Annual Report - Fiscal Year 2023

Executive Summary

The Ohio General’s Center for Justice Research (CJR) at Bowling Green State University goal is to inform criminal justice policy through science, the CJR funds original research that is designed to answer key questions about criminal justice, justice administration and justice policy in Ohio. The Center for Justice Research’s motto – “Science Informing Policy” – directly reflects its purpose.

The Ohio Attorney General’s Center for Justice Research’s mission: At the Center for Justice Research, we believe in the power of science to inform policy. Our mission is to promote data-driven, effective and fair policy solutions to Ohio’s most pressing criminal issues. Collaborating with scientists and scholars across Ohio and the United States, we fund innovative research and share our findings with criminal justice practitioners, academia, and the public. During this reporting period the mission and goals of the Center for Justice Research have been supported by:

• Effectively maintaining a smooth transition in leadership for the Center for Justice Research
• Funding research initiatives aimed at the CJR mission
• Creating a literature review, collecting, cleaning, and managing data for the CJR’s first internal project

Memorandum of Understanding

The Center for Justice Research was established during the previous reporting period with an effective date of November 1, 2021, through a Memorandum of Understanding between Bowling Green State University and the Ohio Attorney General’s office.

Funding and Research Initiatives

Although the CJR joins other justice-focused research centers nationwide that have made strides in the areas of policy and quality-of-life improvements for Americans, our center is unique: We are a funding agency. At the conclusion of each scientific project, the center works with the research team to translate the findings into usable, scientifically validated, and effective policy recommendations for the Attorney General’s Office and policymakers throughout Ohio. The Center for Justice Research is developing initiatives for the upcoming reporting period that will continue to support the center’s goals and mission.

Projects funded during reporting period:

Activity 1: Bail Reform in Ohio (CJR-2022-001) Project

As the first funded project for the CJR, it remains active and has been granted a sixth month no-cost extension. The winning team of researchers at Kent State (Drs. Dum, Nader, and Solomon) have continued to focus on the three priority areas. Data collection is underway, and the project is expected to be finished at the end of the calendar year. Final report findings will be in the next annual report.

Priority Area 1: Court data are being collected from Columbiana County, Franklin County, and Summit County. As of date, Columbiana court data has been collected and is in the final stages for analyses. Franklin and Summit County are still in the process of collecting and sending the court data over to the Kent State team.

Priority Area 2: The public opinion survey (using YouGov Web Access Panel) was launched in mid-June.

Priority Area 3: The qualitative report on pre-trial detainment on life course outcomes of Ohioans will be completed by the end of June.

Amount awarded, period of performance 04/25/2022-12/31/2023: $89,992.00

Activity 2: Reentry and Employment in Ohio (CJR-2022-002) Project.

The second funded project by the CJR, this was solicited internally to the graduate students at BGSU Sociology. The winning team includes Doctoral Students Kopf and Confer (advised by Dr. Mowen). This project has been granted a six month no cost extension. Quantitative questionnaire surveys and qualitative interviews are currently being conducted. The extended timeframe on the project is expected to allow more time for a larger sample size and informative results. Final report findings will be in next annual CJR report.

Amount awarded, period of performance 06/01/2022-12/31/2023: $25,000.00

Activity 3: Residential Mobility and Crime in Ohio (CJR-2023-001) Project.

The third funded project by the CJR per AG Yost’s request, this is being conducted internally by CJR personnel. The purpose of this project is to analyze if residential mobility affects crime and future efforts could be extended to see how early predictive factors can be shared with police that inform the employment of practices that may buffer future criminal incidents. The project focuses on Lucas County in the areas where Toledo Police Department is present. Key variables are being measured at the census tract level. Data collection has completed, and analyses have begun.

Monthly Crime incident data and calls for service logs (2010-2019) have been received from the Toledo Police Department. To measure residential mobility and stability, the CJR have gained access to the USPS Housing and Urban Development Vacancy Data, which are organized into quarterly aggregate data focusing on vacancy counts of residential addresses.

Period of performance 01/25/2023-12/31/2023

Policy Briefs

The Center for Justice Research formed three policy briefs this reporting period during previous Director, Dr. John Boman. A brief discussing the afterschool crime spike was presented to Attorney General Yost and other AGO personnel. The Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Commission received a brief for data collection proposal from the Center for Justice Research. The final policy brief addressing recent facial recognition technology research was conducted and presented at the Attorney General’s Office.

The Center for Justice Research has written one policy brief under current Director, Dr. Melissa Burek. The proposal was focused on residential transitions, policing, and crime. The CJR will continue to provide policy briefs to the Ohio Attorney General’s office on an as needed basis.

