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Over- and under-policing of neighbourhoods can undermine public trust and confidence in the police as well as the broader justice process. This study reports on attempts to operationalize and test a spatial indicator of potential over- and under-policing, where over-policing is defined as a level of police presence at a particular location that is greater-than-expected, given the level of public demand for police services, current police enforcement strategy, and community preference regarding police activity. Automated Vehicle Locator data and Computer-aided dispatch logs from the Seattle Police Department, as well as data drawn from community-based surveys, are modelled using a Geographic Information System. The model uses 2-week data windows to provide timely and actionable information that can be rendered for decision makers in a CompStat style accountability and management forum. Such an approach has potential utility for police management, as well as for community engagement and reform efforts aimed at addressing the problem of over-policing.

While research on Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) has been conducted on issues ranging from quality, process, and effectiveness, gaps remain. Social science researchers have raised issues regarding decisions by IRBs applied to the social sciences based on biomedical research. To date, little is known about the experience of social scientists in criminology and criminal justice with IRBs and this research seeks to fill this gap. An online survey, including open- and closed-ended questions drawn from the validated IRB-Researcher Assessment Tool, was administered to members of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and the American Society of Criminology about their experiences with IRBs. Results revealed that researchers report experiencing challenges with their IRBs including timeline delays of their research, bias against their research, and decisions that protect legal liability rather than human subjects ethics. Recommendations for improving IRB reviews of protocols and challenges unique to criminology and criminal justice are discussed.

With increasing numbers of women entering and exiting prison, gender-responsive services are needed to address unique challenges women face when reentering society. Seattle Women’s Reentry (SWR), a...

In 2014, the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (WSCJTC) shifted from a paramilitary “warrior”-style training to a guardian model focused on community participation, social justice, procedural justice, and de-escalation and crisis intervention skills. The current study examines the effects of crisis intervention team (CIT) training components in the WSCJTC guardian curricula. A quasi-experimental pre-/post-survey design was employed comparing responses from a sample of 139 WSCJTC Basic Law Enforcement Academy (BLEA) recruits who completed BLEA in 2015 with two comparison groups—(1) 296 BLEA graduates who completed training prior to implementation of the guardian training who had no prior CIT training and (2) 851 BLEA graduates who completed training prior to implementation of the guardian training who had prior CIT training. Additionally, the study examined the effects of a WSCJTC’s 40-hour CIT training through a pre-/post-survey of 78 law enforcement personnel who completed the voluntary 40-hour CIT in-service training. Significant training effects were observed for the 8-hour and 40-hour CIT training programs. Results offer support for continued implementation of the 8-hour CIT training component in BLEA and the 40-hour CIT training. Implications for continued improvements to law enforcement training are discussed.

Criminologists and correctional administrators are continuously interested in understanding criminal career trajectories, including desistance, particularly to further develop correctional programming. One program that seeks to promote successful reentry by triggering desistance for youth and adults is the IF Project, founded in 2008 in Washington State. A central component of the IF Project program requires participants to write narratives that ask them to reflect on their journey to crime and to think about what they would have needed to break away from their criminal career trajectory. This research reports on a content analysis of 171 of these writings by adult prisoners in Washington State. Results from the content analysis reveal distinct and overlapping themes for both men and women that highlight the identity change process. Research and policy implications are discussed.

Objective: to study the features of misdemeanor arrests, charges, referrals, and case dispositions of behavioral crisis-flagged incidents in the largest city in the US north-west – Seattle. Methods: the study employs a quasi-experimental design to examine misdemeanor arrests, charges, referrals, and case dispositions of behavioral crisis-flagged incidents to better understand how individuals who are experiencing behavioral crisis are processed through the misdemeanor justice system. A sample of 505 cases of behavioral-crisis flagged incidents in Seattle from 2016-2018 are compared with a matched random sample of 1053 non-crisis cases examining similarities and differences in arrest, referral, charges, and case disposition. Results : misdemeanor offenses often involve individuals experiencing behavioral crises such as mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction, and homelessness. Little is known about how individuals in behavioral crisis arrested for misdemeanors are processed through the criminal justice system. In 2015, the Seattle Police Department implemented a Crisis Intervention Policy that employed a crisis template enabling systematic identification of incidents flagged by law enforcement as involving “behavioral crisis” to improve data collection and police response to incidents involving individuals in behavioral crisis. Implications for crisis intervention, case processing, and managing individuals who commit misdemeanors while in behavioral crisis are discussed. Scientific novelty: for the first time, the work substantiated the conclusion that individuals involved in crisis-flagged incidents are arrested at a consistently higher rate; are more likely to be charged, taken into custody, and incarcerated; and are more likely to be female. Practical significance: the main provisions and conclusions of the article can be used in scientific, pedagogical and law enforcement activities when considering the issues related to prevention and elimination crimes.

