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Criminology
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.
How Penn Law’s Quattrone Center works toward a fairer criminal justice system
How Penn Law’s Quattrone Center works toward a fairer criminal justice system
The national research and policy hub's goal is to increase the fairness and accuracy of the criminal justice system by preventing errors in the administration of justice..
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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