Search results

Clearance rates for most crimes have remained low and stable for decades (Braga et al., 2011), despite advances in police technologies (Koper et al., 2015). Many police agencies have developed triaging practices for criminal investigations using solvability factors to guess which cases are most likely to be solved and to allocate investigative resources to those crimes (Eck, 1983; 1992). This practice partially stems from a persistent belief that resolving crimes and the resulting clearance rates are due to circumstances of the crime and community context, and are beyond the control of police. However, a growing body of research has challenged this belief, demonstrating that enhanced investigative efforts can improve crime clearance rates beyond solvability factors (Braga and Dusseault, 2018; Lum and Wellford, 2023).

In this study, the research team sought to determine if investigative follow-ups could increase clearance rates for robbery and burglary cases (frequently occurring crime types with traditionally low clearance rates) and increase victim satisfaction with police services. Agencies selected for the study were the Seattle Police Department (SPD) in Seattle, Washington, and the Rochester Police Department (RPD) in Rochester, New York. Both agencies triaged a large proportion of robbery cases and would have a large enough sample size to successfully carry out an experiment.

The original study design was a randomized controlled trial. In both sites, robbery cases would be allocated to either the intervention condition--an investigative follow-up conducted by an officer during their daily patrol assignment--or the control condition with no follow-up. Challenges to personnel and agency funding from the COVID-19 pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, and other officer-involved deaths in 2020 led to difficulties implementing the study as initially designed. The experiment was not initiated in Rochester, and initiated but not completed in Seattle. Therefore, the team transitioned to a natural quasi-experiment design in Rochester and added a case analysis of robberies in Seattle.

This collection contains three datasets: victim satisfaction surveys from Seattle (DS1, n=39) and Rochester (DS2, n=37), and supplemental reports on follow-ups made during the Seattle experiment implementation (DS3, n=82).

The Long-Term Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) Impact Study was a pre-post, quasi-experimental study of the impact of the implementation of risk-needs assessment (RNA) and risk-need-responsivity-related (RNR) case management in 5 juvenile probation offices in 2 states. This study used 3 time points (pre-implementation, 1st year post-implementation, and 7th-year post-implementation) to examine the 7-year sustainability of impacts on system-responses (rates of informal processing, different dispositions, and out-of-home placements), youth outcomes (school and employment), and recidivism; as well as cost-effectiveness.

This study also examined whether there was a significant difference in the impacts of implementation after 7 years between probation offices that were effective versus ineffective in their first year of implementation.

The Center for Court Innovation, in partnership with independent consultants from the public defender's office of certain tribes, conducted a comprehensive survey of tribal justice system stakeholders, focused on the existing use of risk-needs assessments and similar tools, and existing data collection/technology used by tribal jurisdictions around the country. The survey results create a comprehensive portrait of tribal court system risk and need assessment, data collection, management, and challenges reported by those directly involved in managing and working with people in the system.

The Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) consisted of three key components:

1. Financial incentives to work-parents could keep more of their benefits when they worked and child care payments were paid directly to providers.
2. Participation requirements for long-term recipients--if not working full-time, long-term recipients had to participate in services designed to move them quickly into the workforce.
3. Simplification of rules and procedures-- AFDC, Food Stamps, and Family General Assistance were combined into a single program with one set of rules and procedures and one monthly payment.

MFIP began operating in April 1994 in three urban counties of Anoka, Dakota, and Hennepin and the four rural counties of Mille Lacs, Morrison, Sherburne, and Todd. Between April 1994 and March 1996, over 14,000 families were assigned at random, using a lottery-type process, to either the MFIP or AFDC systems. This package contains data files and documentation for the evaluation of the MFIP program. The program was evaluated using a random assignment design, in which applicants for and recipients of welfare were assigned at random into either the MFIP program or a control group. The included files are those that were analyzed for the final reports on the MFIP evaluation, issued in September 2000.

These data are a Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped for release, but not checked or processed.

New Chance was an intervention designed for young mothers who had first given birth as teenagers, who had dropped out of high school, and who were receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). The program was evaluated in 16 sites around the country, using an experimental research design with randomly selected experimental and control groups. The total size of the 42-month impact sample was 2,079, of which 1,401 were in the experimental group and 678 were in the control group. Those assigned to the experimental group were offered access to the New Chance program; those in the control group were excluded from the program but could pursue services elsewhere. The New Chance program was "two-generational" in its focus: it combined services to increase the employability of the young women in the program with services targeted at their children. Consequently, data on the experiences of the young women in the New Chance sample are supplemented with outcomes for a "focal child" selected from children of their own who were living with them.

