Criminology

Videotaping interrogations in Pennsylvania

The Quattrone Center has released “Videotaping Interrogations in Pennsylvania,” the first study to review Pennsylvania interrogation practices.

From Penn Carey Law

Abandoned house repairs reduced nearby gun violence

Installing working windows and doors, cleaning trash, and weeding at abandoned houses led to safety improvements and should be considered in efforts to create healthy communities, according to researchers from University of Pennsylvania and Columbia.

Kelsey Geesler

Despite lower crime rates in 2020, risk of victimization grew

Research out of Penn and the Naval Postgraduate School found that early in the pandemic the possibility of getting robbed or assaulted in a public place in the U.S. jumped by 15% to 30%, a rate that has stayed elevated since.

Michele W. Berger

Crime and the scientific method

The multidisciplinary faculty in the Department of Criminology harness diverse methodologies to improve public safety and inform policy and planning.

Blake Cole , Michele W. Berger

Well water, lead, and the link to juvenile delinquency

Research from Penn and other universities found that, compared to children with municipal water, those relying on private wells in the U.S. had a 21% higher risk of being reported for any delinquency and a 38% increased risk of being reported for serious delinquency after age 14.

Michele W. Berger



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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