Justice Research and Policy

Justice Research and Policy is the official publication of the Justice Research and Statistics Association. Members of JRSA receive the journal as a member benefit. For more information or to join JRSA, visit www.jrsa.org.

Justice Research and Policy is a semiannual, peer-reviewed journal focusing on issues related to applied criminal justice research. Manuscripts should address some aspect of criminal justice research, program evaluation, research utilization, or data analysis that has policymaking or other practical implications.

Because JRP’s readers and authors include individuals from a wide range of professional arenas, including academia, federal, state and local government, and membership organizations, we publish articles in several different formats.

• Research Articles. Research articles contain a literature review, description of the methodology, description of results, and a conclusion. The relevance of the findings to the formation of policy should be specifically addressed.
• Policy Review Articles. Policy review articles contain a statement of the problem that prompted the investigation, a cross-jurisdictional (i.e., inter-state comparisons) review of policies or practices concerned with the same issue, and a description of the steps taken to understand and solve the problem. A conclusion should address the implications of the findings and/or the impact of the investigation on policy. References may or may not be needed.
• Research Notes. Research notes are brief articles with a narrow focus and usually examine a unique or innovative methodological approach to conducting criminal justice research or policy analysis. Literature reviews are not necessarily required, although some background to place the research in context is needed.
• Commentaries. Commentaries are brief discussion pieces solicited by the editor to widen the conversation about issues addressed in the research or policy articles.