Announcements

ASC Call for Submissions

Dear colleagues-
 
I am writing you as the Chair of the Program Committee for the Division of Communities and Place.  The Division is looking to put together a series of “Communities and Place” panels for the 2019 American Society of Criminology annual meeting.  We are accepting full panels and individual papers that examine crime and justice issues with a focus on communities and/or place. 

This is a great way to join a (hopefully) more relevant panel than you may end up on by submitting on your own, and all the panels will be advertised to Division members (last year this resulted in increased turnout at the Division-organized panels). 
 
This solicitation is open to anyone, so please feel free to forward this invitation to any scholars working on relevant research. 
 
If you are interested in presenting on a Communities and Place panel at ASC 2019 (in San Francisco), please send us your name, school/organization affiliation, title of presentation, and presentation abstract, as well as the name, emails and affiliations of any co-authors. Additionally, all participants and ALL co-authors need to create an account on the ASC 2019 Annual meeting website (https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/asc/asc19/), which is free of charge.
 
With the ASC submission deadline of Friday, March 8, 2019, we are asking for submissions to us one week earlier.  So please send all submissions to Kevin Drakulich (k.drakulich@northeastern.edu) no later than Friday, March 1, 2019
 
We do ask that all participants consider becoming members of the Division to help support this work (this can be added as part of your ASC membership or “added on” from the members area if you have already purchased an ASC membership for 2019). 
 
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Otherwise, we look forward to seeing a great group of Communities and Place panels at the 2019 ASC meeting!
 
Best,
Kevin Drakulich, Chair of the Program Committee for the Division of Communities and Place

Communities and Place Funding Opportunities

Compiled by Casey Taggart Harris

OVW-2019-15825 Rural Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence and Stalking Program

Current Closing Date for Applications:          Feb 14, 2019

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=311346

Victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking in rural communities face unique challenges and barriers to receiving assistance rarely encountered in urban areas. The geographic isolation, transportation barriers, economic structure, particularly strong social and cultural pressures, and lack of available services in rural jurisdictions significantly compound the problems confronted by those seeking support and services to end the violence in their lives. These factors also complicate the ability of the criminal justice system to investigate and prosecute sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking cases. In addition, socio-cultural, economic, and geographic barriers create difficulties for victim services providers to identify and assist victims of these crimes. The United States Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) (www.ovw.usdoj.gov) is pleased to announce that it is seeking applications for the Fiscal Year 2019 Rural Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking Assistance Program. This program furthers the Department’s mission by supporting projects designed to address and prevent sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking in rural jurisdictions.

BAA-ESC-GDO-2019 
The USAID/Eastern and Southern Caribbean’s Community Resilience Initiative Broad Agency Announcement

Current Closing Date for Applications:          Feb 19, 2019

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=312578

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is issuing this Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) to seek participants to co-create, co-design, co-invest, and collaborate on research and development interventions for the Community Resilience Initiative that seeks to strengthen communities by addressing internal and external destabilizing factors, specifically the recent influx of Venezuelan migrants to Trinidad & Tobago (T&T). USAID invites organizations and companies to submit an Expression of Interest, as provided below. The intent of the BAA is to allow co-creation and co-design to the maximum extent to create high quality, effective partnerships with great efficiency in time and resources. USAID will invite selected for-profit and non-profit, public and private organizations, as detailed below, to co-create research and development (R&D) solutions to the Problem and Challenge Statement stated in this BAA, including those organizations that have ideas, expertise, resources, and/or funding to add to potential solutions. USAID/ESC wants to align goals with the partners under this BAA, to facilitate shared responsibility, shared risk, shared resourcing or co-investing. Shared resourcing requires that cash and other resources, both tangible and intangible, such as in-kind contributions, expertise, intellectual property, brand value, high-value coordination, and access to key people, places, and information, are directed towards reaching the solution to the Problem/Challenge. Co-investing does not require equal shared resources (such as 1:1 leverage), but rather financial contributions that are appropriate to the specific project’s objectives, considering the comparative advantages brought by the participation of each party.

The activity should provide targeted community strengthening services to municipalities with high crime and violence. The activity should increase opportunities for highly vulnerable migrant and local populations and deter recruitment of children and youth into crime and violence or other exploitative or extremist activities. To achieve this, the activity will work in close collaboration with regional corporations, civil society organizations, and other key actors. USAID/ESC is seeking to develop and test new and innovative approaches towards actionable solutions to strengthen communities’ resilience to destabilizing factors in T&T. These solutions will be focused on specific locations (at a municipal or community level) that are expected to be identified during Stage 2 of this BAA. 

