Criminology | Penn Today

How would the mayoral candidates get guns off New York streets?

Richard Berk of the School of Arts & Sciences said an increase in gun violence may be tied to the pandemic, which has interfered with after-school programming and slowed the legal system’s ability to process cases.

Three women wearing face masks and office dress clothes stand on a pathway with a tree full of pink flowers behind them

Hope and help for wrongfully incarcerated Pennsylvanians

With Project HOPE, President’s Engagement Prize winners Carson Eckhard, Natalia Rommen, and Sarah Simon will address the lack of support to wrongfully incarcerated people in Philadelphia and across the state.

Fingers holding a small glass vial of methadone.

Medication access for opioid use disorder lower among those in criminal justice system

Penn Medicine research finds Medicaid expansion helps increase access to medications for opioid use disorder, but limitations exist to broadening access.

Two incarcerated people seen from above and behind with their hands handcuffed behind their backs outside in a prison yard.

Annenberg researchers use data science skills for social justice

Data scientists at the Annenberg School for Communication are working with the Amistad Law Project to create an open access dashboard of data that can aid efforts to help the incarcerated communiy.

Did ‘defund the police’ lead to an increase in murder? Almost certainly not

David Abrams of the Law School said the timing of a spike in murders corresponded with changes in policing and cities lifting pandemic stay-at-home orders. “I have not seen any analysis that has found a causal link between movements to change police funding and homicide rates in major cities,” he said.

Magnifying glass on a thumbprint that is comprised of zeros and ones on a graphic background.

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.

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.

Person standing outside of a brick building, in front of a lamppost and shrubbery, arms crossed.

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.

A person with arms raised wearing a backpack at night faces the headlights of a vehicle on a city street.

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.

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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