Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons^™

Breaking Point: Exploring Side Bets, Support, And Pension Investment As Predictors Of Turnover Intention In Urban Policing, Kenneth M. Quick, Kevin T. Wolff

Publications and Research

Guided by Becker’s side-bet theory, this study examines turnover intentions among officers in the New York City Police Department by assessing pension investment and affective commitment as accumulated organizational “side bets,” alongside job satisfaction, perceived organizational support, and workplace conditions. Data was drawn from an online survey of 1,454 officers. Population weights based on gender, race/ethnicity, and rank were applied to improve representativeness. Weighted multinomial logistic regression models examined predictors of turnover intention, while second-difference tests of average marginal effects (AMEs) assessed whether workplace factors operated differently across tenure groups. Results indicate that perceived organizational attitudes and workplace conditions significantly …

Examining Whether The Relationships Between Specific Psychiatric Diagnoses And Both Adolescent Suicide And Reoffending Are Moderated By Sex, Michael T. Baglivio, Katherine Jackowski, Brooke Neupaver, Grayson Black, Bailee Perry, Kevin T. Wolff

Publications and Research

The current study examines the relationships between specific psychiatric diagnoses and both adolescent suicide and reoffending, the implications of adverse childhood experiences on these outcomes, and assesses whether these relationships are moderated by sex. Using a multilayer multiyear statewide sample of 6,515 adolescents who completed juvenile justice residential placements, logistic regression and moderation models were used to examine these relationships. Findings demonstrate that the rate of suicidal ideation was 2.5 times higher for female youth, while the recidivism rate was 1.7 times higher for males. Psychiatric diagnoses prevalence ranged from 65.9% for conduct disorder to less than 1% for personality …

When Disaster Strikes Y’All Street: A Study On Cross-Sector Collaboration In Protecting U.S. Financial Critical Infrastructure, Rachael A. Zerr, John Friedlander

Publications and Research

This exploratory research examines public-private collaboration between corporate security leaders and local emergency responders in the North Texas financial corridor known as “Y’all Street.” Using perception-based survey data from senior representatives in the private and public sectors, the paper evaluates partnership strength, preparedness activities, information sharing, and operational coordination. Findings indicate that collaborative practices such as facility tours, joint exercises, and emergency planning are present, but that partnership maturity remains uneven and is not yet fully standardized across the corridor. The research concludes that more formalized and institutionalized coordination will be necessary to strengthen resilience as the region’s financial significance …

Community-Level Analysis Of Anti-Asian Hate Crime, Jisoo Cho, Jinuk Jeong, Christopher Han-Fai Seto

Publications and Research

Motivated by the surge in anti-Asian hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study examines the community characteristics associated with the likelihood of their occurrence from 2020 to 2023 through interracial conflict and social disorganization perspectives. Analyzing data from the New York City Police Department and the American Community Survey across 2,198 census tracts, we find that communities with higher levels of Asian population, racial heterogeneity, and residential instability have higher odds of experiencing anti-Asian hate crime. However, concentrated disadvantage and defended neighborhoods (White, Black, and Hispanic) are not significant across all estimated models. These findings have important implications for …

Testing Routine Activity Theory: Behavioural Pathways Linking Temperature To Crime, Christopher Thomas, Jinuk Jeong, Kevin T. Wolff

Publications and Research

This study examines direct observations of outdoor routine activities to investigate the pathways through which temperatures shape crime. Daily administrative records of crime, weather, and outdoor activity were assembled from 2015 to 2019 in New York City. Mediation analysis (with bootstrapped standard errors) reveals that alterations in routine activities account for a statistically significant, yet modest, proportion of temperature’s relationship with homicides, shootings, assaults, larceny, and public consumption violations. The comparable mediation effects across violent and nonviolent crimes support routine activity theory as an explanatory framework for understanding temperature's impact on crime. The measures introduced here offer a novel approach …