Innovation will be critical to addressing the recent challenge of irregular migration to a country comprised of two islands in the West Indies in the Caribbean. The project design should increase the resilience and safety of communities in Trinidad and Tobago by strengthening the capacity of targeted populations, organizations, and networks. Proposed solutions and activities should be replicable, scalable, sustainable, and account for the need to eventually transfer of the response to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago or other stakeholders. Flexibility in modifying solutions and activities to respond to changes in the country context is key to the success of the innovation transfer process.

NIJ-2019-15143 Graduate Research Fellowship in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

Current Closing Date for Applications:          Apr 17, 2019

https://www.nij.gov/funding/Documents/solicitations/NIJ-2019-15143.pdf

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is seeking applications for funding innovative doctoral dissertation research in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics that is relevant to providing solutions to prevent and reduce crime, and promote the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States. This program furthers the Department’s mission by sponsoring research to provide objective, independent, evidence-based knowledge and tools to meet the challenges of crime and justice, particularly at the state and local levels.

NIJ-2019-15563 Research and Evaluation on Promising Reentry Initiatives, FY 2019

Current Closing Date for Applications:          May 13, 2019

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=312096

With this solicitation, NIJ seeks to build knowledge on best practices in offender reentry initiatives. Specifically, NIJ requests proposals for rigorous research to examine reentry initiatives that incorporate promising practices, strategies, or programs. For this solicitation, NIJ is interested in supporting evaluations of innovative reentry initiatives that focus on juveniles, young adults (aged 18-24), and adults with a moderate-to-high risk of reoffending. A particular focus on the risk of reoffending with a violent crime is encouraged. These initiatives may be applicable to juvenile residential facilities, institutional and/or community corrections.

Join the Division and attend our ASC meeting and social

Join

Please join the division ($20, $5 for students) as part of your ASC membership

Attend

Our official organizational meeting at the ASC annual meeting in Atlanta, GA will be held on Thursday, November 16, 2018 from 4:00-5:00pm. The division social will follow from 5:00pm – 7:00pm. Venue for both events:

Braves All Star Grill
200 Peachtree Street, NW
Atlanta, GA 30303

Find out more about Division-organized events at the ASCs here.

Call for papers, JQC Special Issue

Hello everyone,

Please see below regarding a Call for papers for a special issue in the Journal of Quantitative Criminology:

https://www.springer.com/criminology/journal/10940

Special Issue of Journal of Quantitative Criminology on “Advances in Place-Based Methods”

Guest Editors: Martin A. Andresen, Simon Fraser University, Cory Haberman, University of Cincinnati, Shane D. Johnson, University College London, Wouter Steenbeek, Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement

For close to 30 years the crime and place literature has shown that the micro-place is critical to understand the spatial patterning of crime. Specifically, a small proportion of addresses or street segments account for a large proportion of crime in many cities (see Andresen et al., 2017; Braga et al., 2010; Sherman et al., 1989; Weisburd, 2015; Weisburd & Amram, 2014; Weisburd et al., 2004, 2009, 2012) and the micro-place has been shown to be critical for understanding spatial crime patterns (Haberman & Ratcliffe, 2015; Rosser et al., 2017; Steenbeek & Weisburd, 2016). The development of this sub-field within criminology has led to the advancement of place-based methods that needs to be continued if we are to move forward in the theoretical and empirical development of the crime and place literature.

One of the limitations of analyzing such small geographies is the limits to the theoretically informed variables that are available for analysis. The communities and crime literature has access to census data, but census data are too coarse for crime and place analyses: one census tract may include 10 census block groups, and each census block group may include 25 street segments and intersections. New or alternative sources of data, such as that extracted from social media and other sources, might address this limitation. In addition, the application of cutting-edge methods (for example as used in fields such as ecology or spatial epidemiology) and development of new methods (for example related to spatio-temporal point patterns, the modifiable areal unit problem, or sentiment analysis) are key ingredients to successful continuation of the crime and place tradition.

Papers in this special issue of the Journal of Quantitative Criminology are to consider advances in place-based methods that considers new forms of data, new methods and new crime types that allow for the continued development of the crime and place literature. These papers may include: cutting-edge statistical models, alternative sources of data that are available at the micro-place, and the ability of the crime and place perspective to understand newer forms of crime (Llinnares & Johnson, 2018).All papers are subject to the normal blind review process at JQC.

