Evaluation of Reentry-Based Restorative Justice: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Detroit, Michigan, 2019-2024 (ICPSR 39600)
This project studied the capacity of family group conferencing (FGC) to enhance public safety by equipping returning citizens with the skills and insight to repair relationships and reintegrate successfully into their communities and families. FGC is guided by the philosophy of restorative justice, meaning that crime primarily causes harm to people and relationships and, in turn, creates an obligation to repair that harm. FGC brings together the people most affected by a crime to discuss what happened, learn how people have been affected, and decide what needs to be done to repair the harm.
The project evaluated an FGC program implemented by Supporting Restorative Reentry in Detroit at a residential reentry center in Detroit, Michigan. Researchers used a randomized control trial with high-risk, formerly incarcerated participants still under Michigan Department of Corrections supervision with the goal of assessing the programs ability to reduce recidivism and increase quality of life for returning citizens, their families, and their communities. Variables include measures of criminal identity, optimism, personal agency, social bonds, the FGC process, risk scores, and twelve-month recidivism follow-up. Participants' age, gender, and race demographics are also collected.
Improving Officer Decision-Making: Can Personality Predict Outcomes in Use of Force Decisions? North Carolina and South Carolina, 2018-2020 (ICPSR 38687)
The current study sought to examine the impact of select psychological, cognitive, professional experience and social network factors on police officers' decisions to use force. Additionally, the study examined the impact of a brief citizen education intervention (i.e. the completion of police officer training simulations) on citizens' attitudes toward police and use of force. All participants completed three training scenarios inside a firearms training simulator.
A sample of law enforcement officers and civilians took part in the study. Participants completed a series of questionnaires designed to measure, among other things:
- Positive and Negative Emotionality
- Need for Cognition
- Cognitive Reflection
- Professional experiences as a police officer (law enforcement participants only)
- Size of friendship networks within the workplace (law enforcement participants only)
- Perceptions of how their friendship networks would be impacted if the participant were to use excessive force (law enforcement participants only)
- Pre-post measures of attitudes toward police (civilian participants only)