The U.S. justice system continues to grapple with racial and ethnic disparities in its outcomes. Findings from studies of juvenile justice, policing, pretrial and bail decisions, sentencing, and corrections consistently indicate inequities in the experiences of Black, Native American and Indigenous, and Hispanic American people in the criminal justice system compared to those of White people.
The fundamental question that connects the work of researchers to that of policymakers and practitioners is, “What can we do to mitigate system-wide disparities?”
Join the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy at George Mason University and the WestEd Justice & Prevention Research Center (JPRC) for the second in our ongoing series of engaging online conversations that will use scientific evidence to explore this critical issue.
Our first event, held on January 12, 2021, discussed the evidence behind police training innovations in procedural justice, implicit bias, de-escalation, and community policing.
This second event focused on juvenile justice. Although there are significant national decreases in the use of detention and incarceration of youth, disparities in who gets into the juvenile justice system and receives the harshest penalties persist.
Leading scholars and experts examine whether there are innovations in juvenile justice that can lead to meaningful change in the forms of more equitable outcomes in who gets into the system, who is detained, and who receives the necessary services and training to succeed following system involvement.
Following a framing presentation by JPRC Director Anthony Petrosino, our featured speakers Nancy Rodriguez (University of California, Irvine), Sean Darling-Hammond (BITJustice and WestEd), and David Muhammad (National Institute of Criminal Justice Reform) discussed research, evidence, and challenges in tackling this important issue.
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About the Centers
Housed within the Department of Criminology, Law and Society at George Mason University, the CEBCP seeks to make scientific research a key component in decisions about crime and justice policies. The CEBCP carries out this mission by advancing rigorous studies in criminal justice and criminology through research-practice collaborations, and proactively serving as an informational and translational link to practitioners and the policy community.
The WestEd JPRC highlights the rigorous research and evaluation work that WestEd researchers are conducting in the areas of school safety, violence and crime prevention, juvenile and criminal justice, and public health. A primary goal of the Center is to become a “trusted” source of evidence on the effects of policies and programs in these areas. In addition to conducting research and evaluation studies, Center staff promote the use of scientific evidence in making decisions about programs, policies, and practices relevant to justice and prevention.
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