BGSU, Ohio Attorney General partner to create new Center for Justice Research

Center creates a public partnership that will support and explore criminal justice-based research and policy initiatives to serve all of Ohio

Bowling Green State University and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost have partnered to create the new Center for Justice Research.

Housed in the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation Building on the BGSU campus, the center establishes a public partnership that will support and explore criminal justice-based research and policy initiatives to serve all of Ohio.

“The goal is to understand the unbiased ‘why,’” Yost said. “While correlation does not equal causation, being able to better understand the complex relationships within Ohio will be invaluable in creating policy to better serve Ohioans. I look forward to the fruitful discoveries that our partnership with BGSU brings.”

Dr. John Boman, a quantitative criminologist and associate professor in the BGSU Department of Sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences, will lead the Ohio Attorney General’s Center for Justice Research, which will play a vital role in informing policy debates and building evidence-based practices in Ohio.

“This innovative partnership highlights the power of a public university and public state agency coming together to create public good,” said BGSU President Rodney K. Rogers. “Led by Dr. Boman, our faculty and students will identify and investigate research areas that are of particular interest, providing greater insight for decision-making that affects the entire state.”

As the center director, Dr. Boman will identify potential justice-related topics as he works with graduate assistants in planning and completing research projects. The center expects to publish scholarly, peer-reviewed analyses.

"It's an amazing honor to be selected as the first director for the Center for Justice Research," Boman said. "The work and original research done in this center will help shape policy and practice recommendations for the Ohio Attorney General to benefit all Ohioans. This is a truly unique collaboration designed to serve the public."

The Center for Justice Research, Yost said, gives Ohio a unique opportunity to move ahead of the curve in creating effective, bipartisan policy that is supported by empirical data and free of bias.