluates the implementation and effectiveness of a Community Immersion Program for police cadets in San Antonio, focusing on changes in perceptions, enhanced understanding and knowledge acquisition.

The Impact of Police Use of Force on Voter Turnout

This project explores whether repeated geolocated use of force incidents in New Jersey suppress or mobilize voter turnout.

Justice and Technology Initiative

This initiative examines the role of emerging technologies—such as predictive and AI-driven tools—within the justice system on law enforcement practices and community safety.

Increasing Participation in a Pre-Trial Alternative-to-Supervision Program

This study evaluates the effectiveness of different recruitment strategies (ranging from calls and texts to in-person contact) for an alternative-to-supervision initiative, called ATLAS in New York City.

Replicating a Procedural Justice Supervisory Approach

This project tests whether a “light touch” procedurally just approach to incident debriefs between police supervisors and officers impacts police use of force and arrests.

Past Projects

Analyzing the effects of police body-worn cameras on arrests , use of force and perceptions of officers and the community
Assessing whether traditional police accountability mechanisms (like civilian oversight boards ) impact police outcomes
Identifying how police engage youth in police-youth programs, the challenges in doing so and the benefits thereof
Unpacking the effects of contact with the juvenile justice system on youth academic and behavioral outcomes
Examining collaboration and community-engagement efforts in public safety professions (including police, fire and emergency medical services)
Analyzing organizational strategies that hinder or promote workplace retention , burnout and resilience in public safety professions
Investigating how race and gender impact policing outcomes with the public (e.g., use of force , arrest and citizen complaints ) and internally in the department (e.g., police culture and officer experiences )