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).

Featured Research

Police-Community Relations
Research Road Map to Reduce Police Killings
May 18, 2022
Prisoner Reentry
Leveraging Technology to Support Prisoner Reentry
May 3, 2022
Violent Extremism
Extremist Use of Online Spaces
Apr 27, 2022
Substance Use Harm Reduction
The Nexus Between Sex Trafficking and Substance Use
Feb 24, 2022

Browse by Topic

RAND Justice Policy publications are categorized in the following issue areas; some publications are cross-listed in multiple categories:

Law Enforcement

Occupational Safety

Crime, Violence, and Public Safety

Drug Abuse and Drug Policy

Courts and Corrections

Children and Adolescents

Civil Justice

Workers' Compensation
Worker and Employer Experiences with COVID-19 and the California Workers' Compensation System

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Report

Police Killings: Road Map of Research Priorities for Change

In this report, RAND Corporation researchers summarize what is currently known about killings committed by police officers in the United States and recommend areas in which future research efforts could help inform policymaking and decisionmaking.

May 18, 2022

Meagan Cahill, Melissa M. Labriola, Jirka Taylor
Journal Article

State Targeted Violence Prevention: Programming & Key Performance Indicators

This resource is a guide for U.S. state governments as they seek to implement comprehensive targeted violence prevention (TVP) programming and evaluate its implementation, outcomes, and impact.

May 18, 2022

Jordan R. Reimer, Katya Migacheva
Report

Leveraging Technology to Support Prisoner Reentry

The corrections sector increasingly uses technology to provide supervision services and programs for individuals reentering the community after incarceration. Experts identified strategies for employing technology to improve reentry outcomes.

May 3, 2022

Joe Russo, Michael J. D. Vermeer, Dulani Woods, Brian A. Jackson
Report

Defining Recognized and Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practices for Process Safety Management

The author presents the origin and intention of recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices (RAGAGEP), points of disagreement about the definition, and recommendations for complying with RAGAGEP.

Apr 11, 2022

Tom LaTourrette
Report

Readiness to Implement Evidence-Based Practices in Public Elementary Schools: Findings from a National Survey of Teachers

Using survey data from a nationally representative panel of 1,065 public elementary school teachers, the authors of this report examined teachers' perspectives on their readiness to implement evidence-based practices at their schools.

Mar 23, 2022

Alex R. Dopp, Michelle Bongard, Andrea Phillips, M. Rebecca Kilburn, William R. Johnston
Journal Article

Does Mens Rea Matter?

Does mens rea matter to the criminal legal system? Our study addresses this question by performing the first-ever empirical analysis of a culpable mental state's impact on administration of a criminal statute.

Mar 23, 2022

Matthew L. Mizel, Michael Serota, Jonathan H. Cantor, Joshua Russell-Fritch
Journal Article

Barred from Employment: More Than Half of Unemployed Men in Their 30s Had a Criminal History of Arrest

We investigate what portion of the pool of unemployed men in the United States have been arrested, convicted, or incarcerated by age 35.

Mar 9, 2022

Shawn D. Bushway, Irineo Cabreros, Jessica Paige, Daniel Schwam, Jeffrey B. Wenger
Report

Sex Trafficking and Substance Use: Identifying High-Priority Needs Within the Criminal Justice System

In this report, RAND researchers investigate the intersections between substance use disorder and sex trafficking and discuss how these issues complicate victims' identification and screening and their ability to access treatment and legal remedies.

Feb 24, 2022

Lynn Langton, Michael G. Planty, Duren Banks, Amanda R. Witwer, Dulani Woods, Michael J. D. Vermeer, Brian A. Jackson
Report

Evaluation of the Minnesota Department of Correction's Career Navigators Program: Final Report

The authors conducted an independent process and outcomes evaluation of the Minnesota Department of Corrections' Career Navigators program, which aimed to help people with educational and career opportunities before and after being incarcerated.

Feb 15, 2022

Lois M. Davis, Michelle C. Tolbert, Susan Turner
Report

Suggestions for Estimating the Effects of State Gun Policies: Commentary on Four Methodological Problems in the Current Literature

In this report, the authors discuss four common methodological problems that they observed in the literature evaluating gun policies and offer suggestions for how future research on gun policies could be improved.

