Request for Proposals - Causal Research on the Criminal Justice System

The topics listed below are not exhaustive, are related to RSF’s core priority areas: race, ethnicity, and immigration; social, political, and economic inequality; and behavioral science and decision-making in context. We will consider proposals on the effects of both the criminal justice system for both adults and juveniles.

• The effects of sentencing policies and incarceration on the educational attainment, employment, crime, and mobility of individuals and communities, and how effects vary by socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, gender, and geographic factors.
• The effects of incarceration of family members on young adult’s opportunities in education, employment and housing.
• The impacts of court-ordered fees, community supervision, or reentry programs on recidivism, employment, education, housing, and other outcomes.

• The effects of educational, housing, mental health, physical health, and other social program participation on criminal behavior and criminal justice involvement. We are particularly interested in proposals that can inform discussion of the relative impact of criminal versus non-criminal justice interventions on public safety.
• The downstream effects on crime and criminal justice outcomes of enhancing economic opportunities such as through the provision of baby bonds, income supports, housing subsidies, summer jobs, and increased minimum wages. 
• The downstream effects on criminal justice outcomes of public health, urban planning, and situational prevention interventions such as environmental improvements like greening vacant lots, remediating abandoned buildings, cleaning up litter and debris, and improving street lighting.
• The effects of Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI), diversion, or specialty courts on recidivism, and racial/ethnic disparities in criminal justice outcomes.

• The effects of violence and crime on neighborhoods and the socio-economic well-being of families.
• The effects of programs controlling criminogenic commodities such as firearms, drugs, and alcohol on crime and violence.
• The effects of programs and policies that seek to enhance life outcomes for victims of crime and those involved in the criminal justice system.

• The effects of criminal justice policies and practices on racial and ethnic disparities in arrests, convictions, and sentences.
• The role of behaviors and decision-making of criminal justice officials and interventions to improve fairness and reduce racial/ethnic disparities in arrests, convictions and sentencing.
• The consequences of “big data,” predictive tools, and AI for how police, courts, and prisons operate.
• The effects of court docket size on the quality of adjudication outcomes and racial/ethnic disparities in outcomes

• The impacts of proactive policing programs on crime, disorder, racial / ethnic disparities, punishment, community sentiment, and individual perceptions of the police.
• The effects of recruitment strategies, retention strategies, and training programs for police officers, court officers, and correctional officers that prioritize the use of administrative data on interaction with civilians, arrestees, or incarcerated people as outcomes.
• The effects of programs designed to de-escalate tense police-citizen encounters, reduce unnecessary police use of force, ensure the lawfulness of police actions, and enhance procedural justice and police legitimacy.
• The effects on court and crime outcomes of prosecutorial policies and practices (e.g., early screening, specialized prosecution, efficiency-enhancing operational reforms)
• The effects of oversight, training, and selection on the quality of indigent defense in misdemeanor and felony courts