Holiday Chaos To Corporate Crisis: A Lesson From Christmas Vacation In Executive Protection, Rachael A. Zerr

Publications and Research

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) may be best known for its holiday humor, but it also inadvertently highlights critical issues in corporate security and executive protection. Through the kidnapping of Clark Griswold's boss, Frank Shirley, the film illustrates the vulnerabilities faced by high-net-worth individuals and executives. This paper draws parallels between the fictional events of the film and real-world cases of executive kidnapping and violence, emphasizing the need for robust security measures. It discusses modern executive protection strategies, including risk assessments, real-time monitoring, and cybersecurity, and highlights the role of technology in mitigating threats. Ultimately, this paper argues that as …

Mass Exodus? Police Officer Turnover Intention And Organizational Commitment In New York City, Kenneth M. Quick, Kevin T. Wolff

Publications and Research

Purpose – This study assesses the relationship between job satisfaction, perceived organizational support, and workplace factors on officer turnover intention within an urban, municipal police organization.

Design/methodology/approach – Using data from an online survey of New York City Police Officers (n=1,823), both bivariate analysis and logistic regression models were utilized to assess the salience of police officer job satisfaction, perceived organizational support, and perception of six workplace domains, including financial compensation, environmental factors, professional fulfillment, work/quality of life balance, treatment from management, and occupational risk on predicting turnover intention.

Findings – The cross-sectional study finds that job satisfaction, financial factors …

Past And Present Of The Cvs: Empirical Research And Evidence-Based Policy, Kevin T. Wolff

Publications and Research

In this keynote address, I emphasized the critical role of accurate crime measurement in developing evidence-based policies. I discussed the "dark figure of crime," highlighting how many crimes go unreported, and stressed the importance of victimization surveys in uncovering these hidden crimes to provide a more complete picture of criminal activity.

I also explored how technological advancements, particularly AI, are transforming how we collect and analyze crime data. While AI offers significant benefits in predictive policing and resource allocation, I cautioned about the risks of bias and privacy issues that must be managed carefully.

Regional collaboration, standardization, and inclusivity are …

Racial Disparities In New York City Civil Summonses, 2019-2022, Stephen Koppel, Anna Stenkamp

Publications and Research

The purpose of this study is to assess racial and neighborhood disparities in civil summonses issued by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) under the Criminal Justice Reform Act (CJRA). The report serves as a companion to a parallel study of criminal summonses. The New York City Council commissioned both reports in March 2021 as part of the Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Plan. The goals of this plan included increasing public safety, while reducing racial disparities in law enforcement and mitigating potential adverse effects of over-policing on low-income communities.

Racial And Neighborhood Disparities In New York City Criminal Summons Practices, Anna Stenkamp, Michael Rempel

Publications and Research

The purpose of this study is to assess trends in criminal summons practices by the New York City Police Department (NYPD), including if and how they disproportionately impact low income and/or Black and Brown communities. The New York City Council commissioned the study as part of the Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Plan. Approved March 2021, the goals of this plan were both to document and ameliorate policies and practices that have led to historic injustices and over-policing of low-income New Yorkers and communities of color.

Assessing Progress In Reducing Racial Disparities In New York City Law Enforcement, 2013-2022, Stephen Koppel, Michael Rempel

Publications and Research

As part of New York City's Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Plan, this study assesses overall trends and racial disparities from 2013 to 2022 in four law enforcement practices: (1) pedestrian stops, (2) desk appearance tickets, (3) arrests, and (4) prosecutions by district attorneys.