The 2014 Survey of State Attorneys General (SAG) collected information on jurisdiction, sources and circumstances of case referrals, and the participation of attorneys general offices in federal or state white-collar crime task forces in 2014. White-collar crime was defined by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) as: "any violation of law committed through non-violent means, involving lies, omissions, deceit, misrepresentation, or violation of a position of trust, by an individual or organization for personal or organizational benefit." SAG sought to analyze how attorneys general offices as an organization in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories respond to white-collar offenses in their jurisdiction.

BJS asked respondents to focus on the following criminal and civil offenses: bank fraud, consumer fraud, insurance fraud, medical fraud, securities fraud, tax fraud, environmental offenses, false claims and statements, illegal payments to governmental officials (giving or receiving), unfair trade practices, and workplace-related offenses (e.g., unsafe working conditions). Variables included whether or not offices handled criminal or civil cases in the above categories, estimated number of cases in each category, and what types of criminal or civil sanctions were imposed on white-collar offenders. Researchers also assessed collaboration with partners outside of state attorneys offices, whether cases were referred for federal or local prosecution, and what circumstances lead to referring cases to state regulatory agencies. The extent to which state attorneys offices maintain white-collar crime data was also recorded.

A social work advisory group recently proposed 41 generalist-level palliative social work activities applicable to any venue, including hospital-based social work, but this applicability has not been empirically tested. The researchers used critical realist grounded theory analysis of qualitative interviews to explore whether the activities proposed by the advisory group reflect inpatient social workers' perceptions of their generalist-level palliative activities when caring for patients alongside specialist-level palliative social workers. Fourteen Masters-educated social workers from six hospitals in the state of Michigan participated.

The research demonstrated that inpatient social workers find it challenging to engage in specific generalist-level palliative social work activities; provision of generalist-level palliative services is shaped by discharge planning duties, the consultation model, and the concentrated role of specialist-level palliative social workers. Competency in cultural and spiritual aspects of care could be lacking.

This study, Evaluation of an Intensive Truancy Reduction Program (ACT) within Communities In Schools, is a within-school, student-level randomized controlled trial evaluation of an intensive truancy reduction program (ACT) through Communities In Schools (CIS), within five schools in a large urban district in the Southwest. CIS has adapted the CIS Core model for case management (Core) with an adaption of a community-based psychiatric rehabilitation treatment model and named the new model ACT.

The three-year longitudinal study, conducted during the 2016/17 - 2018/19 school years, included 2,136 6-8th grade students (1,152 ACT students and 984 Core students). Data was collected including student demographic information, implementation fidelity information, as well as baseline and outcome data related to student attendance, behavior, standardized test scores and on-track to graduate status (when applicable). Fidelity information includes the number of received CIS services by service type and overall total number of services as well as total hours of CIS services provided by student.

This research uses in-depth cases studies in five counties, combining interviews and observations, interviews with state reform leaders, and a statewide survey, to examine juvenile probation officers' use of the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) in local practice. In particular, the study assessed the form YLS/CMI policies take in local Pennsylvania counties and their consistency with the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model, the extent to which officers' routine practices align with policies and RNR principles, and how state and county factors have shaped local policies and practices. In doing so, it sought to highlight promising strategies for effective RNA implementation. Study findings describe an example of an apparently well-planned statewide effort to implement and support the YLS/CMI in local counties, involving a sustained attention to attention to training, quality assurance, and problem-solving. Local county policies, while showing some variation, focused on strategies for conducting the YLS/CMI assessment and applying its results to a variety of decisions and activities--supporting, in particular, risk and need principles. Study results further suggest a substantial statewide level of practitioner adherence to a general policy model, though this pattern was stronger for some activities than others, and varied substantially by local county. Variation in implementation across counties seemed to relate, in particular, to the extent of local quality assurance processes, leadership enthusiasm for the YLS/CMI, staff enthusiasm for evidence-based practices (with implications for training and recruitment), and organizational climate.

Communities In Schools (CIS) works to provide and connect students with integrated support services to keep them on a path to graduation. The intent of the CIS model is to reduce dropout rates by integrating community and school-based support services within schools through the provision of "Level 1" and "Level 2" services. Level 1 services are broadly available to all students or to groups of students and are usually short-term, low intensity activities or services. CIS Coordinators spend much of their time focused on more intensive Level 2 "case-managed" services, which they provide to a subset of students displaying one or more significant risk factors, such as poor academic performance, a high absentee rate, or behavioral problems.

This study was a two-year randomized controlled trial of Level-2 CIS case management, which examined service provision, student experiences and student outcomes. This trial was half of a two-pronged national evaluation, the other half was a quasi-experimental study of the whole-school model. The study evaluated 24 mostly urban, low-income secondary schools in North Carolina and Texas during the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school years; baseline data was also collected during the 2011-2012 school year. Data was collected through student surveys, school records, and CIS management information systems (MIS) data.

