On average, one in five incarcerated persons will spend some time in restrictive housing (RH) during their incarceration. Despite a growing body of research on the topic of RH, few have taken into account the heterogeneity of the... more
On average, one in five incarcerated persons will spend some time in restrictive housing (RH) during their incarceration. Despite a growing body of research on the topic of RH, few have taken into account the heterogeneity of the incarcerated individuals’ pre-RH risk profiles. In the present study, we fill this gap by estimating a latent class analysis (LCA) model to explore the heterogeneity among a sample of incarcerated individuals in New Jersey. Our LCA has both dichotomous and count variables, and we specified a model with logit and Poisson functional forms. We then examine how the latent group membership predicted RH placement and length of stay using a hurdle model. We identified a four-group LCA model, and found that groups featuring misconduct records were more likely to experience RH and stay longer in RH. Prior criminal records were less predictive of these RH outcomes.
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... One area in need of further attention is whether homicide offenders specialize in particular crimes ... This study addresses this void by examining the criminal histories and lifestyles of homicide offenders ... homicid (10), offend... more
... One area in need of further attention is whether homicide offenders specialize in particular crimes ... This study addresses this void by examining the criminal histories and lifestyles of homicide offenders ... homicid (10), offend (6), crimin (4), examin (4), whether (3), studi (2), void (2 ...
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This study examines the covariates of weapon choice in homicide incidents. Two research questions are examined. The first research question is: what variables influence the use of a particular type of weapon in a homicide? The second... more
This study examines the covariates of weapon choice in homicide incidents. Two research questions are examined. The first research question is: what variables influence the use of a particular type of weapon in a homicide? The second research question asks: how does the method of weapon retrieval, or lack thereof, affect the choice of weapon? The findings suggest that firearms are more likely to be on the offender’s person and carried to the incident scene relative to other weapon types. In addition, the use of specific types of weapons is conditioned by the demographic and lifestyle characteristics of victims and offenders.
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Vicarious trauma refers to the cognitive and affective impacts of trauma exposure through one’s work, with traumatization indicating negative effects and resilience, positive. While vicarious trauma has been studied among practitioners,... more
Vicarious trauma refers to the cognitive and affective impacts of trauma exposure through one’s work, with traumatization indicating negative effects and resilience, positive. While vicarious trauma has been studied among practitioners, little is known about trauma exposure’s effects on researchers. This exploratory study addresses this gap through an examination of vicarious trauma policies and procedures used by a homicide research team, and aims to understand if and how research assistants (RAs) were affected by reading homicide case files, how they took care of themselves while working, and how the policies supported their well-being. Eleven RAs participated in focus groups and interviews and responded to a quantitative survey about their experiences. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis and descriptive statistics. All RAs mentioned traumatic impact, noting that certain factors increased or buffeted against traumatization. RAs described several means of supporting their ow...
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Intimate partner violence (IPV) and intimate partner homicide (IPH) are complex global problems. Transdisciplinary research approaches offer the potential to increase the understanding of these events and inform best practices for... more
Intimate partner violence (IPV) and intimate partner homicide (IPH) are complex global problems. Transdisciplinary research approaches offer the potential to increase the understanding of these events and inform best practices for prevention. To encourage scholars to adopt transdisciplinary practices when investigating multifaceted problems, this note employs a case study approach to detail one such effort—The Preventing and Assessing Intimate Partner Homicide Risk (PAIR) Studies. The goal of the PAIR Studies is to improve the understanding of IPH to inform the development of best practices for prevention. The note concludes with a discussion of the benefits of transdisciplinary approaches.
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COVID-19 transformed society, affecting how every sector conducted work. Researchers, law enforcement, and social service agencies had to adapt procedures to a virtual space—moving participant recruitment, warrant requests, and protection... more
COVID-19 transformed society, affecting how every sector conducted work. Researchers, law enforcement, and social service agencies had to adapt procedures to a virtual space—moving participant recruitment, warrant requests, and protection orders online. Researcher-practitioner partnerships also altered, halting in-person data collection and agencies having limited time to support guests, regardless of interest. While some COVID-19-related challenges will likely subside, the future of these partnerships seems to have permanently shifted. In this research note, we reflect on these shifts using an example of an intimate partner homicide study to discuss research adaptions to COVID-19 and the future of community-engaged homicide research.