Production Timeline

01 April 2019: Papers submitted to JQC. To submit the paper, go to the journal’s submission website (https://www.editorialmanager.com/joqc/) and follow the submission guidelines selecting the Special Issue option. Please also note in the submission letter that the manuscript is submitted for the planned special issue.

Summer 2019: Initial decision letters and reviews sent to authors.

Fall 2019: Final decisions made with decision letters and reviews sent to authors.

Fall 2019:

Final submission.Early 2020: Completed volume published.

References

Andresen, M.A., Linning, S.J., & Malleson, N. (2017). Crime at places and spatial concentrations: Exploring the spatial stability of property crime in Vancouver BC, 2003-2013. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 33(2), 255 – 275.

Braga, A., Hureau, D. M., & Papachristos, A. V. (2010). The concentration and stability of gun violence at micro places in Boston, 1980–2008. Journal of Quantitative Criminology 26: 33 – 53.

Haberman, C. P., & Ratcliffe, J. H. (2015). Testing for temporally differentiated relationships among potentially criminogenic places and census block street robbery counts. Criminology, 53(3), 457 – 483.

Llinares, F.M., & Johnson, S.D. (2018). Cybercrime and place: Applying environmental criminology to crimes in cyberspace. In G Bruinsma and S Johnson (Eds.) Oxford handbook of environmental criminology, Oxford University Press, New York.

Sherman, L.W., Gartin, P.R., & Buerger, M.E. (1989). Hot spots of predatory crime: Routine activities and the criminology of place. Criminology, 27(1), 27 – 56.

Steenbeek, W., & Weisburd, D. (2016). Where the action is in crime? An examination of variability of crime across different spatial units in The Hague, 2001–2009. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 32(3), 449 – 469.

Weisburd, D. (2015). The law of crime concentration and the criminology of place. Criminology 53: 133 – 157.

Weisburd, D., & Amram, S. (2014). The law of concentrations of crime at place: The case of Tel Aviv-Jaffa. Police Practice and Research, 15(2), 101 – 114.

Communities and Place Funding Opportunities

Compiled thanks to Casey Taggart Harris.

Research on Reducing Violence in Communities

https://nij.gov/funding/Documents/solicitations/NIJ-2018-13908.pdf

Deadline: May 21, 2018.

The purpose of this solicitation is to support research to produce sustainable community-level reductions in violence. NIJ seeks to develop scientific evidence and build practical knowledge of the factors that contribute to achieving enduring violence reductions in communities. NIJ is interested in receiving proposals for research, with both empirical and theory-building elements, that will lead to practical recommendations. These recommendations should inform community- focused efforts to produce substantial and lasting violence reductions in communities that have suffered from persistently high levels of violence. This solicitation supports the U.S. Department of Justice’s priority to prevent and reduce crime.

 

Innovations in Community-Based Crime Reduction Program Training and Technical Assistance Program

https://www.bja.gov/funding/CBCRTTA18.pdf

Deadline: April 30, 2018

The purpose of this FY 2018 competitive grant announcement is to select one provider to deliver a wide range of training and technical assistance (TTA) services to communities participating in the Innovations in Community-Based Crime Reduction (CBCR) Program. CBCR was formerly known as the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program or BCJI. This program’s focus on high crime communities with concentrated distress and hot spots of crime directly supports the Department’s priorities to reduce violent crime, assist communities struggling with drug abuse (especially opiates), and support law enforcement officers by integrating officer participation and enforcement strategies into community-based crime reduction efforts.

 

Innovations in Community-Based Crime Reduction Program (CBCR)

https://www.bja.gov/funding/CBCR18.pdf

Deadline: April 30, 2018

BJA seeks applications for the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program. This program furthers the Departments mission by leading efforts to enhance the capacity of local and tribal communities to effectively target and address significant and violent crime issues through collaborative cross-sector approaches that are linked with broader neighborhood development goals.Eligible applicants are limited to states, institutions of higher education (including tribal institutions of higher education), units of local government, nonprofit organizations (including tribal nonprofit organizations), and federally recognized Indian tribal governments (as determined by the Secretary of the Interior) as fiscal agent. The goal of BCJI is to reduce crime, increase trust, and improve community safety as part of a comprehensive strategy to advance neighborhood revitalization. Through a broad cross-sector partnership team, including neighborhood residents, BCJI grantees target neighborhoods with hot spots of violent and serious crime and employ data-driven, cross-sector strategies to accomplish this goal.