The data in this collection is student-level, including all information collected about students in the study sample with 613 variables and 4459 cases. The dataset includes three school years of data: baseline period (2011-2012), first year of implementation (2012-2013) and second year of implementation (2013-2014). Demographic variables in this collection include: free lunch status, special education status, employment, race, language, ethnicity, gender, household members, number of siblings, parents' education level, and grade level.

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

The purpose of the Probation/Parole Officer's (PPO) portion of the study was designed to capture work experiences, caseload, and several important issues related to information systems assimilation (i.e., work environment, caseload, technical support, system reliability and consistency, perceived usefulness of information and system, perceived ease of use, attitude toward the current GPS system and the program, intention to use, actual use, access to system, flexibility of the system to adapt to user needs, integration of information into other agency processes, quality of output, comprehensiveness of information provided, format of the system display and output provided, timeliness of obtaining the information, speed of system operation, overall satisfaction with monitoring system, training provided, value added to the officers efforts by the monitoring system, and ease of learning to use the system).

The single data file (PPO_survey_data_9182014.sav) contains 102 variables and 55 cases.

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they there received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except of the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompany readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collections and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

To assess the current practices in cold-case investigations, this study utilized a national online survey of law enforcement agencies (Cold Case Survey Data, n = 1,051) to document the range of ways in which cold-case work is conducted and assess how this organization affects cold-case clearance rates. In November 2008, the chiefs of police in the sample were sent a letter explaining the purpose of the survey and inviting them to participate. Potential respondents were directed to the web-based survey instrument through a provided web address. The results from the national survey were used to select sites for an analysis of case files. Researchers chose three jurisdictions that conducted a large number of cold-case homicide investigations: the District of Columbia, Baltimore, Maryland, and Dallas, Texas (Cold Case Homicide Data, n = 429). To these three sites, researchers added Denver, Colorado (Cold Case Sexual Assault Data, n = 105) because it had received a Department of Justice grant to conduct testing of DNA material in sexual assault cold cases. At all four sites, cold cases were examined for seven categories of data including victim's characteristics, crime context, motivation, human capital, physical evidence, basis for cold-case investigations and cold-case actions.

Prosecuting attorneys enjoy broad discretion in making decisions that influence criminal case outcomes. This study examines the impact of legal, quasi-legal, and extra-legal factors on case outcomes throughout the prosecutorial process. It then examines how prosecutors weigh these factors in their decision making and explores the formal and informal mechanisms that constrain or regulate prosecutors' decision-making.

The study examines case screening decisions, charging decisions, plea offers, sentence recommendations, and dismissals in two moderately large county prosecutors' offices. It includes statistical analyses of actual case outcomes, responses to a standardized set of hypothetical cases, and responses to a survey of prosecutors' opinions and priorities, as well as qualitative analyses of two waves of individual interviews and focus groups. It addresses the following questions:

1. How did prosecutors define and apply the concepts of justice and fairness?
2. What factors were associated with prosecutorial outcomes at each stage?
3. How did prosecutors interpret and weigh different case-specific factors in making decisions at each stage?
4. How did contextual factors constrain or regulate prosecutorial decision making?
5. How consistent were prosecutors' decisions across similar cases? What case-level and contextual factors influenced the degree of consistency?

The Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies 2 (CJ-DATS 2) was launched in 2008 with a focus on conducting implementation research in criminal justice settings. NIDA's ultimate goal for CJ-DATS 2 was to identify implementation strategies that maximize the likelihood of sustained delivery of evidence-based practices to improve offender drug abuse and HIV outcomes, and to decrease their risk of incarceration.

The Organizational Process Improvement Intervention (OPII) study (aka Assessment study) focused on implementing assessment and treatment planning processes. Screening and assessment were used to identify substance abuse-related problems and to develop programming to address the problems so identified.

The OPII study engaged corrections and treatment agencies to improve the quality of interagency communication through the effective use of assessment and case planning processes and treatment referrals. Both inter-agency and intra-agency change processes were targeted. A multi-phase implementation protocol was used, wherein agencies engaged in team development, needs assessment, planning, implementation, and sustainability in distinct steps. Early- and delayed-start sites allowed the research team to control for effects of environmental changes within states. The protocol targeted critical communications channels between otherwise often highly segregated correctional and treatment agencies.

Evaluation of the OPII used a multi-site cluster randomized design with multiple measures over the course of the intervention. Clusters consisted of a criminal justice agency and one or more community treatment providers that received referrals from that criminal justice agency. Each of the 9 centers had two clusters (one had three), and each cluster was randomized to an Early-Start or a Delayed-Start condition with multiple measures over the course of the intervention. After randomization, the Early-Start sites began the OPII, while the Delayed-Start sites conducted business as usual, without any additional intervention. After approximately 12 months, or when the Early-Start change team completed the Implementation phase, the Delayed-Start change team began to carry out the protocol.