Little is known about the experiences and career trajectories of women working in the criminal justice field. Criminal justice, particularly law enforcement, has historically been largely a male-do...

With thousands of ex-offenders entering communities every week, reentry is at the forefront of agendas for legislators and correctional administrators. The IF Project, founded in 2008 in Washington...

Purpose This study utilizes data from two research initiatives – Seattle Police Department's Micro-Community Policing Plans and the Research Network on Misdemeanor Justice to explore the relationship between misdemeanor arrests and fear of crime in Seattle. Method Data collected on Misdemeanor arrests is compared with Seattle Public Safety Survey annual data from 2016 to 2018 from 19,103 respondents on community perceptions of fear of crime, social cohesion, informal social control, social disorganization, and police legitimacy at the micro-community (neighborhood) level in Seattle's five Police Precincts. The extent to which neighborhood perception of fear of crime is impacted by misdemeanor arrests, demographic characteristics, and community perceptions of social disorganization, social cohesion, informal social control, and police legitimacy across Seattle's precincts and neighborhoods is examined. Results Results show that at the citywide level, fear of crime is associated with gender (female), marital status (married), age (older), race/ethnicity (minority), education (less), and income (higher) and perceptions of high social disorganization, low social cohesion, and high informal social control. At the neighborhood level, a significant difference was found between some Seattle neighborhoods grouped by High Fear of Crime-Low Misdemeanor Arrest, Low Fear of Crime-High Misdemeanor Arrest, Low Fear of Crime-Low Misdemeanor Arrest, High Fear of Crime-High Misdemeanor Arrest showing distinct profiles with respect demographic characteristics and ratings on aspects of neighborhood public safety. Conclusions Implications for directing police resources city services that are directed toward both crime incidence and community perception to improve public safety are discussed.

Much of the literature on reentry of formerly incarcerated individuals revolves around discussions of failures they incur during reintegration or the identification of needs and challenges that they have during reentry from the perspective of community corrections officers. The present research fills a gap in the reentry literature by examining the needs and challenges of formerly incarcerated individuals and what makes for reentry success from the perspective of correctional practitioners (i.e., wardens and non-wardens). The views of correctional practitioners are important to understand the level of organizational commitment to reentry and the ways in which social distance between correctional professionals and their clients may impact reentry success. This research reports on the results from an email survey distributed to a national sample of correctional officials listed in the American Correctional Association, 2012 Directory. Specifically, correctional officials were asked to report on needs and challenges facing formerly incarcerated individuals, define success, identify factors related to successful reentry, recount success stories, and report what could be done to assist them in successful outcomes. Housing and employment were raised by wardens and corrections officials as important needs for successful reentry. Corrections officials adopted organizational and systems perspectives in their responses and had differing opinions about social distance. Policy implications are presented.

The accumulation of anecdotal accounts of copycat crime suggests that popular culture plays an important role in some instances and aspects of criminal behavior. However, there is little empirical research specifically examining the copycat effect on criminal behavior. Questions remain regarding the nature and extent of copycat crime, cultural influences that shape the copycat effect, the role and relevance of popular culture as a motivating factor for criminal behavior, and issues the copycat phenomenon raises for legal determinations of criminal responsibility. This paper reviews the research literature and contemporary case examples of copycat crime with attention to the influence of mass media technology on criminal behavior, the mechanisms of media-mediated crime, and the relevance of understanding the copycat phenomenon for determinations of criminal responsibility in insanity cases. An integrative theoretical model of copycat crime is proposed, a methodological framework for empirically investigating copycat crime is presented, and practical implications for understanding the role of the copycat effect on criminal behavior are discussed.

