Criminology | Penn Today

Philly as lab, classroom, and collaborator

Philadelphia’s rich history and forward momentum make it ripe for scientific inquiry for a number of Penn schools and departments, from urban and population studies to medicine and anthropology.

Roy Hamilton of Penn Medicine was part of a research team that looked at whether a minimally invasive brain stimulation can reduce someone's intent to commit a violent crime.

Brain stimulation decreases intent to commit assault

Research from Penn Medicine and the Criminology department shows that using minimally invasive electrical currents on the prefrontal cortex can reduce the desire to carry out such violence and increase the perception that it’s morally wrong.

A two-week summer intensive workshop run by mindCORE focused on social and behavioral sciences, and on language science and technology, included a visit to Eastern State Penitentiary.

Sharing the science behind what we do, what we say, and how we learn

Through mindCORE, a two-week undergrad program through Arts and Sciences, faculty from eight departments and five schools explore the mind and the brain via disciplines like behavioral science and language acquisition.

Wrongful convictions reported for 6 percent of crimes

For capital crimes like rape and murder, wrongful convictions happen in about 3 to 5 percent of cases. Such an estimate had proved elusive for the prison population as a whole—until now, thanks to work from Penn criminologists.

Rebecca Umbach, a fourth-year doctoral student in the department of Criminology at Penn

Short-term effects of Daylight Saving Time

Assaults decrease by 3 percent the Monday after the switch to Daylight Saving Time in the spring, according to research from Penn criminologists.

Vacant lot remediation work from Penn and Columbia researchers found that cleaning up blighted spaces could reduce crime and make neighborhoods safer.

Cleaning up vacant lots makes neighborhoods safer

Removing trash and debris, grading land, planting new grass, and maintaining lots resulted in a 29 percent reduction in gun violence, 22 percent decrease in burglaries, and 30 percent drop in nuisances.

Low-cost solutions reduce court no-shows by 36 percent

Streamlining information on a summons form and sending simple text message reminders led to some 31,000 fewer arrest warrants.

In Philadelphia, intimate partner violence more likely in dating relationships

Not only that, but current boyfriends and girlfriends were more likely than current spouses to injure their victims.

Reversing the negative psychological effects of prison through mindfulness

Some combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness training can reverse the toll prison can take on a person’s cognitive abilities and impulse control in just four months.

The challenge: Create a tool predicting where crime will happen

The idea that machine learning can aid in the enforcement of the law inspired a competition held by the National Institute of Justice. Using five years of data from the city of Portland, Ore., a team led by criminologist Charles Loeffler tied for first in the Large Business Division.

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