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In order to investigate whether reductions to sentence length reduce recidivism and its related costs, the research team conducted two studies under the same NIJ grant.

In Study 1, the research team used a quasi-experimental approach to examine how sentence length influenced time to rearrest. Specifically, the team estimated an instrumental variable hazard model using variation stemming from the implementation of South Dakota's Public Safety Improvement Act of 2013 (SB70). SB70 was a major sentencing reform that reduced the likelihood of incarceration and the length of sentence for certain non-violent offenses. The legislation was a response to high rates of incarceration and rising criminal justice costs with a particular focus on addressing individuals convicted of non-violent offenses. The goal was to improve public safety while reducing corrections spending. For grand theft below $5,000 and third-degree burglary, the reform reduced the severity of the felony class and the maximum allowed sentence length by 50% to 80%. Only certain offenses were subject to sentencing reductions such that unaffected offense types were included in the analysis as a comparison group.

In Study 2, the research team applied the logic of recurring event hazard models that predicted the probability of events over time with two distinct objectives: to identify desisters and to estimate the impact of life events on the longitudinal pattern of offending. Administrative data from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (NCDPS) Division of Adult Correction were obtained to answer this research question. The team connected commonly used trajectory models to recurrent event survival models.

This collection contains only syntax files and documentation that were created for Study 1 (South Dakota). The P.I. codebook reflects the dataset that was created for analysis, though the data are not available. Please refer to the User Guide for more information. While Study 2's (North Carolina) methodology is described, please note that, excluding the NIJ Final Report, no Study 2 materials are available through ICPSR.

This project was centered on the apparent tension between keeping schools safe and keeping students attached to school. The project used comprehensive administrative data from the North Carolina public school system available through the North Carolina Education Research Data Center (NCERDC).

This dataset, along with juvenile court record data and publicly-available data from the North Carolina adult criminal justice system, linked administrative information from the same individuals in both school disciplinary records and the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems. The ultimate goal of this project was to determine if different policy choices by schools causally decrease rates of in-school violence in the short run and/or increase rates of conviction and incarceration in the long term.

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.

This study examines criminal background checks that were carried out by the New York State Department of Health (DOH) for individuals with criminal history records who have been provisionally hired to work as unlicensed direct care employees in the long term care industry. These individuals applied for jobs in this industry for the first time in 2008 and 2009.

This information was then augmented with criminal history information provided by the NY Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS).

The collection contains 1 Stata data file (Criminal_background_check.dta (n=7209; 40 variables)).