This chapter reflects on the ways in which traditional mixed-method research designs can capture the spirit of criminological Verstehen and the ethnographic method. Experiences are offered to illustrate successes and failures in attempts to incorporate the ethnographic lens in prison and reentry-based research. Challenges are raised in incorporating elements of ethnography in traditional mixed-method designs including maintaining boundaries while listening to and treating people with respect as human beings, struggles with prison security issues and logistics, research ethics, developing trust as an outsider, and the difficulties in measuring phenomenological experience through the traditional research process. The importance of incorporating methodological creativity to employ ethnography-infused mixed-method research designs to ensure that the human element of crime and justice research is not lost in the distance that is created by jailhouse criminology is discussed.

Over the past several decades, all facets of institutional and community corrections have been growing. This growth has resulted in increased numbers of ex-offenders reentering society. While research has emerged on reentry, much of the research has focused on examining reentry failure as opposed to reentry success. Interviews of 40 ex-offenders and community corrections officers were conducted in Washington State to pinpoint what is needed to assist ex-offenders as they reenter society--particularly as it relates to substance abuse and mental health treatment. Results from interviews revealed that ex-offenders need assistance to address substance abuse and mental health issues while incarcerated and in the community. Interview results indicated that lack of access to treatment providers or quality treatment to assist ex-offenders are key hindrances identified by ex-offenders in the reentry process. Policy implications of the results are provided Keywords: Reentry, Ex-Offenders, Success, Community Corrections Officers, Substance Abuse, Mental Health, Narrative Analysis Research on offender reentry over the past thirty years has demonstrated that offenders' ability to reintegrate successfully is hindered by numerous obstacles such as difficulty in obtaining employment, acquiring housing, and being admitted to higher education (Allender, 2004; Cowan & Fionda, 1994; Delgado, 2012; Gunnison & Helfgott, 2013; Harlow, 2003; Harris & Keller, 2005; Hunt, Bowers, & Miller, 1973; James, 2015; Nagin & Waldfogel, 1998; Paylor, 1995; Rodriguez & Brown, 2003; Starr, 2002; Whelan, 1973) along with serious social and medical problems (Petersilia, 2003). Newly released offenders encounter stigmatization (Bahn & Davis, 1991; Funk, 2004; Steffensmeier & Kramer, 1980; Tewksbury, 2005), lose social standing in their communities (Chiricos, Jackson, & Waldo, 1972), and are in need of social support (Cullen, 1994; La Vigne, Visher, & Castro, 2004; Lurigio, 1996) and substance abuse and mental health treatment (Gunnison & Helfgott, 2013; James, 2015; Mallik-Kane & Visher, 2008; Petersilia, 2003). Substance abuse, in particular, not only plays a pivotal role in the onset of criminal involvement for many offenders, it also poses a significant hurdle to reentry success for ex-offenders--especially since offenders suffer from substance abuse or dependence at higher rates than those in the general U.S. population (Solomon, Osborne, LoBuglio, Mellow, & Mukamal, 2008; Travis, Solomon, & Waul, 2001; Wodahl, 2006). Travis and colleagues (2001) estimate that up to 75% of all ex-offenders have a history of substance abuse or addiction. It is also estimated that two-thirds of individuals in the criminal justice system have a substance abuse problem and are in need of treatment services (Taxman, Young, Wiersema, Rhodes, & Mitchell 2007). It is clear that for ex-offenders reentering society from jails or prisons or who are serving sentences, such as probation in the community, need assistance beyond having their basic needs met (i.e., housing, food, and employment). One critical key to their successful reentry is obtaining substance abuse treatment. Unfortunately, many ex-offenders suffer from co-occurring problems such as mental illness which further stymies their ability to successfully reintegrate back into society. Persons with mental illness are overrepresented in jails and prisons. A 2006 Bureau of Justice Report on mental health problems of prison and jail inmates found that an estimated 56% of state prisoners, 45% of federal prisoners, and 64% of jail inmates had mental health problems (James & Glaze, 2006). It is estimated that of those incarcerated 6-8% have a serious mental illness in state prisons, 7.2% suffer from serious mental illness in jails, and many more that have had contact with the criminal justice system but were not incarcerated suffer from mental health problems (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2008). …