Evaluating The Impact Of Desk Appearance Ticket Reform In New York State, Olive Lu, Michael Rempel

Publications and Research

This report addresses the extent to which reform led more people charged with low-level offenses to return home swiftly after an arrest, avoid overnight detention, and limit unnecessary system contact. We focused solely on misdemeanors and Class E felonies where the specific charge is subject to a mandatory DAT (excluding domestic violence, sex offenses, and select other charges) and the individual has not failed to appear in the past two years. Thus, we excluded most cases where police officers retained discretion; however, the data could not isolate all carve-outs, such as people who cannot prove their identity, appear to need …

Does New York's Bail Reform Law Impact Recidivism? A Quasi-Experimental Test In The State's Suburban And Upstate Regions, René Ropac

Publications and Research

This is the third report in Data Collaborative for Justice's Bail Reform and Recidivism Series. The study builds upon two previous reports examining the impact of bail reform on recidivism in New York City. This study estimated the impact of New York's bail reform on recidivism in the State's suburban and upstate regions. We compared re-arrest rates for people who had bail set or were remanded at arraignment in the first half of 2019 (before bail reform) with similar people who were released without bail in the first half of 2020 (after bail reform).

Examining The System-Wide Effect Of Eliminating Bail In New York City: A Controlled-Interrupted Time Series Study, Stephen Koppel, René Ropac

Publications and Research

This builds upon the initial report in the Data Collaborative for Justice's Bail Reform and Recidivism Series - Does New York's Bail Reform Law Impact Recidivism? A Quasi-Experimental Test in New York City. Using controlled-interrupted time series analysis (CITS), this follow-up study estimated effect of New York's initial reform on recidivism in New York City by comparing re-arrest rates between bail-ineligible versus bail-eligible offenses before and after the reforms.

A Statewide Analysis Of The Impact Of Restitution And Fees On Juvenile Recidivism In Florida Across Race & Ethnicity, Alex R. Piquero, Michael T. Baglivio, Kevin T. Wolff

Publications and Research

Whether the imposition of monetary sanctions is related to juvenile recidivism is explored overall and across race and ethnicity. Leveraging a statewide sample, logistic regression was used to predict fees and restitution assignment based on youth/case characteristics, hierarchical linear and logistic random-effects regression examined the association between neighborhood characteristics with fees and restitution, and propensity score matching examined whether fees and/or restitution are related to reoffending. No race/ethnic differences were found in the proportion of youth receiving court fees, yet when fees were administered both black and Hispanic youth received higher fees. Neighborhood characteristics have minimal impact on whether (or …

Weird Winter Weather In The Anthropocene: How Volatile Temperatures Shape Violent Crime, Christopher Thomas, Kevin T. Wolff

Publications and Research

Purpose: Current evidence suggests volatile temperatures are becoming more common because of climate change and can be expected to become even more frequent in the future. By focusing on recent temperature variability, we attempt to estimate one important dimension of the impact of climate change on violent crime. We also explore whether sudden upward temperature anomalies have stronger positive impacts on violent crime in the coldest months of the year, as routine activities are likely to change more drastically during this period.

Methods: This study explores the association between sudden temperature anomalies (both upward and downward) and the daily incidence …

Dynamic Risk Trajectories, Community Context, And Juvenile Recidivism, Kevin T. Wolff, Michael T. Baglivio, Jonathan Intravia

Publications and Research

Purpose

While the implementation of risk assessment has expanded, the extent to which there are different trajectories of risk/protective factors among adjudicated youth during supervision in the community remains unanswered. The goal of the current study is to identify the distinct trajectories in dynamic risk and protective factors among youth on probation and assess whether different patterns in risk over time are associated with continued offending.

Method

Group-based trajectory modeling is used to identify distinct trajectories across multiple domains of risk/need. The individual- and neighborhood-level factors associated with these trajectories are then explored, prior to examining their relationship to continued …

Testing The Waters: An Investigation Of The Impact Of Hot Tubbing On Experts From Referral Through Testimony, Jennifer T. Perillo, Anthony D. Perillo, Nikoleta Despodova, Margaret Bull Kovera

