Research Network on Misdemeanor Justice

In 2016, the DCJ launched the Research Network on Misdemeanor Justice to study lower-level enforcement actions (e.g., misdemeanor arrests, citations, stops), which represent the most common interactions between communities and the criminal justice system. The Research Network seeks to inform criminal justice system operations and policy at the local and state levels. It also seeks to support a national discourse, informed by data, on the role of lower-level enforcement in public safety, trust in the criminal legal system, racial justice, and efficient use of finite taxpayer dollars.

The Research Network is comprised of researcher-practitioner partnerships in eight jurisdictions committed to producing data, research, and scholarly work on lower-level enforcement trends. The Research Network partner sites are: Durham, NC; Los Angeles, CA; Louisville, KY; Meridian, MS; New York, NY; Prince George’s County, MD; Seattle, WA; and St. Louis, MO. To date, the sites have published reports examining local, lower-level enforcement trends over time.