AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Community Reporting Thresholds: Sharing Information with Authorities Concerning Terrorism and Targeted Violence, California and Illinois, 2021

Parents, siblings, partners, and friends are often the first people to suspect a loved one is on the trajectory towards targeted violence or terrorism. These intimate bystanders are well positioned to facilitate prevention efforts if there are known and trusted reporting pathways to law enforcement or other resources. Little is known in the United States about the reporting processes for intimate bystanders to targeted violence or terrorism. This study is built on previous Australian and United Kingdom studies to understand the processes of intimate bystanders in the United States, in order to inform new, localized and contextually-sensitive understandings of and approaches to community reporting issues.
Qualitative-quantitative interviews were conducted from March 2021 to July 2021 virtually over Zoom with 123 community members living in California and Illinois. The researchers describe their perspectives on barriers, facilitators, and pathways. The study sought to enhance prior studies with a larger and more demographically-diverse sample. It included a focus on ISIS/Al-Qa'eda-inspired foreign-terrorism, White Power movement-inspired domestic terrorism, and--of particular relevance to the US---non-ideologically motivated targeted, workplace violence.

Tags: authority, extremism, hate-crimes, terrorism, violence, workplace-violence
Organization: Department of Justice
Racial Disparities in Virginia Felony Court Cases, 2007-2015

Research examining racial disparities in the court system has typically focused on only one of the discrete stages in the criminal process (the charging, conviction, or sentencing stages), with the majority of the literature focusing on the sentencing stage. The literature has thus largely ignored the key early decisions made by the prosecutor such as their decision to prosecute, the determination of preliminary charges, charge reductions, and plea negotiations. Further, the few studies that have examined whether racial disparities arise in prosecutorial charging decisions are rarely able to follow these cases all the way through the criminal court process. This project sought to expand the literature by using a dataset on felony cases filed in twelve Virginia counties between 2007 through 2015 whereby each criminal incident can be followed from the initial charge filing stage to the final disposition. Using each felony case as the unit of analysis, this data was used to evaluate whether African Americans and whites that are arrested for the same felony crimes have similar final case outcomes.

Tags: court-cases, crime-statistics, felony-offenses, justice, race
Organization: Department of Justice
A Randomized Controlled Trial Of A Comprehensive, Research-Based Framework for Implementing School-Based Law Enforcement Programs, Texas, 2017-2020

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a comprehensive, research-based framework of recommended practices for integrating police into the educational environment. This research tested use of a multi-faceted school-based law enforcement (SBLE) framework to determine how the framework contributes to multiple outcomes. The objectives for this study were to: (1) implement a randomized controlled trial to test a comprehensive framework for SBLE involving 25 middle and high schools; (2) assess the impacts of this framework on student victimization and delinquency, use of exclusionary discipline practices (e.g., suspension, expulsion), school climate measures, and student-officer interactions; and (3) disseminate tangible findings that can immediately be translated into practice and further research in schools nationwide.

Tags: delinquent-behavior, high-schools, law-enforcement, middle-schools, police, programs, punishment, schools, students, victimization
Organization: Department of Justice
Comprehensive Assessment of School Climate to Improve Safety in Maryland Middle Schools, 2015-2018

 The major aims of this project were to: 1) Adapt for middle schools and assess the feasibility and acceptability of the Maryland Safe and Supportive Schools (MDS3) Model; 2) Test the efficacy of MDS3 for improving school safety and climate, problem behaviors, engagement, and achievement using a group of randomized controlled trial design in 20 middle schools; and 3) Measure the programmatic costs and benefits associated with implementation of the MDS3 model. Toward that end, during Spring 2015, the study team adapted and finalized the middle school version of Maryland Safe and Supportive Schools (MDS3) model, ensuring that it was feasible and acceptable to implement in middle schools, thereby addressing aim 1. The study team then began a randomized controlled trial in Summer 2015, whereby they recruited, enrolled, and randomized 40 middle schools to intervention and control conditions. The study team then collected baseline (Spring 2015- Fall 2015) and annual follow-up data in the Spring of the 2015-2016, 2016-2017, and 2017-2018 school years. These data included: student, staff, and parent indicators via the online MDS3 School Climate Survey; implementation of positive behavior supports and multi-tiered interventions; classroom and environment observations using two measures: Assessing School Settings: Interactions of Students and Teachers (ASSIST; Rusby et al., 2001) and School Assessment for Environmental Typology (SAfETy; Bradshaw, Milam, Furr-Holden, and Lindstrom Johnson, 2015); and cost data assessing  the cost of program delivery in all 40 schools. Additionally,  the team collected implementation data from coaches in the 20 intervention schools, which included information on coaching fidelity and ratings of the school engagement. 

