Announcements
New NACJD Director Researches Crime Reduction Strategies
Timothy S. Bynum, Ph.D., Professor of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University, was recently appointed director of ICPSR's National Archive of Criminal Justice Data. He is the former director of the Evaluation Research Division of the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research at MSU. The National Archive of Criminal Justice Data is a multi-faceted program at ICPSR that curates, preserves and makes available data about criminal justice to students, researchers, and policy makers. "Professor Bynum brings the Justice Archive both an extraordinary record of academic accomplishments and the high esteem of policymakers and practitioners," said George Alter, Associate Director of ICPSR.
Professor Bynum is widely respected for the breadth and depth of his experience in criminal justice research. His current research includes the study of community-based interventions to reduce gang and gun violence, the implementation and assessment of an innovative neighborhood approach to violence in nine communities, and an assessment of the impact of residency restrictions for sex offenders. He previously conducted research on reentry programs for offenders released from prison, programs to reduce school violence, community based correctional alternatives for both adult and juvenile offenders, and gang intervention programs.
These research and professional interests have had a direct bearing on communities and individuals. Professor Bynum notes, "Many of my activities involve applied research in criminology. This approach allows an opportunity to work directly with communities and agencies in using data and information in their efforts to reduce crime and violence." Much of this work focuses upon providing assistance in learning how to use data and analysis to drive decisions in the criminal justice system. For example, the analysis of factors associated with high numbers of calls to the police from specific locations can inform the efforts of police departments, prosecutors, and community organizations to reduce crime and criminal behavior.
Professor Bynum recently was asked to present his research on successful crime reduction strategies to a US Congressional briefing. He has published in Criminology, The Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Criminal Law and Criminology, and Justice Quarterly and has authored a variety of publications from the National Institute of Justice. A forthcoming publication addresses the recidivism patterns of young, serious offenders.
2009-06-26
Notice to National Corrections Reporting Program Users
A potential problem regarding the county codes used for North Carolina data has been identified. The Bureau of Justice Statistics is working to determine the scope of the problem.
Data users who are performing county-level comparisons should review their results carefully. The problem seems to be limited to codes used to identify counties in North Carolina. There is no indication that counts of admissions and releases are affected.
An additional notice will be issued once the exact nature of the problem and its extent has been identified.
Recently Released Publications
Following is a selection of NACJD data-related publications from August and September of 2007. If you have published a book or article using our data, and it does not appear on our Bibliography of Data-Related Literature, please email the citation to: nacjd@icpsr.umich.edu
1. Baumer, Eric P.; Gustafson, Regan, "Social organization and instrumental crime: Assessing the empirical validity of classic and contemporary anomie theories." Criminology. Aug 2007, 45, (3), 617 - 663.
2. Bushway, Shawn D.; Piehl, Anne Morrison, "Social science research and the legal threat to presumptive sentencing guidelines." Criminology and Public Policy. Aug 2007, 6, (3), 461 - 482.
3. Felson, Richard B.; Pare, Paul-Philippe, "Does the criminal justice system treat domestic violence and sexual assault offenders leniently?." Justice Quarterly. Sep 2007, 24, (3), 435 - 460.
4. Rosen, Leora N., "Rape rates and military personnel in the United States: An exploratory study." Violence Against Women. Sep 2007, 13, (9), 945 - 960.
5. Steen, Sara; Opsal, Tara, "'Punishment on the installment plan': Individual-level predictors of parole revocation in four states." Prison Journal. Sep 2007, 87, (3), 344 - 366.
6. Stults, Brian J.; Baumer, Eric P., "Racial context and police force size: Evaluating the empirical validity of the minority threat perspective." American Journal of Sociology. Sep 2007, 113, (2), 507 - 546.
7. Terrill, William; Paoline, Eugene A., III, "Nonarrest decision making in police citizen encounters." Police Quarterly. Sep 2007, 10, (3), 308 - 331.
8. Wyant, Brian R.; Taylor, Ralph B., "Size of household firearm collections: Implications for subcultures and gender." Criminology. Aug 2007, 45, (3), 519 - 546.
9. Zimring, Franklin E.; Piquero, Alex R.; Jennings, Wesley G., "Sexual delinquency in Racine: Does early sex offending predict later sex offending in youth and young adulthood?." Criminology and Public Policy. Aug 2007, 6, (3), 507 - 534.
