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Criminology
Internship gives law students exposure to criminal justice empirical research
Internship gives law students exposure to criminal justice empirical research
The Quattrone Center’s inaugural summer internship program allowed students respond to calls for community reform, accountability, and justice.
Research shows substantial drop in crime during COVID-19 pandemic
Research shows substantial drop in crime during COVID-19 pandemic
Professor of law, business, and public policy David S. Abrams’ report, “COVID-19: An Early Empirical Look,” analyzes data from over 25 large cities in the U.S.
The Quattrone Center: Less argument, more truth-seeking
The Quattrone Center: Less argument, more truth-seeking
The Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice is pioneering a systemic, data-driven approach to criminal justice reform. Its executive director, John Hollway, started with the idea that the law should function more like science.
Law School hosts ‘Structural Frustrations: Challenges to Implementing Change’
Law School hosts ‘Structural Frustrations: Challenges to Implementing Change’
The second virtual event in its summer series, “A Path for Change: Policing in America” is part of a yearlong colloquium titled “Achieving Racial Justice.”
Police violence, structural racism, and the science of reform
Police violence, structural racism, and the science of reform
Co-sponsored by LDI and the Penn Injury Science Center, a virtual seminar on Policing, Race and Health: Prospects for Reform kicks off what will be a continuing series of conversations on the topic over the next year.
What the 1968 Kerner Commission can teach us
What the 1968 Kerner Commission can teach us
Criminologist and statistician Richard Berk, who worked on the report as a graduate student, explains the systemic racism and poverty found to underlie violent unrest in the 1960s and where COVID-19 and the economy fit today.
Using science to make cities safer and healthier
Using science to make cities safer and healthier
In a Q&A, criminologist John MacDonald discusses his new book, grounded in years of research on the positive effects of remediation like fixing up abandoned lots and houses.
Childhood exposure to trauma costs society $458 billion annually
Childhood exposure to trauma costs society $458 billion annually
Bureaucratic hurdles block access to treatment services, so they tend to go unused. This leads to adverse outcomes that put stress on public systems like social services and law enforcement.
Removing human bias from predictive modeling
Removing human bias from predictive modeling
Predictive modeling is supposed to be neutral, a way to help remove personal prejudices from decision-making. But the algorithms are packed with the same biases that are built into the real-world data used to create them.
Game-changing approach to a better U.S. criminal justice system
Game-changing approach to a better U.S. criminal justice system
Through its emphasis on data-driven, systemic solutions to errors afflicting the criminal justice system, the Law School’s Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice has become a national leader in reform efforts.
In the News
Philadelphia Inquirer
Too many Philly police are no-shows in court, derailing cases and undermining our justice system
Research by Sandra Mayson of Penn Carey Law, Aurelie Ouss of the School of Arts & Sciences, and doctoral candidate Linsday Graef finds that Philadelphia police officers failed to appear in 31% of cases for which they were subpoenaed between 2010 and 2020.
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Providence Journal
Do safe injection sites increase crime rates? What a study our of Brown University found
A study in collaboration with Aaron Chalfin of the School of Arts & Sciences indicates that overdose prevention centers do not lead to increased neighborhood crime rates.
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WHYY (Philadelphia)
Philadelphians hope a cleaner city will reduce gun violence. Will Oh or Parker make it a reality?
A $3 million blight reduction project in Philadelphia is informed by Penn research showing that cleaning up trash and revitalizing vacant lots can reduce gun violence rates by as much as 29%.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
There is an invisible Puerto Rican community growing in PA’s prisons
Marie Gottschalk of the School of Arts & Sciences says that prison reforms to reduce the number of people incarcerated have been minimal.
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Boston Globe
Gregg Bigda is the poster boy of police brutality in Springfield. But the city can’t—or won’t—fire him
A 2021 Penn analysis of all complaints across the Chicago Police Department revealed that on average, officers generated 1.5 total complaints and 0.2 use of force complaints in a five-year period.
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NJ.com
When a police shooting really is justified, what do we do with our pain then?
Richard Berk of the School of Arts & Sciences says that the police shooting of Estiben Alegria-Hurtado in Elizabeth, New Jersey, is a case where 20-20 hindsight can be fairly myopic.
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