Publications and Research

Objective: The present research examined whether concurrent expert testimony (“hot tubbing”) and court appointed testimony reduced adversarial allegiance in clinical experts’ judgments compared with traditional adversarial expert testimony. Hypotheses: We predicted Hypothesis 1: Defense experts would render more not responsible judgments and lower ratings of criminal responsibility than would prosecution experts; Hypothesis 2: Adversarial allegiance effects on experts’ judgments would be heightened for adversarial experts and attenuated for concurrent experts over time; Hypothesis 3: Adversarial and concurrent experts would report higher dissonance than would court-appointed experts and adversarial experts’ ratings would increase over time, concurrent experts’ ratings would decrease, and …

The Internet Never Forgets: Image-Based Sexual Abuse And The Workplace, John Schriner, Melody Lee Rood

Publications and Research

Image-based sexual abuse (IBSA), commonly known as revenge pornography, is a type of cyberharassment that often results in detrimental effects to an individual's career and livelihood. Although there exists valuable research concerning cyberharassment in the workplace generally, there is little written about specifically IBSA and the workplace. This chapter examines current academic research on IBSA, the issues with defining this type of abuse, victim blaming, workplace policy, and challenges to victim-survivors' redress. The authors explore monetary motivation for websites that host revenge pornography and unpack how the dark web presents new challenges to seeking justice. Additionally, this chapter presents recommendations …

Immigrants And Crime, Daniel L. Stageman

Publications and Research

The gap between public perception of immigrant criminality and the research consensus on immigrants’ actual rates of criminal participation is persistent and cross-cultural. While the available evidence shows that immigrants worldwide tend to participate in criminal activity at rates slightly lower than the native-born, media and political discourse portraying immigrants as uniquely crime-prone remains a pervasive global phenomenon. This apparent disconnect is rooted in the dynamics of othering, or the tendency to dehumanize and criminalize identifiable out-groups. Given that most migration decisions are motivated by economic factors, othering is commonly used to justify subjecting immigrants to exploitative labor practices, with …

Anti-Lgbtq Hate: An Analysis Of Situational Variables, Jill Kehoe

Publications and Research

The current study aimed to augment the scant body of literature on anti-LGBTQ hate by providing an in-depth examination of anti-LGBTQ hate incident situational characteristics including offender substance use, number of offenders, crime location, and victim-offender relationship. Analysis of situational dynamic variables provided support for the notion that anti-LGBTQ hate is a distinct type of criminal incident. Significantly increased levels of offender substance use, crimes perpetrated by multiple offenders, crimes perpetrated by acquaintances, and crimes taking place in open spaces substantiates the theory that anti-LGBTQ hate is qualitatively unique, typified by different characteristics than other forms of crime. The data …

Did Juvenile Domestic Violence Offending Change During Covid-19?, Michael T. Baglivio, Kevin T. Wolff, Joan A. Reid, Sherry L. Jackson, Alex R. Piquero

Publications and Research

The current study adds some of the first light into the initial impacts of the largest global health crisis in a generation on family and domestic violence, the long-term repercussions of which may take decades to unpack. Statewide trends in juvenile arrests for domestic violence (DV)-related offending are examined, taking into account school closures for in-person learning in March 2020 and the subsequent mandate for an in-person learning option in Florida in August 2020. Additionally, trends by sex, race/ethnicity, and severity of the offense are examined. Contrasting with growing studies demonstrating an increase in DV-related arrests among adults, we find …

Improving Law Enforcement’S Victim-Centric Responses To Sexual Assault: Global Best Practice Catalog, Ayesha Ashraf, Sebastián Galleguillos Agurto, Frederick Geyer, Kamela Gjoka, Jasmine Hwang, Stanley Montinat, Jessica Moor, Pierre Reyes, Tara Ventimiglia, Hongda Xu