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COVID-19 transformed society, affecting how every sector conducted work. Researchers, law enforcement, and social service agencies had to adapt procedures to a virtual space—moving participant recruitment, warrant requests, and protection... more
COVID-19 transformed society, affecting how every sector conducted work. Researchers, law enforcement, and social service agencies had to adapt procedures to a virtual space—moving participant recruitment, warrant requests, and protection orders online. Researcher-practitioner partnerships also altered, halting in-person data collection and agencies having limited time to support guests, regardless of interest. While some COVID-19-related challenges will likely subside, the future of these partnerships seems to have permanently shifted. In this research note, we reflect on these shifts using an example of an intimate partner homicide study to discuss research adaptions to COVID-19 and the future of community-engaged homicide research.
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A growing body of environmental justice research consistently demonstrates an association between area race, class and the presence/level of environmental hazards. However, the mechanisms that create these environmental inequities are... more
A growing body of environmental justice research consistently demonstrates an association between area race, class and the presence/level of environmental hazards. However, the mechanisms that create these environmental inequities are less understood. In the current study, we draw on criminological research on neighborhood social process to extend the environmental justice literature. Specifically, we use community survey (rather than census proxies) and public health data to explore the relationship between concentrated disadvantage, collective efficacy, organizational capacity and lead exposure in ecologically cohesive neighborhoods in the city of Chicago. Concentrated disadvantage is associated with lead exposure and the effect is mediated by neighborhood collective efficacy. The effect of organizational capacity is minimal. The theoretical and policy implications of these results are discussed.
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The purpose of this study is to assess whether distinct targeted violence prevention programs are needed to address gun violence based on offender age. Police incident reports were used to analyze the temporal, situational, and spatial... more
The purpose of this study is to assess whether distinct targeted violence prevention programs are needed to address gun violence based on offender age. Police incident reports were used to analyze the temporal, situational, and spatial patterns of offending between a group of adult and youthful offenders in the city of Detroit, Michigan. Chi-square and logistic regression multivariate techniques were used to test the differences and similarities between these groups. The findings suggest that youth and adult offenders of gun crimes in Detroit are not significantly different in the time or place in which they offend. Only modest differences were observed in terms of situational characteristics. The most significant differences between youth and adult offenders involved the age of their victim and the presence of co-offenders. Policy implications are discussed.
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Violence involving firearms poses a serious threat to public safety in urban areas. The present study examines how illegal firearm availability (IFA) is related to firearm violence at the neighborhood level. We analyzed 3 years (from 2005... more
Violence involving firearms poses a serious threat to public safety in urban areas. The present study examines how illegal firearm availability (IFA) is related to firearm violence at the neighborhood level. We analyzed 3 years (from 2005 to 2007) of recovered firearm and violent index crime data from Newark, New Jersey. Violent index crime is separated into three categories by level of firearm use: shootings, display of firearm violence (DFV), and no-firearm violence (NFV). Negative binominal regression was conducted to examine the relationship between IFA and firearm violence at the neighborhood level while controlling for neighborhood conditions. Firearm violence is prevalent in Newark: over 90% of homicides and 47% of robberies were committed with a firearm. IFA is related to increased shootings and NFV, but not to DFV. IFA is a robust predictor of shootings in Newark, New Jersey. Neighborhood conditions influence IFA and firearm violence. IFA may reflect neighborhood distress l...
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Research Interests: Criminology and Homicide
We assessed the impact of planned aggression across homicide mobility types in Newark, New Jersey, from 1997 through 2007. Homicides where offenders traveled to victims’ resident/incident locales were more likely to involve aggressive... more
We assessed the impact of planned aggression across homicide mobility types in Newark, New Jersey, from 1997 through 2007. Homicides where offenders traveled to victims’ resident/incident locales were more likely to involve aggressive intent, whereas homicides where victims traversed to offender/incident locales were less likely to involve planned aggression. Planned aggression was unrelated to geographically proximate (internal) homicides as well as geographically distinct (total mobility) homicides. Study findings show that routine activities and situational characteristics are not only important in explaining homicide patterns but also demonstrate that planned aggression meaningfully contributes to the routine activities and environmental criminology frameworks under specific geographic conditions.
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This article centers on the institutional barriers Latinas face in their professional development. An autoethnographic approach is employed to explore common themes faced by Latinas that hinder their success via the lens of culture... more
This article centers on the institutional barriers Latinas face in their professional development. An autoethnographic approach is employed to explore common themes faced by Latinas that hinder their success via the lens of culture conflict theory. This study specifically focus on issues related to interactions with students, marginalization, and institutional racism. A set of individual and institutional-level recommendations that may serve to alleviate the challenges facing Latinas, and faculty of color in general, are discussed.
