JPRC

A National Evaluation of Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Training: Final Report

Justice Systems

A National Evaluation of Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Training: Final Report

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The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program was developed in 1988 to help state and local law enforcement agencies effectively respond to technology-related crimes against children. This program, managed by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), includes funding to provide training and technical assistance to law enforcement.

The JPRC was funded by OJJDP (on a project later transferred to the NIJ) to conduct the National Evaluation of ICAC Task Force Training, the first to examine training provided by the ICAC program. Due to concerns about the sensitivity of investigative data, only certain findings could be released in the final report. Findings suggest that overall, ICAC investigative training was rated highly by both trainees and their ICAC commanders in terms of the quality of training delivery, expertise of instructors, knowledge gains, and applicability to on-the-job ICAC investigations.

Push and Pull Factors for Female Involvement in Gangs and Collateral Involvement in Sex Trafficking: Systematic Review of Research

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Until recently, research on the roles of females in gangs has been minimal because violence and gang membership have historically been thought to be male-dominated phenomena. This paper addresses the knowledge gap by focusing specifically on females and the unique factors contributing to their gang involvement.

As part of a project by the JPRC in partnership with the American Institutes for Research (AIR), the paper presents a systematic review of research on factors that “push” or “pull” females toward gang involvement. The factors identified by the research include peer and family environment, victimization, neighborhood and school influences, and sex trafficking involvement.

The paper helps school staff and administrators consider prevention strategies to dissuade all students from future gang involvement. Given the overlap between various forms of prior sexual abuse and female gang involvement, close coordination between program developers, implementation staff, and community providers who support victims of sexual crimes may be important to best support victims and deter them from future gang involvement.

Additionally, community prevention strategies should consider a strong collaboration with schools to identify and intervene with current gang members and prevent younger siblings from future involvement. The findings also suggest a need for further research on gender-specific interventions to prevent female gang involvement.

What is the Regression Discontinuity Design and How Can it be Used to Evaluate Crime and Justice Interventions?

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This short article provides information about the Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD), to promote awareness of the strengths of the evaluation method to the justice community. It provides a rationale for use of RDD, describes the methodology underlying the design, and highlights a Florida RDD study. It concludes with a call for more RDDs when appropriate to build our knowledge about crime and justice.

 

Regression Discontinuity Design: A Method to Rigorously Evaluate Interventions to Reduce Crime and Improve the Justice System

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To address challenges within traditional research designs for crime reduction and justice system improvement, this brief provides information about the Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD) method.

The brief shares a comprehensive overview of the RDD method that emphasizes its significance and efficacy in evaluating interventions in real-world scenarios. It advocates for increased RDD adoption, highlighting ethical advantages and its potential for accurate and applicable research outcomes.

Researchers, policymakers, and practitioners seeking ethical, practical, and data-driven approaches to intervention evaluation will also find practical guidance for employing RDD.

Re-imagining Community Safety in Greenville South Carolina’s Nicholtown Neighborhood

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The JPRC has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) under its Reimagining Justice: Testing a New Model of Community Safety funding. This award provides the JPRC the opportunity to work in partnership with leaders in Greenville, South Carolina, to test an innovative approach to improving community safety for neighborhoods experiencing high rates of less serious and low-level criminal offenses. The JPRC will work in partnership with the mayor’s office, the police department, the local NAACP chapter, and the Sterling School for the next 3 years to lead the implementation of Voices of Informed Community Engagement for Safety (VOICES). This project will engage the community to assess needs and to enhance and evaluate a new community safety strategy in the Nicholtown neighborhood of Greenville.

Voices from the Field: Transition Tools for Preparing for Youth Community Reentry

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The mission of the National Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk (NDTAC) is to improve educational programming for youth who are neglected or delinquent. JPRC, a partner to the NDTAC lead, Longevity, Inc, authored a toolkit supplement entitled Voices from the Field: Transition Tools for Preparing for Youth Community Reentry. It is intended to support those working with youth who are transitioning from secure care facilities back into their homes, communities, and school systems. The supplement provides recently released resources on youth reentry, shares successful strategies, and identifies existing resources in use among states. The resources address the greatest challenges and most critical needs for the individuals doing this work.