Countering Drug-Impaired Driving: Addressing the Complexities of Gathering and Presenting Evidence
May 7, 2020
Justice Policy Publications
Publications from the RAND Justice Policy program cover topics related to public safety and the performance of the U.S. criminal justice system for federal law enforcement and other agencies, police departments, and other clients.
RAND Justice Policy also conducts research on topics related to civil justice through the RAND Institute of Civil Justice (ICJ).
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RAND Justice Policy publications are categorized in the following issue areas; some publications are cross-listed in multiple categories:
Browse Justice Policy Publications
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Countering Drug-Impaired Driving: Addressing the Complexities of Gathering and Presenting Evidence in Drug-Impaired Driving Cases May 7, 2020
Driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) is a serious and growing threat to public safety. Addressing DUID cases involves various challenges, including identifying and characterizing impairment and presenting complex evidence in court. A panel of experts from law enforcement, forensic toxicology, the research community, and government agencies discussed the challenges related to DUID cases and identified ways to overcome these obstacles.
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Data-Informed Jails: Challenges and Opportunities May 4, 2020
Jails produce vast amounts of data because of the expanding scope of services they are expected to provide. However, most jails are not using these data to improve operations or outcomes. An expert panel of administrators, researchers, and representatives from national organizations discussed the challenges related to using data in jails and identified ways to overcome these obstacles.
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State-of-the-Art Strategies for Addressing Selection Bias When Comparing Two or More Treatment Groups May 1, 2020
This course introduces causal modeling using the potential outcomes framework and propensity score weights to estimate causal effects from observational data. Those who take the course learn how to implement propensity score weighting using state-of-the-art methods and gain insights into some of the practical issues around evaluating the quality of propensity score weights for binary, multinomial, and time-varying treatments.
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The Science of Gun Policy: A Critical Synthesis of Research Evidence on the Effects of Gun Policies in the United States, Second Edition April 21, 2020
This report, the second edition of an earlier work, synthesizes the available scientific evidence for the effects of various firearm policies on firearm deaths, violent crime, the gun industry, defensive gun use, and other outcomes. The authors highlight policies whose effects are better supported by evidence and areas where more and better information could contribute to establishing fair and effective gun policies.
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State-Level Estimates of Household Firearm Ownership April 21, 2020
To understand how rates of firearm ownership may be affected by public policy and how they may affect crime rates or other key outcomes in the United States, researchers need measures of firearm ownership at the state level. As part of the Gun Policy in America initiative, RAND researchers developed annual, state-level estimates of household firearm ownership from 1980 to 2016.
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"Nothing Is More Opaque Than Absolute Transparency": The Use of Prior History to Guide Sentencing April 15, 2020
This article reviews prior literature, evaluating an algorithm used to determine prison sentencing for criminals with prior history.
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Breaking Barriers: A Rapid Rehousing and Employment Pilot Program for Adults on Probation in Los Angeles County: Evaluation Report March 31, 2020
Many individuals on probation in Los Angeles County face challenges with housing and employment, placing them at risk for further involvement with the criminal justice system. This report presents early findings on the progress of the Breaking Barriers program, which provides Los Angeles County adults on probation with a time-limited rental housing subsidy, case management, and employment supports.
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Fostering Innovation Across the U.S. Criminal Justice System: Identifying Opportunities to Improve Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Fairness March 23, 2020
In this report, the authors focus on common needs that apply to all three sections of the justice system: law enforcement, the courts, and corrections agencies. Starting with the deep pool of feedback and input collected from the practitioner community across the five-year Priority Criminal Justice Needs Initiative project, the authors abstracted insights about innovation needs for the justice system as a whole.
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A Database of Criminal Justice Needs for Innovation: Requirements for Developers and Funders: User Guide March 5, 2020
The RAND Corporation and partners are carrying out a research effort to assess and prioritize technology needs across the criminal justice community. Since 2015, the Priority Criminal Justice Needs Initiative has published more than 20 reports identifying and prioritizing criminal justice needs for innovation. This product provides a database of all of the needs generated during the first five years of the Initiative.
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Types of Cannabis and Tobacco/Nicotine Co-Use and Associated Outcomes in Young Adulthood February 14, 2020
This study examined different types of co-use as a first step in understanding more detailed patterns of cannabis and tobacco/nicotine use among young adults, an age group that has the highest rates of both cannabis and tobacco/nicotine use, as well as co-use of these products.