Senior Fellow
Justice Policy Center
John Roman is a senior fellow in the Justice Policy Center at the Urban Institute, where he focuses on evaluations of innovative crime-control policies and justice programs. He is also the executive director of the District of Columbia Crime Policy Institute, where he directs research on crime and justice matters on behalf of the Executive Office of the Mayor. Roman is directing several studies funded by the National Institute of Justice, including two randomized trials of the use of DNA in motor vehicle thefts and burglary investigations, an evaluation of post-conviction DNA evidence testing to estimate rates of wrongful conviction, and a study on why forensic evidence is rarely used by law enforcement to identify unknown offenders. He manages the national evaluation of adult drug courts, directs a study on the social benefit of informal social controls of postal carriers, and is working to develop the first social-impact bonds in the United States. He also serves as a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania and an affiliated professor at Georgetown University.
Publications
| Viewing 1-10 of 72. Most recent posts listed first. | Next Page >> |
Costs of the Death Penalty: Testimony Before the Judiciary Committee Delaware Senate (Testimony)John Roman's testimony before the Judiciary Committee of the State of Delaware Senate on the cost to a state of having the death penalty.
| Posted to Web: March 20, 2013 | Publication Date: March 20, 2013 |
Social Impact Bonds : Testimony before the Committee on Appropriations Maryland House of Delegates (Testimony)Social welfare problems in Maryland and elsewhere have remained intractable because their scale is beyond the ability of government to address alone, John Roman told the Appropriations Committee of the Maryland House of Delegates. Social impact bonds’ integration of private capital into traditionally public-sector activities is a promising mechanism for addressing these challenges. On March 6, 2013, this testimony was presented to the Maryland Senate Committee on Budget and Taxation regarding the Senate version of the social impact bond legislation.
| Posted to Web: February 26, 2013 | Publication Date: February 26, 2013 |
District-Wide Model Bullying Prevention Policy (Research Report)This Model Bullying Prevention Policy is a comprehensive strategy that was developed for all youth-serving agencies in the District of Columbia. The policy employs a three-level public health model to prevent bullying, which involves shifting agency norms; delivering services to at-risk youth; and responding to bullying incidents in a way that inhibits subsequent acts, with an emphasis on data analysis to measure intervention success. The policy was developed by the Urban Institute in collaboration with the 42-members of the District of Columbia Mayor's Bullying Prevention Task Force and Office of Human Rights.
| Posted to Web: January 31, 2013 | Publication Date: January 31, 2013 |
Addressing Violence and Disorder around Alcohol Outlets (DCPI - Research and Analysis)This report identifies methods for addressing violence and disorder around bars. We find that safe drinking environments and strong community partnerships are key buffers against alcohol-related crimes. Safer drinking environments can be fostered by training bouncers in conflict resolution, ensuring bar design does not create overcrowding, and enforcing laws restricting service to intoxicated persons aggressively. Building partnerships with local businesses and neighborhood groups creates public support both for setting bar safety standards and for closing bars that are chronically problematic. This project was funded by the Justice Grants Administration in the Executive Office of the Mayor.
| Posted to Web: January 23, 2013 | Publication Date: January 23, 2013 |
The Costs and Benefits of Functional Family Therapy for Washington, D.C. (DCPI - Policy and Practice)This cost-benefit analysis of implementing a Functional Family Therapy (FFT) program in the District of Columbia indicates that the benefits are likely to outweigh the costs. The analysis employed an innovative statistical method that enables policymakers to assess the range of possible costs and benefits associated with specific evidence-based programs designed to prevent crime and recidivism. Results indicate that there is a 66 percent chance that an FFT program serving 150 juveniles will yield benefits exceeding its costs.
| Posted to Web: October 24, 2012 | Publication Date: October 24, 2012 |
The Costs and Benefits of Electronic Monitoring for Washington, D.C. (DCPI - Research and Analysis)This policy brief summarizes the second DCPI cost-benefit analysis employing an innovative statistical method that enables policymakers to assess the range of possible costs and benefits associated with specific evidence-based programs designed to prevent crime and recidivism. This particular study forecasted the costs and benefits of implementing an Electronic Monitoring program in the District. The analysis found an 80 percent chance that an EM program serving 800 people will yield benefits exceeding its costs.
| Posted to Web: October 11, 2012 | Publication Date: October 11, 2012 |
Delinquent Youth Committed to the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services 2004-2011 (Research Report)This report explores recent trends in the commitment of delinquent youth to the custody of the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS). Commitments to DYRS increased considerably from 2006-07 to 2009-10, due to more youth being committed following adjudication on misdemeanors. In 2011, commitments to DYRS declined, due to fewer youth being committed on felonies. By 2011, most youth committed to DYRS were misdemeanants. Understanding these shifts in the youth committed to DYRS will require a broad exploration of juvenile justice case processing involving all delinquent youth, using integrated data across juvenile justice agencies.
| Posted to Web: September 20, 2012 | Publication Date: September 20, 2012 |
Supportive Housing for Returning Prisoners: Outcomes and Impacts of the Returning Home-Ohio Pilot Project (Research Report)This evaluation of a supportive housing reentry pilot project, "Returning Home-Ohio", yielded positive outcomes for program participants. The pilot project, developed jointly by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and the Corporation for Supportive Housing, was designed for disabled prisoners returning from state prison to five Ohio cities. A process, impact, and cost evaluation employing a quasi-experimental design with multiple data sources found that RHO participants were significantly less likely to be rearrested or reincarcerated within one year of release and significantly more likely to be delivered substance abuse and mental health services, relative to a comparison group.
| Posted to Web: August 15, 2012 | Publication Date: August 15, 2012 |
Post-Conviction DNA Testing and Wrongful Conviction (Research Report)This study analyzed the results of new DNA testing of old physical evidence from 634 sexual assault and homicide cases that took place in Virginia between 1973 and 1987 in the first study of the effects of DNA testing on wrongful conviction in a large and approximately random sample of serious crime convictions. The study found that in five percent of homicide and sexual assault cases DNA testing eliminated the convicted offender as the source of incriminating physical evidence. When sexual assault convictions were isolated, DNA testing eliminated between 8 and 15 percent of convicted offenders and supported exoneration. Past estimates generally put the rate of wrongful conviction at or less than three percent.
| Posted to Web: June 18, 2012 | Publication Date: June 18, 2012 |
The Costs and Benefits of Community-Based Substance Abuse Treatment in the District of Columbia (DCPI - Research and Analysis)This policy brief summarizes the first of many Urban Institute cost-benefit analyses employing an innovative statistical method that enables policymakers to assess the range of possible costs and benefits associated with specific evidence-based programs designed to prevent crime and recidivism. This particular study examined the costs and benefits of the District of Columbia's Community-Based Substance Abuse Treatment (CBSAT) program. The analysis found a 55 percent chance, on average, that the CBSAT program serving 150 people will yield benefits exceeding its costs.
| Posted to Web: June 08, 2012 | Publication Date: April 30, 2012 |
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