Tags: human-behavior, junior-high-school-students, junior-high-schools, school-security
Organization: Department of Justice
Effective School Staff Interactions with Students and Police: A Training Model (ESSI), Connecticut, 2013-2018

This project assesses the effectiveness of a one-day, 5-hour workshop (ESSI training, hereafter) designed for joint instruction by school staff and police to all school staff. The goal was to promote positive outcomes and reduce police involvement in interactions between staff and students exhibiting inappropriate behavior through increased staff awareness of youth behavior, the functions of the juvenile justice system, and disproportionate minority contact (DMC) in disciplinary action.
1,024 school staff participated in 51 ESSI training sessions throughought the 2015/16 academic year, which also serves as the training year in the longitudinal data. Schools which did not participate in the training served as controls for the participating school. Data were drawn from a panel of students enrolled in either a training or control school, with ten schools in each group. Data on this panel of students was collected for a five-year period, from the 2013/14 through the 2017/18 academic years.
School-level data serves as the unit of analysis, as the study's main goal was to test the effects of training on school-wide outcomes. The estimated coefficient indicates small attendance reductions during the post-training phase for the training group. This indicates that most of the differences between the training and control group were statistically insignificant and that there was no pattern of statistically significant positive effects across the training schools. The second set of analyses, performed on student-level data, indicates that male and minority students are more likely to be involved in disciplinary incidents and to receive suspensions or expulsions as a consequence of their behaviors than White and female students.

Tags: police-community-relations, police-intervention, school-age-children, school-personnel, school-principals, school-violence, schools, teacher-attitudes, teacher-education, teacher-participation, teacher-student-relationship, teachers
Organization: Department of Justice
Multi-State Recidivism Study Using Static-99R and Static-2002 Risk Scores and Tier Guidelines From the Adam Walsh Act, Florida, Minnesota, New Jersey, South Carolina, 1990-2004

This study seeks to examine important components of our nation's sex offender tracking and monitoring systems, with a focus on risk assessment and sexual
recidivism (measured by re-arrest). Data were collected from 1,789 adult sex offenders in the following states.

Florida: 500 cases
Minnesota: 500 cases
New Jersey: 291 cases
South Carolina: 498 cases

The data file contains another 551 cases from the state of Massachusetts. However, due to how and when those cases were identified they were not included in the Principal Investigator's focus and analysis. There are also another 151 cases where a study participant's state is missing. Total there are 2,491 cases and 1,947 variables. 

Tags: adam-walsh-act, behavior-problems, criminal-justice-system, criminality-prediction, delinquent-behavior, juveniles, recidivism, rehabilitation, risk-assessment, sentencing, sex-offenders, victimization
Organization: Department of Justice
Information Sharing and the Role of Sex Offender Registration and Notification, United States, 2009-2017

This study was conducted to evaluate and better improve inter-jurisdictional consistency and coordination of SORN (sex offender registration and notification) systems operating within the United States under SORNA (the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act). The study examined the progress that has been made toward SORNA's goals as envisioned in 2006, with a particular emphasis on
changes in information sharing over that period. The study utilized a
mixed-method approach, including nationwide analyses of official data and a
series of in-depth state case studies featuring interviews with 152 federal,
state, and local personnel involved in various aspects of SORN operations and policy development across 10 states.  Specific areas of focus included: 1) the nature, extent, and dynamics of state implementation of SORNA requirements; 2) the scope and evolution of information-sharing practices within the states, including both areas of success and challenge; and 3) the impacts of federal initiatives, including the expanded role of the US Marshal Service and information technology initiatives, on the achievement of SORNA's goals.

Tags: crime-reporting, information-dissemination, law-enforcement, sex-offender-registration, sex-offenders
Organization: Department of Justice
School and Family Engagement: Trauma-Informed (SAFE-TI), Bozeman, Montana, 2014-2019

This study involved implementing and evaluating a project built on multi-agency collaboration and a randomized controlled trial of multi-tiered, trauma-informed, evidence-based practices in one high school, two middle schools, and eight elementary schools in Bozeman, Montana. The School and Family Engagement: Trauma-Informed (SAFE-TI) project comprised a package of six varied interventions with the potential to impact discipline, truancy, recidivism, aggression, risk-taking, and suicidal ideation or attempts, and was tested relative to treatment as usual. Quantitative data collected included student absences and safety-related behavior. Analysis was performed at the school building level.