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Despite the attention the crime of homicide has received by the academic community there are still gaps in the literature. One of these gaps pertains to the examination of the mobility patterns of homicide victims and offenders. This... more
Despite the attention the crime of homicide has received by the academic community there are still gaps in the literature. One of these gaps pertains to the examination of the mobility patterns of homicide victims and offenders. This study addresses this gap by focusing on three research questions—(1) Does the distance traveled by homicide suspects and victims from their residence
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This study examines the recidivism covariates of 610 released inmates who were confined in a supermax unit in 2004. Follow-up data (an average of 66 months from prison release in 2004) were collected for each inmate to assess the... more
This study examines the recidivism covariates of 610 released inmates who were confined in a supermax unit in 2004. Follow-up data (an average of 66 months from prison release in 2004) were collected for each inmate to assess the recidivism covariates of those who re-engaged in crime after prison release. The findings show that when compared with ex-supermax inmates who did not recidivate, those who did were younger, more likely to be serving time for a drug offense, and had a history of prior incarcerations and disciplinary infractions while incarcerated. Time to recidivate, however, was significantly predicted by gang membership, length of sentence, and prior substance abuse history. The implications of this research are discussed.
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In recent years, a number of new approaches in corrections have developed, one of which is the super-maximum, or “supermax,” prison. This article explores the roots of these institutions, explains how they operate, and examines their... more
In recent years, a number of new approaches in corrections have developed, one of which is the super-maximum, or “supermax,” prison. This article explores the roots of these institutions, explains how they operate, and examines their potential effects on inmate populations. The extant empirical research on supermax facilities suggests that these institutions have the potential to damage inmates’ mental health while failing to meet their purported goals (e.g., deterring inmates in the general prison population from committing criminal acts inside prison), resulting in added problems for correctional administrators and increased economic costs to public budgets without apparent benefits.
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Supermax prisons have substantially increased in popularity during the last 20 years. This article presents an examination of the current state of knowledge on supermax prisons, in terms of both case law and criminal justice research, to... more
Supermax prisons have substantially increased in popularity during the last 20 years. This article presents an examination of the current state of knowledge on supermax prisons, in terms of both case law and criminal justice research, to assess the potential future of these facilities. Three research questions are posed: (a) What does the academic community know or not know about supermax prisons? (b) How have U.S. courts ruled in supermax prison litigation? and (c) Do current supermax case law and research indicate that their administration, existence, and operation will change in the near future?
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PurposeThis study examined the interaction between homicide victim and offender criminal lifestyles and the situational characteristics of homicides that occurred in the city of Newark, New Jersey from 1997 through 2007. Three research... more
PurposeThis study examined the interaction between homicide victim and offender criminal lifestyles and the situational characteristics of homicides that occurred in the city of Newark, New Jersey from 1997 through 2007. Three research questions were explored: (1) what are the lifestyles exhibited by homicide victims and offenders; (2) are there different types of homicide actors (i.e., victim and/or offender) based on their criminal lifestyle; (3) do varying homicide actor (i.e., victim and/or offender) types influence the characteristics of homicide incidents?
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Despite the vast attention the crime of homicide has received from the academic community, voids remain in the literature regarding the factors that contribute to its occurrence. Only a few studies to date have directly examined the... more
Despite the vast attention the crime of homicide has received from the academic community, voids remain in the literature regarding the factors that contribute to its occurrence. Only a few studies to date have directly examined the situational covariates of varying homicide types and how each type differs from one another at the incident level. The present study seeks to add to the homicide literature by examining the situational covariates of four distinct homicide types (i.e., domestic, drug, robbery, and interpersonal dispute) that occurred in the city of Newark, New Jersey, from 1997 through 2005. Two research questions are examined: (a) What are the situational covariates of varying homicide motivational types, and (b) do the situational covariates vary by incident motive? The findings show that there are indeed differences among the homicide subtypes in terms of their temporal, event, and victim/offender characteristics. The methodological, theoretical, and policy implication...
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... Jeffrey A. Gruenewald, MA ... Julian Roberts' (2004: 495-497; 500) important work in this area discusses how the public subscribes to a number of misconceptions about youth violence and how the criminal justice system has... more
... Jeffrey A. Gruenewald, MA ... Julian Roberts' (2004: 495-497; 500) important work in this area discusses how the public subscribes to a number of misconceptions about youth violence and how the criminal justice system has become increasingly punitive with youth. ...
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The current inquiry adds to the literature by using Hindelang’s lifestyle theory to examine the relevance of victim involvement in a deviant lifestyle to the likelihood of and time to homicide clearance. Bivariate analyses suggest that... more
The current inquiry adds to the literature by using Hindelang’s lifestyle theory to examine the relevance of victim involvement in a deviant lifestyle to the likelihood of and time to homicide clearance. Bivariate analyses suggest that victim lifestyle is an important factor in the distribution of clearance enhancing characteristics across homicide incidents. Cox proportional hazard models indicated that higher levels of victim participation in deviant lifestyle significantly increased the time until a homicide was cleared by arrest. Theoretical and practical issues are discussed in light of these findings.
