Welcome to the Criminal Justice Research Center (CJRC) at Ohio State University. CJRC was established in 1989 as the focal point for collaborative interdisciplinary research on crime/delinquency and justice issues. In addition, the Center fosters intellectual exchange among faculty, graduate/professional students, policymakers and practitioners, and provides research-based outreach to crime and justice policymakers.
The Center has over 60 associated faculty and 30 graduate/professional student affiliates from a variety of disciplines, including: city and regional planning, economics, education, geography, history, human and community resource development, human development and family science, law, public policy, and sociology. Major collaborative research and outreach projects include the:
- Historical Violence Database (HVD), a Collaborative Research Project on the History of Violent Crime, Violent Death, and Collective Violence
- Institute for Excellence in Justice (IEJ), a CJRC seminar series geared towards informing criminal justice practitioners, with streaming video and tool kits available on OSU's Knowledge Bank.
- Racial Democracy, Crime and Justice Network (RDCJN)'s purpose is to collectively undertake research and related initiatives geared to explore the implications of crime and justice processes for democratic participation. This focus is informed by currents of history, cutting-edge crime and justice research, unfolding world events, and the interests and engagements of network participants. Our specific objectives are twofold: (1) advancing research on issues of citizenship and democratic participation at the intersection of race, crime, and justice; and (2) promoting racial/ethnic democratization of academe by supporting junior scholars of color (racial/ethnic minorities) in advancing their academic careers.
- The CJRC Undergraduate Internship Program was established in January 2012 and has steadily grown since its founding. Through our program, OSU students have been placed with a variety of valuable research opportunities on campus and at state agencies in Columbus. Representing numerous majors including Sociology, Math, and English, our students possess a range of intellectual interests. However, the common thread they share is their passion for learning more about the criminal justice system, first-hand.
The Center is directed by Dr. Dana L. Haynie (Sociology). CJRC is supported by funds from: (1) OSU's Office of Academic Affairs, Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences (College of Arts and Sciences), Public Policy Academic Enrichment Initiative: (2) governmental and private grants; and (3) gifts from supporters. Contributions are welcome at: Ohio State University Account # 302841.