Tags: children, intervention-strategies, mental-health-services, school-attendance, school-security
Organization: Department of Justice
Understanding the Organization, Operation and Victimization Process of Labor Trafficking in the United States, 2000-2013

Although researchers have begun to piece together a picture of the characteristics of vulnerable individuals, participating industries, and exploitative practices that may lead to labor trafficking, few studies have systematically reviewed labor trafficking cases known to victim service providers and law enforcement officials in the United States. As a result, little is known about the phenomenon of labor trafficking and the illicit networks that support it.For example, it is not known if those networks that facilitate certain types of labor exploitation also facilitate certain types of labor trafficking. This study seeks to address these gaps in knowledge by providing foundational information about labor trafficking victimization and the illicit networks that facilitate it across a range of industries.
This study was guided by three research questions:What is the nature of the labor trafficking victimization experience in the United States?How are domestic and international labor trafficking syndicates operating in the United States organized? Who are the traffickers, and what is their connection to other illicit networks that help facilitate labor trafficking operations?What are the challenges of law enforcement agents investigating labor trafficking cases identified by victim service providers? Why are so few identified labor trafficking cases investigated by law enforcement and prosecuted?

Tags: human-trafficking, labor-work, sex-trafficking, victims
Organization: Department of Justice
Identifying Sexual Assault Mechanisms Among Diverse Women, New York State, 2016-2017

 This study offers novel insights into mechanisms associated with sexual assault (SA) among sexual minority women (SMW).  Experiences of bias and stigma contribute to lower rates of SA reporting by this population.  This results in victims with unmet needs and fewer criminal prosecutions of SA perpetrators. This study used a mixed-methods approach to collect data from lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual women to instigate changes that would improve responses from law enforcement, victim services, and anti-violence programs that serve SMW.
 This study comprised of three parts a: baseline survey,  qualitative interview, and daily survey.  Self-reported baseline questionnaires included topics like lifetime victimization (childhood sexual abuse, adult sexual aggression, and assault), discrimination, distress, mental health, alcohol use, and sexual history. The qualitative interviews focused on the most recent, and when applicable, the most salient adult sexual assault (ASA) incident. Interviews began by asking the participants to describe their ASA incidents with follow-probes asking about the victimization, perpetrator characteristics (gender and relationship to participant), and context of assault (role of alcohol or drugs and setting). Participants were also asked if they discussed the assault with anyone and their reasons for disclosure or non-disclosure. As well as short and long-term coping patterns. The daily survey asked participants about their mood, alcohol use, drinking contexts, and sexual experiences (consensual and non-consensual).
 This study contains demographic information such as: age, race, income, education, and BMI.

Tags: alcohol-consumption, anxiety, bisexuality, child-abuse, coping, discrimination, homosexuality, mental-health, sexual-assault, sexual-minorities, smoking, women
Organization: Department of Justice
Effectiveness of Restorative Justice Principles in Juvenile Justice: A Meta-Analysis


The objective of this study was to systematically review and statistically synthesize all available research that, at a minimum, compared participants in a restorative justice program to participants processed in a more traditional way using meta-analytic methods. Ideally, these studies would include research designs with random assignment to condition groups, as this provides the most credible evidence of program effectiveness.


The systematic search identified 99 publications, both published and unpublished, reporting on the results of 84 evaluations nested within 60 unique research projects or studies. Results were extracted from these studies,  related to delinquency, non-delinquency, and victim outcomes for the youth and victims participating in these programs.