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The current inquiry adds to the literature by using Hindelang’s lifestyle theory to examine the relevance of victim involvement in a deviant lifestyle to the likelihood of and time to homicide clearance. Bivariate analyses suggest that... more
The current inquiry adds to the literature by using Hindelang’s lifestyle theory to examine the relevance of victim involvement in a deviant lifestyle to the likelihood of and time to homicide clearance. Bivariate analyses suggest that victim lifestyle is an important factor in the distribution of clearance enhancing characteristics across homicide incidents. Cox proportional hazard models indicated that higher levels of victim participation in deviant lifestyle significantly increased the time until a homicide was cleared by arrest. Theoretical and practical issues are discussed in light of these findings.
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In recent years, a number of new policies in corrections have developed, one of which is the placement of disruptive inmates in supermaximum, or supermax, prisons. The extant empirical research on supermax facilities suggests that these... more
In recent years, a number of new policies in corrections have developed, one of which is the placement of disruptive inmates in supermaximum, or supermax, prisons. The extant empirical research on supermax facilities suggests that these institutions have the potential to damage inmates' mental health while failing to meet their purported goals thereby resulting in added problems for correctional administrators and increased economic costs to public budgets without apparent benefits. As a result, one has to ask why supermax prisons are so popular. This article explores changes that have occurred in penal thought, policy, and practice in the United States in the last 3 decades that contributed to the increase in popularity of supermax prisons. Existing research suggests that these prisons are a prime example of the shift in cultural sensibilities in American society toward greater punitiveness.
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OBJECTIVE To identify demographic and urban environmental variables associated with prevalence rates of dog bites per zip code in Detroit. DESIGN Retrospective ecological study. SAMPLE 6,540 people who visited any 1 of 15 hospital... more
OBJECTIVE To identify demographic and urban environmental variables associated with prevalence rates of dog bites per zip code in Detroit. DESIGN Retrospective ecological study. SAMPLE 6,540 people who visited any 1 of 15 hospital emergency rooms in the 29 zip codes in Detroit between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2013, with a primary complaint of dog bite. PROCEDURES The number of dog bites over the study period was determined per zip code. Data for the human population in each zip code in 2011 and demographic and urban environmental variables were obtained from federal, state, and municipal databases. The prevalence rate of dog bites in each zip code was calculated, and regression analysis was used to identify variables associated with this outcome. RESULTS Results of multivariate analysis indicated that demographic variables (eg, gender, age, and education) accounted for 23.2% (adjusted R2 = 0.232) of the variation in prevalence rates of dog bites per zip code, whereas urban environmental variables (eg, blight, crime with weapons, and vacancy rate) accounted for 51.6% (adjusted R2 = 0.516) of the variation. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Findings suggested that demographic variables had poor association with variation in prevalence rates of dog bites per zip code, whereas urban environmental variables, particularly crime, vacancy rate, and blight, were better associated. Thus, public health and education policies need to address these urban environmental issues to lower the prevalence of dog bites in distressed urban areas.
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Although there is a plethora of research documenting the relationship between firearms and violence, we know little about the influence of offenders’ motivation and premeditation as they relate to the choice of weapon for the commission... more
Although there is a plethora of research documenting the relationship between firearms and violence, we know little about the influence of offenders’ motivation and premeditation as they relate to the choice of weapon for the commission of a violent crime. In this study, we examined a sample of 375 violent crime inmates incarcerated in the New Jersey Department of Corrections. We addressed two research questions: what variables influence the use of a firearm in a violent crime, and do premeditation and motivation increase the odds that an offender will use a firearm in a violent crime? We found that premeditation and motivation are robust covariates of firearm use, which aligns with Rational Choice Theory; this suggests that firearms are used as tools to gain compliance and facilitate the commission of a crime. As a result, prevention strategies that focus on restricting access to firearms to at-risk populations and those that focus on interrupting the cycle of violence may help reduce firearm-related violence, particularly in premeditated events.
