Policymakers

In an age of intensified public debate about the role of police officers, more law enforcement agencies rely on evidence-based policing to help officers perform their duties.

In a new book written by faculty members, alumni and current and former doctoral students in Arizona State University's School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, authors offer fresh, research-based perspectives to help law enforcement officials make better-informed decisions about running their agencies and best apply strategies and tactics.

• Read more about New book provides research-based strategies for law enforcement

More than 3,100 people in Arizona died from firearms from 2015 to 2017 and 71% of those deaths were suicides, according to a new report released by Arizona State University.

The report, presented Wednesday by the Morrison Institute for Public Policy at ASU, includes a detailed breakdown of types of firearm deaths and the victims, with the intent to use the data to prevent gun violence in Arizona.

• Read more about New analysis of firearm deaths by ASU finds most victims are suicides

One in four suicides in Arizona are related to violence involving an intimate partner, according to a new report from Arizona State University’s Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety.

The center is based at ASU’s Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions. October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

• Read more about 1 in 4 Arizona suicides are domestic-violence related, ASU center finds

Nearly 1 in 4 Arizona teens have used a highly potent form of marijuana known as marijuana concentrate, according to a new study by Arizona State University researchers.

Among nearly 50,000 eighth, 10th and 12th graders from the 2018 Arizona Youth Survey, a biennial survey of Arizona secondary school students, one-third (33%) had tried some form of marijuana, and nearly a quarter (24%) had tried marijuana concentrate.  

• Read more about ASU study finds that teens are using a highly potent form of marijuana

Firearms are the second leading cause of death behind vehicle crashes for young people in the U.S., and gun deaths among people age 19 and younger have skyrocketed 44% since 2013, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But research into factors around firearm deaths and injuries has lagged, including how they could be prevented and who is most at risk.

• Read more about ASU professor among top experts chosen to define firearm injury research agenda

Editor’s note: This is part of a series of profiles for spring 2019 commencement.

Katharine Leigh Brown loves and values the criminal justice system. She even entertained thoughts of becoming a police officer.

• Read more about Criminal justice grad's research on trouble spots in policing gives her hope

Crime is down in Arizona but more people are in prison, and confronting that issue will require a broad range of changes plus a lot of courage, according to a group discussion on criminal justice reform held on Tuesday by the Morrison Institute for Public Policy.

• Read more about Criminal justice reforms will require changes in culture, experts say

African-American law enforcement officers must balance two identities simultaneously during these complicated times, and each identity serves the other, according to a panel discussion at Arizona State University on Thursday night.

Five African-American men discussed the complexity of race in their experiences as professionals in the criminal justice system in a talk titled “Being Blue from a Black Perspective” at the Beus Center for Law and Society on the Downtown Phoenix campus.

• Read more about African-American law enforcement officers balance dual identities

A new Arizona State University study has found that boys whose parents were less involved and communicative with them during childhood were significantly more likely to carry a gun during their teen years.

The long-term study, posted in the journal Pediatrics today, followed 503 boys over 13 years and found that boys whose parents were less engaged were more likely to associate with delinquent peers and that, in turn, increased their risk of carrying a gun.

• Read more about ASU research finds poor engagement by parents can lead to gun carrying in boys

A new statewide survey of adolescents in Arizona finds alarmingly high rates of e-cigarette use as well as use of marijuana concentrates, and an Arizona State University professor who led the research believes that intervention should begin at younger ages.

• Read more about ASU-led statewide survey finds big jump in e-cigarette use among adolescents