In an effort to put science before politics when managing state correctional populations, the UC Irvine Center for Evidence-Based Corrections taps the research power of the University of California to evaluate juvenile and adult prison programs – including rehabilitation, parole and reentry programs – and provide information that helps corrections officials make policy decisions based on scientific evidence.
The Center’s mission is three-fold:
- To identify promising programs and evidence-based practices from the scientific criminological literature;
- To initiate and execute original research that addresses criminal justice policy questions relevant to California;
- To assist policy makers and correctional agencies in implementing and evaluating the above practices.
Evidence-based policy is an approach that helps people make well-informed decisions about policies and programs by putting the best available evidence from research at the heart of policy development and implementation. This approach stands in contrast to opinion-based policy, which relies heavily on either the selective use of evidence (e.g., on single studies irrespective of quality) or on the untested views of individuals or groups, often inspired by ideological views and speculative conjecture.
To contact the Center for Evidence-Based Corrections, please call 949-824-7372, or e-mail caoc@uci.edu.