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The current study employs focal concerns theory to address the role that race/ethnicity plays on various court dispositions of homicide offenders in Newark, NJ, a location where the majority of residents are African American and Latino.... more
The current study employs focal concerns theory to address the role that race/ethnicity plays on various court dispositions of homicide offenders in Newark, NJ, a location where the majority of residents are African American and Latino. Two research questions are examined: (1) Does ethnicity play an important role in the decision to dismiss a case against a homicide offender, convict via a plea deal, convict via trial, acquit via trial, and sentence length? and (2) Which legal and extralegal factors play a role in these decision points during the processing of homicide offenders? The findings suggest that when there is little ethnic variation of defendants, victims, and the citizenry, other extralegal variables take precedence in informing the focal concerns of court actors. The results also suggest that different legal and extralegal variables affect the odds of distinct court outcomes. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.
This study examines whether changes made to the investigation procedures within the Rochester Police Department’s homicide unit have an effect on homicide clearance net of theoretically significant variables related to victim and police... more
This study examines whether changes made to the investigation procedures within the Rochester Police Department’s homicide unit have an effect on homicide clearance net of theoretically significant variables related to victim and police devaluation, event characteristic, and victim lifestyle. It examines 132 homicides investigated by the homicide unit over 4 years consisting of the pre-intervention period and post-intervention period. It is hypothesized that investigation tactics will affect the odds of clearance, even after controlling for other theoretically relevant variables. The findings support this hypothesis, suggesting that the approaches and tactics police departments implement within their investigative units are important.
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Ecological research is important to the study of violence in communities. The phrases “ecological research” and “ecologic study” describe those research studies that use grouped or geographic units of analysis, such as zip codes, cities,... more
Ecological research is important to the study of violence in communities. The phrases “ecological research” and “ecologic study” describe those research studies that use grouped or geographic units of analysis, such as zip codes, cities, or states. This type of research allows for the investigation of group-level effects and can be inexpensive and relatively quick to conduct if the researcher uses existing data. And, importantly, ecological studies are an efficient means for hypothesis generation prior to, and can be used to justify, costlier individual-level studies. Ecological research designs may be employed to study violence outcomes when the research question is at the population level, either for theoretical reasons, or when an exposure or intervention is at the population level, or when individual-level studies are not feasible; however, ecological research results must not be used to make individual-level inferences. This article will discuss reasons to conduct ecological-le...
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ABSTRACT To be able to design effective urban public health programs to reduce the risk of dog bites and transmission of disease, the very complex factors that lead to bites need to be considered holistically. This research focuses... more
ABSTRACT To be able to design effective urban public health programs to reduce the risk of dog bites and transmission of disease, the very complex factors that lead to bites need to be considered holistically. This research focuses specifically on the role of spatial and environmental factors as urban public health risks. In doing this, it addresses the following research questions: (1) What are the relative powers of traditional demographic versus environmental variables in explaining dog bites? (2) Do different areas of the city evidence different correlates of bites? The answer to the first is that despite a long tradition in the literature, demographic variables do a relatively poor job of explaining variation in the rates of emergency room visits due to dog bites. Rather, environmental and spatial variables, particularly crime, vacancy, and blight, are better predictors of dog bites than traditional demographic variables such as age and gender. However, even the best-fitting regression model leaves dog bites in many areas of a city unexplained; bite covariates differ by neighborhood. Thus, to effectively address the risk of dog bites in urban areas, different policies are required for different neighborhood conditions.
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Violence involving firearms poses a serious threat to public safety in urban areas. The present study examines how illegal firearm availability (IFA) is related to firearm violence at the neighborhood level. We analyzed 3 years (from 2005... more
Violence involving firearms poses a serious threat to public safety in urban areas. The present study examines how illegal firearm availability (IFA) is related to firearm violence at the neighborhood level. We analyzed 3 years (from 2005 to 2007) of recovered firearm and violent index crime data from Newark, New Jersey. Violent index crime is separated into three categories by level of firearm use: shootings, display of firearm violence (DFV), and no-firearm violence (NFV). Negative binominal regression was conducted to examine the relationship between IFA and firearm violence at the neighborhood level while controlling for neighborhood conditions. Firearm violence is prevalent in Newark: over 90% of homicides and 47% of robberies were committed with a firearm. IFA is related to increased shootings and NFV, but not to DFV. IFA is a robust predictor of shootings in Newark, New Jersey. Neighborhood conditions influence IFA and firearm violence. IFA may reflect neighborhood distress l...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This article centers on the institutional barriers Latinas face in their professional development. An autoethnographic approach is employed to explore common themes faced by Latinas that hinder their success via the lens of culture... more
This article centers on the institutional barriers Latinas face in their professional development. An autoethnographic approach is employed to explore common themes faced by Latinas that hinder their success via the lens of culture conflict theory. This study specifically focus on issues related to interactions with students, margin-alization, and institutional racism. A set of individual and institutional-level recommendations that may serve to alleviate the challenges facing Latinas, and faculty of color in general, are discussed.