Carrie Pettus, associate professor of social work and founding director of the Institute for Justice Research and Development, came to Florida State University with the motivation to support the wellbeing of individuals, families and communities disproportionally impacted by the criminal justice system.
Through IJRD, she leads a team of more than 70 researchers and practitioners across the country working on using science to create data-driven solutions to problems facing all facets of the justice system.
She answered five questions about IJRD's work.
IJRD is at this interesting nexus of research and public policy. Why is it critical for those two worlds to merge, particularly when it relates to the criminal justice system?
Organizational policy, local ordinances, and legislative policy drive an individual's experiences with the criminal justice system. To maximize impact and effectiveness of policy reform, policies must be based on data and continual evaluation. Therefore, research is critical to generating data-driven public policy solutions that result in enduring and equitable change for the millions of individuals who make contact with the criminal justice system every single year.
You look at so many aspects of the criminal justice system. What led you to decide this needed to be approached as a whole as opposed to focusing on individual segments?
There is an outcry for change from professionals and the public supporting the need for data-driven reforms and guidance. The government is passing policies requiring comprehensive evidence-based reforms, but reform efforts remain piecemeal, don't address inequities and are often not data-driven. A lack of evidence-based strategies informing policy and practice has led to the implementation of ideas contributing to a failed system. It will take delivering coordinated and comprehensive science-backed research and localized innovations oriented toward well-being which can be scaled for public use, providing tools for advocacy, and driving awareness of data-driven reform solutions by rapidly releasing research results to stakeholders to change policy and practice in real-time, to solve one of the most entrenched social justice issues of our times.
What drives IJRD's work?
At IJRD, we are driven by our desire to re-envision a country with a dramatically reduced need for the criminal justice system; achieving racial, economic, and behavioral health equity across the criminal justice system; and promoting well-being development as we believe that helping individuals develop well-being leads to enhanced human potential, improved lives, and a better nation.
How has IJRD's work driven change?
IJRD drives change in a variety of ways, including researching ways to achieve equity in the criminal justice system and rapidly disseminating our findings to policymakers, criminal justice stakeholders and the public to ensure that our data-driven solutions change policy and practice in real time. We also collaborate with a national network of criminal justice professionals including law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, and prison and jail administrators as they are the gatekeepers to transformational change. These stakeholders have invited us to their tables and rather than us dictating what they "should" do, we offer data-driven insights and help them generate innovations they can feasibly implement and sustain. Our enduring partnerships with both community providers and justice-system impacted individuals ensure that diverse voices are heard and valued at every step.
Many people are eager to work in this space or support IJRD's mission. What does support or a donation mean in terms of impact? How does that transform people's lives?
Your engagement with IJRD supports thousands of individuals, their children, and families who have been impacted by justice involvement through programming and researching best practices. Your support of our work ensures the design and delivery of public awareness campaigns to reduce stigma and structural bias against these individuals and families. Your investment opens doors to opportunity through second-chance hiring and training employers on how to promote and retain employees impacted by the justice system. All of our work is dedicated to educating the next generation of criminal justice reformers who work toward achieving racial and economic equity and promoting well-being of individuals, families, and communities most impacted by justice-involvement. We could not do this transformative work without your support and energy and the IJRD team is grateful for all the support we receive.