 

 

BJA FY 18 Innovations in Supervision Initiative: Building Capacity to Create Safer Communities

https://www.bja.gov/funding/InnovSupervision18.pdf

Deadline: May 1, 2018

The Smart Supervision Program seeks to improve the capacity and effectiveness of community supervision agencies to increase probation and parole success rates and reduce the number of crimes committed by those under probation and parole supervision, which would in turn reduce admissions to prisons and jails and save taxpayer dollars. Funds will be awarded in two categories. In Category 1, state and local agencies will be selected to improve supervision using evidence-based supervision strategies or to innovate new strategies to improve outcomes for supervisees. For example, agencies may test supervision strategies with offenders at high risk of committing or being victimized by violence and may shift supervision strategies from time focused to goal focused and from mass supervision to focus on individualized supervision. In Category 2, a TTA provider will work with three sites to develop a model for law enforcement and prosecutors to work with probation departments with regard to high risk, violent offenders. The TTA provider will select three sites in concert with BJA and pass through funds to support their work.

 

BJA FY 18 Technology Innovation for Public Safety (TIPS) Addressing Precipitous Increases in Crime

https://www.bja.gov/funding/TIPS18.pdf
Deadline: May 1, 2018

The focus of this program is to identify, implement, and evaluate new and innovative technology and applicant projects that specifically address precipitous increases in crime(s) on a state, local, county, or regional basis. This is not an equipment purchasing program, but is designed to use a combination of new methodologies to address specific crime(s) identified by the applicant. To be eligible for this program the applicant must identify the crime(s) where there was a precipitous increase over a 2 year period and clearly articulate how the proposed project will hopefully reduce the identified crime(s). Applicants are urged to take a multijurisdictional approach that is designed to share information and services to reduce crime in ways that result in significant cost and time savings, and enhances criminal justice policies and practices that promote public safety.

 

NIJ FY18 Understanding the Impacts of Policing Strategies and Practices

https://nij.gov/funding/Documents/solicitations/NIJ-2018-14064.pdf

Deadline: May 14, 2018

With this solicitation, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) seeks proposal for research and/or evaluation projects to examine the impact of police crime-reduction practices and strategies on four variables. Those are: (1) crime, (2) officer safety, (3) criminal investigations, and (4) criminal prosecutions. NIJ will accept proposals for research examining person- or place-based practices and strategies. NIJ is particularly interested in examining the practice of proactive policing and its related strategies, especially focused deterrence. NIJ will not accept proposals for projects that do not include crime as a variable, nor will NIJ accept proposals that only address crime without consideration of at least one other of the three remaining variables. NIJ is particularly interested in proposals for research that address all four variables. Additionally, applicants should consider the role of intervening variables such as department and neighborhood characteristics. Practices and strategies can impact police officers and their leadership in unanticipated ways, such as affecting morale, stress and fear, and the actual praxis of the officers in the street. Neighborhood characteristics (e.g., social capital, collective efficacy, and perceptions of procedural justice), also, may be intervening variables. Researchers may consider if these relationships are intervening variables between the effects of the practices and strategies on crime, officer safety, criminal investigations and criminal prosecutions.

 

BJA FY 18 Innovative Prosecution Solutions for Combatting Violent Crime and Illegal Opioids

https://www.bja.gov/funding/InnovativeProsecution18.pdf

Deadline: April 24, 2018

The Innovative Prosecution Program seeks to encourage exploration of new solutions to public safety concerns, as well as internal operations and organizational structure, while employing research partners at the problem definition stage through assessment of strategies and solutions. Some creative solutions developed by prosecutors around the country include changing how their organizations prioritize cases, identifying the most violent repeat offenders, using data to develop zone/geographic prosecution, using crime analysis tools through strategies like gun stat to track reduce gun violence, developing policies to prosecute witness intimidation cases, working jointly with Parole and Probation on violations of probation, enhancing the prosecutors role in investigations of homicide cases and cyber-crime strategies to improve public safety.

 

Children, Youth and Families at Risk Sustainable Communities Projects RFA

https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/children-youth-and-families-risk-cyfar-sustainable-community-projects

Deadline: April 9, 2018

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), USDA announces the Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) funding program to improve the quality and quantity of comprehensive community-based programs for at-risk children, youth, and families supported by the Cooperative Extension System. The CYFAR program mission is to marshal resources of the Land-Grant and Cooperative Extension Systems to develop and deliver educational programs that equip limited resource families and youth who are at-risk for not meeting basic human needs with the skills they need to lead positive, productive, contributing lives.

