FOCUS AREAS: CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Policy Relevant Articles

• New Jersey Police Disproportionately Stop Minorities, Study Finds. Governing.
  • This article discusses a forthcoming research project monitoring the traffic stops of New Jersey state troopers. This project was initiated after a study of more than 6 million cases found “concerning racial and ethnic disparities” in who gets stopped by police on Garden State roadways. It found Black and Hispanic motorists were more likely to be searched than their white counterparts, even though those searches were less likely to yield evidence. They were also more likely to be asked to step out of the vehicle, to be arrested or to face the use of force.
• Over 100 Connecticut State Troopers Accused of Faking Traffic Stops. The New York Times

  • State officials in Connecticut conducted an audit of traffic stops by state troopers and found that 130 former and current officers were guilty of filing suspected false reports, possibly to boost the internal statistics used to measure their performance. The audit described “a pattern of record manipulation” and said there was a “high likelihood” that at least 25,966 recorded stops between 2014 and 2021 were false and that as many as 58,553 may have been inaccurate.

• How Can Summer Jobs Reduce Crime Among Youth? Brookings Institution
  • As cities across the nation struggle to decrease crime, this article discusses the impacts of Summer Youth Employment Programs on later criminality among youth, primarily exploring if short-term behavioral changes were linked to long-term benefits​. The findings of the conducted study found participants to be 35% less likely to commit violent crimes, 57% less likely to commit property crimes. Youth additionally experienced increases in social skills and positive attitudes/aspirations, with younger and disadvantaged youths experiencing the greatest benefits.
• Reducing Inequality Summer by Summer: An Analysis of the Short-Term and Long-Term Effects Boston’s Summer Youth Employment Program. Boston Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development
  • Describing the outcomes of Boston’s SYEP, this article delves into the short- and long-term benefits of the program on youth. Violent crimes dropped by 35%, property crimes dropped by 57%, and youth experiences sharp increases in emotional regulation and conflict-resolution skills conducive to preventing aggressive, anti-social behavior and criminal activity.
• Why More Cities Should Offer Summer Jobs for Teens. Harvard Business Review
  • Summer youth employment was the lowest it’s been in over 40 years in 2020, with 37% youth unemployment. This has been partly due to the pandemic, partly due to educational summer opportunities that are not open to lower-income youth. This article argues that, to both decrease youth unemployment and increase educational, criminal, and professional outcomes of disadvantaged youth, cities should implement SYEPs. The article explicates upon these, noting a 35, 57, and 15 percent decrease in violent crime, property crime, and course reductions, respectively. School attendance increased by 2.5% as well, and participants became more likely to aspire to obtain 2-4 year degrees.