Publications and Research

This catalog was compiled as part of a U.S. State Department Diplomacy Lab Project entitled “Improving Law Enforcement’s Victim-Centric Responses to Sexual Assault,” in fall semester of 2019, for American Citizens Services, US Embassy Bangkok. It is intended to cover best practices in law enforcement response to sexual assault across the globe, including laws, policies and programs.Ten multilingual graduate students in the capstone seminar of the Master of Arts Degree Program in International Crime and Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY) established criteria for inclusion and standardized elements for each entry in this catalog. The ultimate aim …

Racial Disparities In The United States Criminal Justice System: “With Liberty And Justice For All?”, Remi Alapo, David Rockefeller

Publications and Research

Racial discrimination remains a prevalent issue in the contemporary U.S. despite efforts to promote equality. Many young African American and Hispanic males are easy target for law enforcement agents. Minorities experience a higher and more unfair form of racial discrimination, racial profiling, police brutality, unfair sentencing, and mass incarceration for offences which are the same or less than those committed by White males. The rate of incarceration in the United States is five to eight times higher than most developed countries, and Black males constitute the largest percentage of inmates in the U.S. prison system. Once arrested, Black Americans are …

An Information Theory Approach To Hypothesis Testing In Criminological Research, Gohar A. Petrossian, Mike Maxfield

Publications and Research

Background: This research demonstrates how the Akaike information criterion (AIC) can be an alternative to null hypothesis significance testing in selecting best fitting models. It presents an example to illustrate how AIC can be used in this way.

Methods: Using data from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, we test models of place-based predictor variables on street robbery and commercial robbery. We build models to balance explanatory power and parsimony. Measures include the presence of different kinds of businesses, together with selected age groups and social disadvantage.

Results: Models including place-based measures of land use emerged as the best models among the set of …

Geografía Abolicionista Y El Problema De La Inocencia, Ruth Wilson Gilmore

Publications and Research

Resumen:

En el presente artículo se analizan las geografías carcelarias en los Estados Unidos, desde el despliegue del capitalismo racial. La geógrafa afroamericana parte de la tesis de que las prisiones contemporáneas son extractivas, es decir, extraen personas y, cuando, en el mejor de los casos, no hacen parte de los altos índices de las muertes prematuras, las expulsan al mundo sin el derecho a ser ellas, dinámica que estimula la circulación rápida de flujos de dinero. Frente a esta topografía anuladora de la vida, la también activista afroamericana reflexiona sobre su experiencia en contra del complejo militar carcelario, el …

Book Review: Rethinking Prison Reentry: Transforming Humiliation Into Humility, Joni Schwartz

Publications and Research

Review of the book:

Gaskew, T. (2014). Rethinking prison reentry: Transforming humiliation into humility. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. ISBN: 978-0-7391-8312-0.

Prospective Prediction Of Juvenile Homicide/Attempted Homicide Among Early-Onset Juvenile Offenders, Michael T. Baglivio, Kevin T. Wolff

Publications and Research

While homicide perpetrated by juveniles is a relatively rare occurrence, between 2010 and 2014, approximately 7%–8% of all murders involved a juvenile offender. Unfortunately, few studies have prospectively examined the predictors of homicide offending, with none examining first-time murder among a sample of adjudicated male and female youth. The current study employed data on 5908 juvenile offenders (70% male, 45% Black) first arrested at the age of 12 or younger to prospectively examine predictors of an arrest for homicide/attempted homicide by the age of 18. Among these early-onset offenders, males, Black youth, those living in households with family members with …

Perspectives On Crime And Justice: Selected Speeches, Jeremy Travis

Publications and Research

"The speeches in this volume are the record of a consummate policy artist operating from the remarkable platform that John Jay College of Criminal Justice was, and that [President Jeremy Travis] evolved it to be, during his tenure. "If you agree with me that the time for reform is now", Travis put to a conference hosted by the Ford Foundation in the context of bringing college education to prisons, "then the question is how to make the convincing argument, how to mobilize the political forces that will make this dream a reality". It is, I think, the defining passage in …

Crime In Developing Countries: The Contribution Of Crime Science, Mangai Natarajan

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.