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RAND research on criminal justice examines such topics as drug policy, counterterrorism, DNA evidence, security trade-offs, victims' rights, and much more.

Journal Article

Growing Support For a New Approach to Community Supervision

Apr 22, 2015

Empirical support for the swift-certain-fair (SCF) approach to community supervision is growing. SCF provides an alternative to conventional community supervision programs (probation, parole, pretrial release) and may ultimately help reduce reoffending and the time participants spend behind bars.
Report

Digital Evidence and the U.S. Criminal Justice System

Apr 20, 2015

There are significant challenges to successfully using digital evidence in criminal prosecutions. Through structured interaction with police digital forensic experts, prosecuting attorneys, a privacy advocate, and industry representatives, researchers identified and prioritized specific needs to improve utilization of digital evidence in criminal justice.

Explore Criminal Justice

Journal Article

Journal Article

The Short- and Long-Run Effects of Private Law Enforcement: Evidence from University Police

This paper seeks new evidence on the impact of private police on crime, exploiting a unique setting, the University of Chicago Police Department, that permits a credible examination of the causal effect of police in both the short and long run.

Jun 30, 2017
News Release

News Release

Too Little Evidence Available to Determine Cost Savings of Crime Reform Initiative for Los Angeles County

While a California ballot initiative reducing penalties for some criminal offenses promised to save local governments money, quantifying such savings will require significant changes in the way local agencies track workloads.

Jun 15, 2017
Report

Too Little Evidence Available to Determine Cost Savings of Crime Reform Initiative for Los Angeles County

While a California ballot initiative reducing penalties for some criminal offenses promised to save local governments money, quantifying such savings will require significant changes in the way local agencies track workloads.

Jun 15, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

Desistance Mandates Compared with Treatment Mandates in Criminal Justice Populations

Empowering those under criminal justice supervision to cease drug use on their own - rather than forcing them into formal treatment against their will - is a policy approach that warrants further evaluation.

Jun 8, 2017
Commentary

Using Digital Data in Criminal Investigations

Personal devices such as smartphones and wearables gather and store personal data. How much of this “digital footprint” should be available for criminal investigations?

May 15, 2017
Project

Comparison of Criminal History Information Systems in the United States and Other Nations

The US Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) has commissioned RAND to research the development and use of criminal history databases in Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom to provide insights into accuracy, quality, timeliness, accessibility and integration that could lead to improvements in the US system, and possibly others.

Apr 20, 2017
Report

The Risks of Bias and Errors in Artificial Intelligence

Machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) influence many aspects of life today. These agents are not exempt from errors or bias because they are designed, built, and taught by humans. While AI has great promise, using it introduces a new level of risk and complexity in policy.

Apr 5, 2017
Journal Article

Opportunities to Intervene: "Warning Signs" for Suicide in the Days Before Dying

Understanding whether and to what extent loved ones noticed warning signs in the days before a suicide could help strengthen suicide prevention strategies.

Mar 14, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

How Does Incarcerating Young People Affect Their Adult Health Outcomes?

Youth who spend time in jail may need extra support from pediatricians to minimize long-term physical and mental health effects of incarceration.

Mar 13, 2017
Commentary

What Data Is the Government Keeping About You?

Governments are amassing a wealth of data on citizens, a trend that will continue as technology advances. But with no reliable way to ensure that the data is accurate, risks abound. In the criminal justice system, for example, poor quality data could affect individual freedoms and employability.

Mar 1, 2017
Commentary

Does the Court System Know as Much About ESI as Your Teenager? It Should.

Electronically stored information (ESI) from smart appliances, fitness trackers, and other devices is making its way into the U.S. court system. Judges and lawyers need to better understand this evidence so they can challenge it or rule on its admissibility in court.

Feb 21, 2017
Commentary

What Should Trump Do About Gitmo?

The new administration has options to deal with the detention facility established 15 years ago at Guantánamo Bay. It could maintain the status quo, make improvements to speed the trials, close the facility and relocate the remaining inmates, or accept new detainees.

Jan 11, 2017
News Release

News Release

Rise of Technology in Criminal Proceedings Poses Risk to Protecting Individuals' Rights

Personal devices like fitness trackers and smartphones are likely to be used increasingly in criminal investigations. Such technology offers new tools to law enforcement, but raises unique issues regarding constitutional rights such as self-incrimination.

Jan 10, 2017
Report

Preparing the U.S. Legal System for Emerging Technologies

Personal technology gathers data that can be useful in criminal justice proceedings. But this can also pose challenges for protecting individual rights. Identifying future conflicts ahead of time can help.

Jan 10, 2017
Report

Report

The Justice Innovation Center: Identifying the Needs and Challenges of Criminal Justice Agencies in Small, Rural, Tribal, and Border Areas

The Justice Innovation Center provides information on technology needs, priorities, and solutions for small, rural, tribal, and border criminal justice agencies. This report summarizes the center's first year of efforts.

Nov 16, 2016
Commentary

Domestic Warning Signs of Mass Shootings

After shootings, there is inevitably public debate over gun safety, constitutional rights, police tactics, terrorism, race, and politics. But these discussions rarely focus on a common factor among the perpetrators: a history of violence against women.

Aug 6, 2016
Tool

Tool

Courts Innovation Needs Tool

Using information drawn from the report findings, this interactive tool for ranking court innovation needs allows users to re-prioritize the needs, based on their own views of the importance of different court system policy goals.

Jul 22, 2016
Project

Evaluation of Offender Liaison and Diversion Trial Schemes

Researchers evaluated a new model of liaison and diversion (L&D) schemes, which aim to improve early identification of a range of health vulnerabilities among people passing through the UK youth or adult criminal justice system.

Jul 13, 2016
Project

RAND Justice Policy

The RAND Justice Policy Program addresses public safety and the performance of the civil and criminal justice system. Policy and research areas include policing, law enforcement, and corrections; crime, gangs, and violence prevention; drug abuse and drug policy; administration of justice, law, courts, and governance; and occupational and transportation safety.

Jun 2, 2016
Content

Courts Innovations Needs Tool

Overview and description of the Courts Innovation Needs Tool, part of the Priority Criminal Justice Needs Initiative project. The project is intended to identify priority needs within the criminal justice field for new technologies, training, and/or services and products that can solve problems.

May 19, 2016

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