Tags: criminality, juvenile-justice, offenders, recidivism, restorative-justice, sentencing, victimization
Organization: Department of Justice
Effects of Child Maltreatment, Cumulative Victimization Experiences, and Proximal Life Stress on Adult Outcomes of Substance Use, Mental Health Problems, and Antisocial Behavior, 2 Pennsylvania counties, 1976-2010

The study investigates protective factors for maltreated children and predictors of self-reported crime desistence among maltreated and multiply victimized children. Data are from the Lehigh Longitudinal Study, a prospective investigation of children and families that began in the 1970s. The original sample was comprised of 457 children and their families. Over 80 percent of the children, now adults, were most recently assessed in 2010, at an average of 36 years, using a comprehensive, interviewer-administered survey. Data on child maltreatment and related risk and protective factors were collected much earlier, beginning when participants were preschoolers, 18 months to 6 years of age. Childhood data are from multiple sources, including child welfare case observations of parents and children, school records, and parent and adolescent surveys. Data collected during adolescence and adulthood offer detailed accounts of the psychosocial adjustment and well-being of participants and their families at later life stages, ongoing experiences of abuse and victimization, self-reported crime and antisocial behavior, and protection and resilience.

Tags: abuse, abused-children, antisocial-behavior, child-abuse, crime, sexual-abuse
Organization: Department of Justice
Cross-Border Multi-Jurisdictional Task Force Evaluation, San Diego and Imperial Counties, California, 2007-2012


These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.


The study involved a three-year evaluation of two efforts to target crime stemming from the Southern Border of the United States - one which funded greater participation by local officers on four FBI-led multi-jurisdictional task forces (MJTFs) and another that created a new multi-jurisdictional team. As part of this evaluation, researchers documented the level of inter-agency collaboration and communication when the project began, gathered information regarding the benefits and challenges of MJTF participation, measured the level of communication and collaboration, and tracked a variety of outcomes specific to the funded MJTFs, as well as three comparison MJTFs. Multiple methodologies were used to achieve these goals including surveys of task forces, law enforcement stakeholders, and community residents; law enforcement focus groups; program observations; and analysis of archival data related to staffing costs; task force activities; task force target criminal history; and prosecution outcomes.


The study is comprised of several data files in SPSS format:

Imperial County Law Enforcement Stakeholder Survey Data (35 cases and 199 variables)
Imperial County Resident Survey (402 cases and 70 variables)
Imperial Task Force Survey (6 cases and 84 variables)
Prosecution Outcome Data (1,973 cases and 115 variables)
San Diego County Resident Survey (402 cases and 69 variables)
San Diego Law Enforcement Stakeholder Survey (460 cases and 353 variables)
San Diego Task Force Survey (18 cases and 101 variables)
Staff and Cost Measures Data (7 cases and 61 variables)
Criminal Activity Data (110 cases and 50 variables)



Additionally, Calls for Service Data, Countywide Arrest Data, and Data used for Social Network Analysis are available in Excel format.


Tags: criminal-histories, drug-law-enforcement, drug-law-offenses, drug-traffic, drugs, law-enforcement, law-enforcement-agencies, police-officers, residents, violence
Organization: Department of Justice
Delivery and Evaluation of the 2012 International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN) National Blended Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE) Training [UNITED STATES]


These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.


The project sought to address the shortage of sexual assault forensic examiners (SAFE) by delivering and evaluating a comprehensive SAFE training program developed by the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN).  To assess if the training was effective, researchers conducted an outcome evaluation using a mixed methods approach, including quantitative pre-post training and qualitative interviews with instructors and students. The evaluation had three main components: 1) to assess training completion, including the percentage of students who completed the training and the factors that contributed to their completion; 2) to ascertain whether students attained knowledge through pre-test/post-tests and the factors that contributed to knowledge attainment; and 3) to determine whether students retained their knowledge using a post-training exam approximately three months following the training, and whether the students incorporated the core concepts of the training into their SAFE practice.


The researchers divided the project into 3 studies.
Study 1 examined how many students completed the training and what predicted training completion.
Study 2a utilized a one-group pre-test post-test design where researchers assessed students' knowledge attainment for 12 online modules.
Study 2b utilized a qualitative framework to understand the instructors' pedagogical approach to teaching clinical skills.  In addition, researchers conducted qualitative interviews to examine the students' perceptions of the patient care and medical forensic exam skills gained from the clinical component in the SAFE training, and how the clinical training contributed to their skill development.
Study 3a explored knowledge retention using an online post-training survey given to students three months following the training.
Study 3b utilized the same qualitative framework as Study 2b.
Only data for studies 1, 2a, and 3a are available with this collection.
The data file has 198 cases and 675 variables.  The qualitative interviews for Studies 2b and 3b are not available as part of this data collection at this time.


Tags: forensic-medicine, sexual-assault, training, victim-services, violence-against-women
Organization: Department of Justice