The research on capital punishment: Recent scholarship and unresolved questions
2014 review of research on capital punishment, including studies that attempt to quantify rates of innocence and the potential deterrence effect on crime.
Criminal Justice
Research roundups, tip sheets, articles and explainers related to the topic of criminal justice
Expert Commentary
Protests, waves of collective action and policing in the United States: Key research ideas
In the wake of the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, we review research on the nature of social movements, “waves” of protests and activism cycles, as well as police response.
Expert Commentary
Analyzing race, crime and urban violence, after Ferguson: Research perspectives and data
2014 review of empirical data and recent academic studies on important issues related to the African-American community, including trends in crime, homicide and violence rates.
Expert Commentary
Zero-tolerance disciplinary policies: Influence of student, school and infraction characteristics on suspensions and expulsions
2014 study published in the American Educational Research Journal exploring the factors associated with racial disparities in school discipline.
Expert Commentary
How U.S. urban unrest in the 1960s can help make sense of Ferguson, Mo.: Research brief
2014 research on how lessons from past conflicts can help us better understand current events, by Ashley M. Howard, Loyola University New Orleans and the Scholars Strategy Network.
Expert Commentary
Western jihadists returning to home countries? What past empirical data tell us
Data and research published in American Political Science Review relating to the period 1990-2010, when the West saw an estimated 1,000 persons become Islamist foreign fighters.
Expert Commentary
The effectiveness of predictive policing: Lessons from a randomized controlled trial
2014 study from the RAND Corporation analyzes the results of a real-world trial of data-driven, predictive policing, assessing its budget impacts and ability to reduce property crime.
Expert Commentary
Policies and programs aimed at keeping kids safe and out of trouble: Research roundup
2014 review of studies on issues related to youth behavior and safety, including delinquency rates, suspensions, zero-tolerance policies and their effects, after-school programs and curfews.
Expert Commentary
U.S. military air strikes and air power: Research review and lessons from recent history
2014 roundup of research papers on American air strikes as a tactical and strategic action in countering insurgency, with an emphasis on their subsequent outcomes.
Expert Commentary
Air strikes against the Islamic State (ISIS): Public opinion and historical perspective
2014 summary of polling on U.S. intervention in Syria and American sentiment at other key moments of military action through history.
Expert Commentary