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Michele W. Berger
Senior Science News Officer
mwberger@upenn.edu
Criminology
How data science can win the debate on police reform
How data science can win the debate on police reform
Wharton’s Dean Knox discusses his research on racial bias in policing, and how retrospective data analysis can help inform future practices.
Simple solutions reduce court no-shows, subsequent arrest warrants
Simple solutions reduce court no-shows, subsequent arrest warrants
For low-level offenses in New York City, text nudges and a redesigned summons form decreased failure-to-appear rates by about 20% and led to 30,000 fewer arrest warrants over a three-year period.
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.
Media Contact
In the News
Reuters
Special Report: As jails free thousands amid COVID-19, reform push takes root
David Abrams of the Law School weighed in on how crime rates have shifted during the pandemic. “It’s a real serious challenge to figure out because a lot of dramatic changes are happening at the same time,” he said.
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The New York Times
The pandemic has hindered many of the best ideas for reducing violence
David Abrams of the Law School said it’s hard to explain changes in the rate of violent crimes amid the pandemic. “Any theory that’s really going to be convincing has to explain this unusual pattern,” he said.
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The New York Times
GOP portrayal of urban mayhem doesn’t always match reality
David Abrams of the Law School warned that focusing on crime statistics over short periods of time, such as week-to-week rates, can be misleading. “If you look at a longer time horizon over 10 years, 20 years, 30 years. I mean, crime is down immensely from what it was in the ‘80s and ‘90s,” he said.
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Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Trying to make sense of Atlanta crime in the coronavirus era
David Abrams of the Wharton School said crime reports and arrests fell significantly in the spring amid stay-at-home orders. “If you are a criminal, you have fewer targets,” he said.
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NBC News
'A national disgrace': Holes in DNA databases leave crimes unsolved for decades
PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts commented on the use of DNA in surveillance and policing. “Because of the huge disparities and injustices in the way in which criminal laws are enforced, like rampant racial profiling by police, collecting DNA is a racist practice,” she said. “It embeds within it the racist practices for arresting people and charging them with crimes.”
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The New York Times
In the wake of COVID-19 lockdowns, a troubling surge in homicides
A database compiled by David Abrams of the Law School used mobile phone records to measure the relationship between the rise of social distancing and the decline of arrests once the pandemic began.
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