Feb 15, 2022

Terry L. Schell, Rosanna Smart, Andrew R. Morral
Journal Article

Nationally Representative Sample Shows an Increase in Domestic Conflict Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and associated social distancing increased stressors related to risk for domestic conflict, but increases in domestic conflict early in the pandemic have yet to be studied in community samples.

Feb 9, 2022

Alicia Revitsky Locker, Melissa L. Finucane, Elizabeth Roth, Katherine Grace Carman, Joshua Breslau
Report

Programs for Incarcerated Parents: Preliminary Findings from a Pilot Survey

The researchers explored the landscape of prison-based programs for incarcerated parents and considered the extent to which programs sought to mitigate the effects of policies and practices that disproportionately affect Black and Latinx families.

Feb 8, 2022

Dionne Barnes-Proby, Celia J. Gomez, Monica Williams, Matt Strawn, Isabel Leamon
Report

Earnings Losses and Benefit Adequacy in California's Workers' Compensation System: Estimates for 2005–2017 Injury Dates

This final report in a series is part of an effort to monitor wage losses of injured workers in the California workers' compensation system between 2013 and 2017. It updates estimates of trends in earnings losses reported in the interim reports.

Feb 3, 2022

Michael Dworsky, Stephanie Rennane, Nicholas Broten
Journal Article

Insights Into Mixing Fentanyl and Benzodiazepines From Canadian Drug Seizures

In 2020, there were 60,000 overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids in the US, where data lags and limited cross-agency coordination impedes understanding of transitioning illicit drug markets. Better data from Canada can offer some understanding.

Jan 25, 2022

Bryce Pardo
Journal Article

'Passing', but Far from Perfect: Assessing Public Confidence in Police and Desire for Reform in Pennsylvania

This study measures public confidence in police and public support for policing practices. Findings reveal that participants expressed moderate levels of confidence in their local police, although confidence varied across racial groups.

Jan 11, 2022

Nathan E. Kruis, Richard H. Donohue, Payton Perry, Nicholas J. Rowland
Report

COVID-19 and Workers' Compensation: Considerations for Policymakers

The authors examine how and why policymakers have extended workers' compensation benefits to employees who are required to work outside the home during the COVID-19 pandemic and pose questions to help policymakers meet future public health crises.

Jan 11, 2022

Michael Dworsky, Bethany Saunders-Medina
Report

How Different Sampling Methods Paint Vastly Different Pictures of Recidivism, and Why It Matters for Policy

In this paper, the authors argue that the recidivism statistics cited most often in debates about the collateral consequences of conviction overrepresent the behaviors of frequent recidivists and so are not appropriate evidence in those debates.

Jan 6, 2022

Nidhi Kalra, Brian G. Vegetabile, Shawn D. Bushway, Greg Baumann
Research Brief

Resetting Recidivism Risk Prediction

A RAND research report proposes the novel reset principle to guide more-accurate recidivism risk prediction for criminal background checks. The research also demonstrates the viability of a risk-prediction model that satisfies the reset principle.

Jan 6, 2022

Shawn D. Bushway, Brian G. Vegetabile, Nidhi Kalra, Lee Remi, Greg Baumann
Tool

Empowerment-Based Domestic Violence Programming Within a Family Court Setting: An Implementation Guide

This guide supports the implementation of an empowerment-based domestic violence program within a family court setting. It was developed to share the best practices learned during an evaluation of the Safe Horizon Family Court organization.

Jan 6, 2022

Dionne Barnes-Proby, Mallika Bhandarkar, Melissa M. Labriola, Sierra Smucker, Emily Hoch, Yael Katz
Infographic

Empowering Domestic Violence Survivors Within the Family Courts

This infographic accompanies a tool that supports the implementation of an empowerment-based domestic violence program within a family court setting.

Jan 6, 2022

Dionne Barnes-Proby, Mallika Bhandarkar, Melissa M. Labriola, Sierra Smucker, Emily Hoch, Yael Katz