 

NIJ FY18 Research and Evaluation on Drugs and Crime

https://nij.gov/funding/Documents/solicitations/NIJ-2018-13682.pdf

Deadline: April 25, 2018

NIJ’s drugs and crime portfolio supports research on law enforcement efforts to deter, investigate, prosecute, and address illegal drug trafficking, markets, and use. This FY2018 solicitation seeks investigator-initiated proposals to conduct applied research on evidence-based tools, protocols, and policies for State, local and tribal jurisdictions. The two drug priorities are: 1) opioid-related criminal investigation, prosecution, drug intelligence, and community surveillance; and 2) illegal marijuana markets and drug-related violent crime. Opioid research proposals should address narcotics law enforcement, forensic science, and/or medicolegal death investigations; and opioids include heroin, fentanyl, diverted pharmaceuticals, synthetic drugs, and analogues.

 

Building Local Governments Capacity to prevent and provide services to Gender Based Violence (GBV) victims

Bureau of International Narcotics-Law Enforcement

Deadline: April 3, 2018

The U.S. government believes in encouraging the development and implementation of innovative programs to permit local governments in the prevention of Gender Based Violence and Domestic Violence the community. INL Costa Rica emboldens local governments and local law enforcement agencies in reorienting the emphasis of their activities from reacting to Gender Based Violence and Domestic Violence to preventing and providing quality services to Gender Based Violence and Domestic Violence victims. To support INL and U.S. Government gender initiatives in Costa Rica, INL has allocated up to $250,000 USD for the a project to build capacity of Local Governments to prevent and provide services to Gender Based Violence and Domestic Violence victims, which can be awarded for up to 24 months.

The 2018 Committees

Thanks to the large number of people who volunteered for DCP committees.  Below please find the current committee members.

Name Affiliation Email
Publication Committee—Rebecca Wicks (Chair)
Jeffrey Walker University of Alabama, Birmingham jeffw@uab.edu
Kelly Frailing Loyola University klfraili@loyno.edu
Casey Harris University of Arkansas caseyh@uark.edu
Alexis Harper Texas A&M alexis.harper@tamiu.edu
Eileen Ahlin Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg ema105@psu.edu
Nominations Committee—Emily Wright (Chair)
Graham Ousey William & Mary gcouse@wm.edu
Jacob Becker Oakland University jhbecker@oakland.edu
Tarah Hodgkinson Simon Fraser thodgkin@sfu.ca
Communications Committee—Martin Andresen (Chair)
Katie Wuschke Portland State University wuschke@pdx.edu
Roderick Jones Western Kentucky University Roderick.jones@wku.edu
Andrew Wheeler UT Dallas Andrew.wheeler@utdallas.edu
Julie Hibdon Southern Illinois University jhibdon@siu.edu
Awards Committee—Paul Bellair (Chair)
Tom McNulty Georgia State tmcnulty@uga.edu
Joao Antunes Towson University mantunes@towson.edu
Jeff Roth Pennsylvania State University jjr30@psu.edu
Ben Feldmeyer University of Cincinnati Ben.feldmeyer@uc.edu
Corina Graif Pennsylvania State University Corina.graif@psu.edu
Program Committee—Kevin Drakulich (Chair)
Lyndsay Boggess University of South Florida lboggess@usf.edu
Josh Hinkle Georgia State University jhinkle@gsu.edu

Announcing the Inaugural Board

Announcing the Inaugural Board for the ASC Division of Communities and Place

dubois

We are very excited about the new Division of Communities and Place within the ASC. This November in Philadelphia we will have our inaugural meeting (Thursday, Nov 16 at 2pm), followed by a Division social at the Field House (Thursday, Nov 16 at 4:30pm). Please join us to learn about the Division’s mission and goals for the future.

The inaugural Board is now officially in place. The members of the Board have been working hard over the past year to get the Division up and running, and we are certain they will continue to successfully lead the Division. Elections for the Chair and three Executive Counselor positions will be held in 2018. If you would like to get involved in the Division, email the chair of the Committee (see below) or volunteer for one of the Committees at the General Meeting. We look forward to your involvement.

Chair:

Robert J. Sampson, Harvard University

Vice-Chair:

Elizabeth Groff, Temple University

Secretary/Treasurer:

Alyssa Chamberlain, Arizona  State University

Executive Counselors:

Martin Andresen, Simon Fraser University, Chair of Communications Committee

Paul Bellair, Ohio State University, Chair of Awards Committee

Kevin Drakulich, Northeastern University, Chair of Program Committee

Rebecca Wickes, Monash  University, Chair of the Publications Committee

Emily Wright, University of Nebraska-Omaha, Chair of Nominations Committee