The Justice Lab
The Justice Lab is a working group comprised of individual faculty in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. The lab promotes the use of research to advance knowledge and address issues of crime and social justice (hereafter, justice) by translating empirical research into useable best-practice policies and programs, education and technical assistance that improve public safety and enhance justice in the City of Detroit, its surrounding areas and beyond.
A key component of this mission is encouraging partnerships that help bridge the gap between researchers, practitioners and communities. In pursuit of this mission, the lab will encompass three mutually reinforcing components:
- Evidence-based educational programming for practitioners, students and community members
- Externally funded policy, programmatic and evaluation research
- Partnerships with public and non-profit agencies to provide technical assistance in responding to crime and related problems
The lab will serve as a hub for these activities by fostering relationships with justice-related agencies, connecting faculty with these agencies, providing research collaborations between faculty and agencies/communities and providing agencies/communities with evidence-based educational programs.
Organizations interested in collaborating with Wayne States' department of Criminology & Criminal Justice can contact Bradley Smith, bradsmith@wayne.edu or call (313)-577-2705.
Faculty affiliates
- Shanhe Jiang, Professor
- Yuning (Bonnie) Wu, Professor
- Bradley Smith, Department Chair & Professor
- Charles F. Klahm IV, Associate Professor
- Jennifer Wareham, Professor
- Alaina De Biasi, Assistant Professor
Research
City of Detroit specific research
- Larson, M., Xu, Y., Ouellet, L., & Klahm, C. (2019). Exploring the impact of 9398 demolitions on neighborhood-level crime in Detroit, Michigan. Journal of Criminal Justice, 60, 57-63.
- Papp, J., Smith, B., Wareham, J., & Wu, Y. (2017). Fear of retaliation and citizen willingness to cooperate with police. Policing and Society. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2017.1307368
Metro-Detroit research
- Wu, Y., Klahm, C., & Atoui, N. (2017). Fear of crime among Arab Americans in a culture of fear. Ethnic & Racial Studies, 40(14), 2431-2500.
- Wu, Y. & Wareham, J. (2017). Perceived risk of crime: A tale of two immigrant groups in Metro-Detroit. Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, 15, 117-137.
- Sun, Ivan, & Wu, Yuning. (2015). Arab Americans' confidence in police. Crime & Delinquency, 61, 483-508.
- Wu, Yuning, & Wen Jiebing. (2014). Fear of Crime among Chinese Immigrants in Metro-Detroit. Crime, Law, and Social Change, 61, 495-515.