Review Team

The Center for Justice Research developed a Review Team to support the mission of funding research activity. The Review Team consists of five members that have been instrumental to the success of awarding funding and the CJR. The review team has been compensated in this reporting period for their service on the review team.

Review Team 2021-2023:

Dr. Ebony Ruhland, Associate Professor, School of Criminal Justice at Rutgers University Newark. https://rscj.newark.rutgers.edu/people/faculty/dr-ebony-ruhland/

Dr. Anthony Peguero, Professor, T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics and School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University. https://search.asu.edu/profile/3752395

Dr. Sarah Manchak, Associate Professor, School of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati. https://researchdirectory.uc.edu/p/manchash

Dr. David Lilley, Associate Professor, College of Health and Human Services Criminal Justice Program at the University of Toledo. https://www.utoledo.edu/hhs/facultystaff/LilleyDavid.html

Dr. Nicole Kaufman, Associate Professor, College of Arts and Sciences: Sociology at Ohio University. https://www.ohio.edu/cas/kaufmann

Center Personnel

During the reporting period, the Center for Justice Research dismissed Dr. John Boman of the Director position on November 15, 2022. As of January 1, 2023, Dr. Melissa Burek was appointed Director of the CJR. During the transition of Directors, Dr. Jon Sprague was interim Director.

Center personnel, from July 1, 2022- December 31, 2022, consisted of Assistant to the Director, Christina Guinsler and Graduate Assistant Leanne Confer. Starting January of 2023, Center personnel consisted of Assistant to the Director and Budget Administrator, Nicole Pedraza and Graduate Assistants Julia Bell and Sara Lucak. After graduation in May 2023, Ms. Bell became a Research Associate.

Ms. Brooke Wollett started the new fulltime position of Research Coordinator on July 18, 2022. She has since sent her formal letter of resignation, which includes her final date of employment as of June 30, 2023. During the current reporting period, the CJR sought and gained approval for a new Research Coordinator. Ms. Wollett will be assisting in the transition to new Research Coordinator, Ms. Julia Bell. The Research Coordinator position remains to support the CJR mission. Primary duties of the Research Coordinator consist of assisting with identifying areas of criminal justice-related research and research activities for the Center for Justice Research.

An organizational chart for the Center for Justice Research is provided as Appendix A.

Publications

During the reporting period of July 1, 2022- June 30, 2023, the Center for Justice Research was not involved in any publications. The expectation is after the end of this calendar year, research activities that were funded will produce publications.

Marketing and Communications

Marketing and communications remain vital for the foundation of the Center for Justice Research. The Center for Justice Research worked with both the Ohio Attorney General’s office as well as Marketing and Brand Solutions at Bowling Green State University. The Attorney General’s office has updated the website and will remain up to date with any new changes. Bowling Green State University’s website for the Center for Justice Research has been established and created within the College of Health and Human Services. The website is now up to date with all changes. The two websites will be updated when new information is presented.

Center for Justice Research Websites:

https://www.bgsu.edu/health-and-human-services/center-for-justice-research.html

https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Law-Enforcement/Center-for-Justice-Research

Center for Justice Research Costs

Total expenditures for the Center for Justice Research for the reporting period July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023 are $235,553.01. A breakdown of expenditures is included as Appendix B.

Appendix A.

Organizational Chart for the Center for Justice Research

Center for Justice Research personnel consists of:

2023 – Director, Dr. Melissa Burek, Assistant to the Director, Nicole Pedraza, Research Coordinator, Brooke Wollett, Graduate Assistants, Julia Bell (January-May) and Sara Lucak, and Research Associate, Julia Bell (May-June).

2022 – Director, Dr. John Boman, Assistant to the Director, Christina Guinsler, Research Coordinator, Brooke Wollett, and Graduate Assistant Leanne Confer.

Appendix B

Activities & Costs Annual Report: 2022-2023

Dates: July 01, 2022, to June 30, 2023

Activity 1: Bail Reform Project.

Amount Awarded, period of performance 07/01/2022-06/30/2023: $89,992.00

Amount expended during reporting period: $60,813.87

Activity 2: Reentry and Employment Project.

Amount Awarded, period of performance 07/01/2022- 06/30/2023: $25,000.00

Personnel: $21,839.68

Fringes: $1,176.10

Incentives: $170.00

Amount expended during reporting period: $23,185.78

Activity 3: CJR Review Team

Personnel and Fringes: $4,000.00

Amount expended during reporting period: $4,000.00

Activity 4: Operation costs

Personnel and Fringes: $126,834.76

Travel: $1,615.33

Supply: $39.99

Amount expended during reporting period: $128,490.08

Indirect Costs $ 19,063.28

2022 – 2023 Year Summary: Costs

Total expenditures: $235,553.01