Randomized experiments in criminology: What have we learned in the last two decades?

Farrington, David P.; Welsh, Brandon C.

doi:10.1007/s11292-004-6460-0

Cited by 251 publications

(188 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…This would make communication easier and, hopefully, lead to a realization that researchers and practitioners are on the same side and have the same aims: to improve interventions and help those who need it. Furthermore, it has been noticed that funding agencies in criminal justice play an important role in defining the methodology used (Weisburd 2003;Farrington and Welsh 2005). The clear encouragement of experimental studies by funding agencies is likely to lead to a more general use of experiments in criminal justice.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a recent review of experimental studies in the field of criminology, Farrington and Welsh (2005) pointed out that relatively few randomized experiments in criminology are conducted outside the USA. Although there is a large body of research in Dutch criminology, very few studies, if any, which aim to examine efficacy of interventions to reduce delinquency and recidivism, can be characterized as randomized experiments (Deković et al 2007;van der Laan 2007).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Implementing randomized experiments in criminal justice settings: An evaluation of multi-systemic therapy in the Netherlands

et al. 2007

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Implementing randomized experiments in criminal justice settings: an evaluation of multi-systemic therapy in the Netherlands Asscher, J.J.; Dekovic, M.; van der Laan, P.H.; Prins, P.J.M.; van Arum, S. Disclaimer/Complaints regulationsIf you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: http://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. Abstract This paper addresses several issues that we encountered when implementing a randomized experiment to evaluate a promising intervention for serious juvenile delinquents, multi-systemic therapy (MST). The issues overlap with issues others experienced when trying to conduct randomized experiments in clinical practice, but are complicated because MST takes place in a legal context. The complex juvenile justice system makes it difficult to come up with a simple system of randomization. Problems encountered are the complexity of the referral process in this type of intervention, legal issues and the ethical concerns raised by clinicians. Our experiences might be useful to others planning to carry out a randomized efficacy study within the juvenile justice system. Firstly, other researchers might feel supported if they realize that others experience similar problems, and, secondly, we provide some concrete suggestions concerning the following: selecting the procedures and determining the moment of randomization, dealing with and overcoming the resistance of institutions involved, maintaining the cooperation of both the institution and the sample, and keeping turnover of research staff to a minimum.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Implementing randomized experiments in criminal justice settings: An evaluation of multi-systemic therapy in the Netherlands

et al. 2007

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“…Ook in onze studie was het niet mogelijk een RCT te implementeren, omdat EQUIP al door verschillende instellingen in de praktijk was geïmplementeerd wat randomisatie binnen een instelling niet mogelijk maakt. Om die reden zijn er buiten de VS, met name ook in Nederland, weinig RCT studies in justitiële context (Asscher et al, 2007;Farrington & Welsh, 2005, Wartna, 2009. Een studie met een hoogstaand quasi-experimenteel design is een goed alternatief om meer te weten te komen over wat werkt in de justitiële setting indien een RCT niet mogelijk is (Hollin, 2008).…”

Section: Beperkingenunclassified

Programma-integriteit en effectiviteit van EQUIP voor jongeren in justitiële jeugdinrichtingen in Nederland

2014

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In de huidige studie hebben we de programma-integriteit – de mate waarin een interventie wordt uitgevoerd zoals bedoeld – en effectiviteit van de groepsinterventie EQUIP voor jongeren in justitiële jeugdinrichtingen (jji’s) onderzocht. Aan de studie hebben 115 jongeren van zes jji’s in Nederland en Vlaanderen deelgenomen. EQUIP bleek effectief in het neutraliseren van afnames in sociale vaardigheden en morele waarden die bij de controle groep werden gevonden. Echter, EQUIP bleek niet effectief in het verbeteren van sociale vaardigheden en de morele ontwikkeling noch in het verminderen van cognitieve vertekeningen. Het EQUIP programma werd met een lage tot matige programma-integriteit uitgevoerd (M = 55%). Programma-integriteit had geen modererende werking op de effectiviteit. EQUIP bleek even (in)effectief voor jongeren in de lage als in de matige programma-integriteitsgroep.

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“…Arguments about whether these objections are justified notwithstanding, RCTs are rare in the policing and crime reduction field. Farrington and Welsh (2005) describe 12 policing RCTs, none of which were conducted in the UK, and most of which examined arrest strategies for domestic violence perpetrators and targeting crime hotspots. Concerns have been expressed regarding the honest and timely publication of government-funded research in the UK.…”

Section: The Nature Of Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence-Based Policing and Crime Reduction

Bullock

Tilley

2009

Policing

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There have been calls for research evidence to be drawn into police practice. We examine evidence-based practice in the policing and crime reduction agenda, drawing on the experience of implementing problem-oriented policing in the UK and beyond. We suggest that that the development of such an agenda has been hampered by certain factors. Evidence is not routinely used by police officers (or partnerships) developing strategies to deal with crime problems who prefer to deliver traditional (law enforcement) responses. There is a limited knowledge base on which practitioners can draw in developing responses to crime problems, and the nature of evidence about what is effective is contested amongst academics. Whilst welcoming the moves to incorporate evidence in policing, we caution against excessive optimism about what can be achieved and make some recommendations for those engaged in developing evidence-based practice. IntroductionAlongside other areas of public policy and practice, there have been calls for research 'evidence' to be drawn in policing (ACPO/Centrex, 2006; Flanagan's Review of Policing, Policing Green Paper, 2008). The critical collection, analysis and presentation of evidence are, of course, part of the stock-in-trade of policing. Evidence is used, for example, to determine if an offence has been committed, to suggest who might have committed it and to try to prove a case beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law. But this is not what is being referred to in 'evidence based policing'. Rather, 'evidence-based policing' is analogous to evidence-based medicine (see Nutley et al., 2002;Davies et al., 2000). As with its medical counterpart, evidence-based policing refers to the application of measures on the basis of robust evidence of their effectiveness in dealing with real (rather than supposed) problems. As Sherman says (1998: 3-4), 'evidence-based policing uses research to guide practice and evaluate practitioners. It uses the best evidence to shape the best practice.'Evidence-based policing assumes that we should adopt a sceptical attitude towards traditional ways of working for which there is no systematic evidence of effectiveness. The evidence-based movement in medicine has cast doubt on conventional wisdom; for example, making babies lie on the sides or stomachs, by looking for hard evidence about its actual effects rather than its assumed effects. It turns out that far fewer cot deaths occur where babies are put on their backs and this is now how new parents are advised to place their children in cribs and cots. In just the same way, evidence-based policing begins by calling for empirical tests of both established and innovative policies and practices.Various developments in policing have emerged as efforts to deliver evidencebased policing, amongst which the National Intelligence Model (NIM) is one clear example. This paper focuses, however, on problem-oriented policing (POP). It does so in part because POP has a longer history than the NIM, in part because there has been more researc...

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Randomized experiments in criminology: What have we learned in the last two decades?

Cited by 251 publications

References 79 publications

Implementing randomized experiments in criminal justice settings: An evaluation of multi-systemic therapy in the Netherlands

Implementing randomized experiments in criminal justice settings: An evaluation of multi-systemic therapy in the Netherlands

Programma-integriteit en effectiviteit van EQUIP voor jongeren in justitiële jeugdinrichtingen in Nederland

Evidence-Based Policing and Crime Reduction

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