Throughout the study period different subsets of individuals working at correctional facilities and treatment programs at the study sites were asked to complete surveys. During the Baseline period of the study survey data were collected from correctional staff, correctional directors, treatment staff, treatment directors, correctional executives and treatment executives. These data can be found in (DS1-DS12). The executive respondents provided information at the organizational level for the programs they oversaw (DS5, DS6). Next, Needs Assessments were completed by the change teams and their facilitators (DS13-DS14). The change teams and facilitators also responded to surveys on Process Improvement Planning (DS15-DS19). During the Implementation stage, surveys were administered to select substance abuse treatment programs, change team facilitators, change team members and the immediate supervisors of the change team members (DS20-DS27). Selected correctional and treatment staff members (in the Early-Start sites only) were asked to complete Follow-up surveys at the end of the OPII process (DS28-DS33). Staff members who completed surveys also provided demographic data (DS36-DS41). DS42 is a restricted use version of DS41. Change team members kept track of the time they spent on OPII activities (DS35). Change team success was evaluated by a subset of raters (DS34).

Surveys were administered at 21 study sites and there was a total of over 2,700 survey respondents.

The Comprehensive Child Development Program (CCDP) was implemented as a result of the Comprehensive Child Development Act (Public Law [PL] 100-297), originally enacted by Congress in 1988 in an effort to increase the educational potential of young children from low-income families and to decrease the likelihood that they would be caught in the cycle of poverty. The CCDP was designed to provide intensive, comprehensive, integrated, and continuous support services for children from low-income families from birth, or before, through their entrance into elementary school, to enhance their intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development. Additionally, the CCDP was designed to offer support services for parents and other household family members to enhance their life management skills and economic self-sufficiency. The Comprehensive Child Development Act also mandated that programs collect data on the individuals and geographic areas served, including the types of services provided, the estimated costs of providing comprehensive services, the types and nature of conditions and needs identified and met, and other information that may be required.

Thus, there are two components of the CCDP data collection: the Evaluation of the Comprehensive Child Development Program and the Comprehensive Child Development Program Management Information System (MIS). The families in the MIS included all CCDP families in the CCDP evaluation and all families who replaced CCDP families that dropped out of the study any time during the demonstration. More than 4,000 families participated in the CCDP study. Those that were selected were randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group.

Evaluation Data

The CCDP evaluation data are taken from parental self-report and child assessments and consist of 25 data files that can be grouped into several broad categories. Some of the data files are longitudinal in nature, that is, there are multiple observations (e.g., interviews and tests) for each family or child. Other files, however, are at the family or child level, and they contain data describing outcomes at the end of the study. The categories covered in the CCDP evaluation data files include:

• Baseline Data -- contain information from recruitment and enrollment forms on background and demographic characteristics, information on focus child birth outcomes, and the mother's behavior during the prenatal period.
• Parent/Family Data -- contain information about household composition and stability, economic self-sufficiency, maternal physical and psychological health, parenting, coping and life skills, early childhood services, health care services, and case management.
• Child Status Data -- are comprised of information related to child health status. This includes topics such as hospitalization, health problems, special health needs, learning problems, and health maintenance.
• Assessments of Child Social-Emotional Development -- contain information about adaptive and presocial behaviors for two, three, and four-year-olds, the prevalence of behavioral and emotional problems for such children, and adaptive social behavior for the five-year-olds.
• Assessments of Child Cognitive Development -- information on children's cognitive development at age two, and children's receptive vocabulary cognitive development (mental processing and achievement) at age three, four, and five.
• Parenting Measures -- are comprised of information about parenting attitudes and beliefs, the home environment for 18-, 36-, and 48-months-old children, parent-child interactions, birth-level data on risk behaviors during pregnancy, and birth outcomes for children.
• Economic Self-Sufficiency Measures -- provide information about employment, income, dependence on public assistance, and steps to employment.

Management Information System Data

For research and monitoring purposes, the CCDP mandated that all contacts and services must be recorded and entered into the management information system (MIS). The MIS was designed to monitor the nature and number of services received by families participating in each of the CCDP projects. The MIS contains both qualitative and quantitative data for CCDP families at all of the 24 project sites. MIS data is composed of 23 data collection forms spanning 4 broad categories: (1) CCDP grantee administration, (2) CCDP program descriptions, (3) CCDP family characteristics and service plans, and (4) CCDP services utilization. MIS data include information about CCDP family goals, service utilization, and program and staff characteristics.

The CCDP MIS was the primary source of the quantitative data used in the CCDP evaluation. Supplemental MIS verification data was a secondary source of qualitative information. The CCDP also collected qualitative data in the form of ethnographer reports that provide information about program characteristics, operations, implementation, service delivery, program attrition, diversity among families, and family satisfaction. Sixteen ethnographer reports were produced for each of the 24 project sites.