Acquisition of Common-Use Geophysical Equipment for Locating, Researching, and Protecting Archaeological and Cultural Resources on Clemson University Landscapes: Multiple departments across Clemson University through Faculty Affiliate David Markus will examine the over 42,000 acres of land between its main campus, experimental forest, satellite campuses, and experiment station. These holdings, utilized by multiple units for research and education, are a largely undocumented landscape of threatened archaeological, cultural, and environmental resources. This project aims to acquire a full-spectrum suite of geophysical equipment to document, protect, interpret, and research various landscapes.
An Evaluation of De-Escalation Training to Understand the Links between Training and Outcomes: Faculty Advisory Board member Kyle McLean will evaluate a hybrid (in-person/online) de-escalation training program. This project will use systematic social observation of body-worn camera video to examine improvements in officer behaviors in non-use-of-force incidents and differences between trained and untrained officers in the transactional nature of use-of-force incidents. If successful, the hybrid format of the training program could be particularly impactful for small and/or rural agencies, which tend to have a limited ability to gather officers in-person for in-service training.
Assessment of Cognitive Performance-Based Training to Improve Police Decision-Making: Faculty Advisory Board member Kyle McLean partnered with three law enforcement agencies: Richland County (SC) Sheriff’s Department, Columbia (SC) Police Department, and the Clemson University Police Department to assess the cognitive performance-based training to improve police decision-making. This project examines the influence of expertise relative to other individual traits on adaptive decision-making ability and assesses the ability of structured video-based decision-making training to improve expertise and, subsequently, adaptive decision-making ability.
Clemson University Police Behavioral Health Crisis Response Program: Faculty Advisory Board Member Kyle McLean and CJSR staff Bryan Lee Miller and Monika Nwajei partnered with the Clemson University Police Department (CUPD) to implement a community law enforcement-mental health collaborative strategy to improve responses and connections to treatment for people with mental health and co-occurring disorders. The project will include a tailored police mental health collaboration (PMHC) strategy, including CIT and MHFA law enforcement training delivered to partnering agencies combined with an embedded clinician co-responder team that will provide screening, assessment, and referrals for MHD/CMHSUD services toward the goal of improved public safety and diversion from the criminal justice system. The project is supported by a scientific mixed methods program evaluation and assessment of the PMHC strategy on community satisfaction, including marginalized populations. Evaluators will provide empirical feedback for program improvement and dissemination of process and outcome findings to law enforcement and scientific communities.
Community Food and Mental Health Assessment for Rural South Carolina: Associate Director Catherine Mobley serves as the principal investigator on the Community Food and Mental Health Assessment for Rural South Carolina project. This project examines food insecurity in nine rural South Carolina high-need counties through a community food assessment. Building on a recently conducted food assessment in Pickens County, this model includes measures on mental health to examine and understand the relationship between food insecurity and mental health in rural communities. Using existing partners and CU Extension offices in each county, this project will produce comprehensive findings on food insecurity, mental health prevalence, transportation infrastructure, healthy food outlets, food pantry resources, as well as GIS spatial mapping of food access/healthy food outlets/SNAPEBT food outlet availability, as well as a mental health resource inventory for rural residents.
Evaluation of the Jasper County (MO) Family Treatment Court: Director Bryan Miller, Faculty Affiliate Iryna Sharaievska from PRTM, and CJSR graduate research assistants will work with Jasper County and the 29th Judicial District of Missouri to evaluate the Jasper County Family Treatment Court (JCFTC). CJSR will ensure that implementation of the JCFTC is assessment and data-driven and develop a data collection plan to track the successful completion of clients’ treatment plans and track performance measures.
Explaining the Choice, Persistence, and Attrition of Black Students in Electrical, Computer, and Mechanical Engineering: Along with her research team, Associate Director Catherine Mobley seeks to identify institutional policies and practices that correlate with increased persistence and graduation or attrition of Black engineering students and translate the findings into actionable recommendations for engineering administrators and instructors. This study aims to address research gaps on Blacks in engineering through a comparative case study conducted at five institutions: two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and three Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) in the Southeastern US.
Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) COSSAP Project: Director Bryan Lee Miller will conduct a comprehensive mixed-methods process and outcome evaluation incorporating qualitative and quantitative research techniques to determine adherence to evidence-based practice, programmatic fidelity, and outcome effectiveness. The proposed project will infuse sincerely needed resources into one of the states most devastated by the still-rising opioid crisis and provide examples of data collection and evaluation steps that other criminal justice and public health settings could replicate.
GIS Application for Building a Nationally Representative Forensic Taphonomy Database: Faculty Advisory Board member Katherine Weisensee will develop an application to allow forensic practitioners to efficiently submit reliable and accurate information about the characteristics observed in forensic casework with embedded georeferenced information to build a data repository. This project will use the data repository from submitted forensic casework to develop robust models for calculating the time since death to provide accurate estimates with known error rates by utilizing georeferenced data and other curated environmental data.
Greenville County (SC) Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Other Substance Abuse Initiative: The project will develop a comprehensive local response to Greenville County’s substance abuse problem through synthesizing grant resources with existing practices and personnel. The project addresses issues related to racial equity and the removal of barriers to access and opportunity for communities that have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by inequality through providing enhanced implicit bias training for law enforcement and treatment services targeted to underserved minority communities. Greenville County Sheriff’s Office has formed a strong research-practitioner partnership with the Center for Justice and Social Research at Clemson University to provide a mixed scientific methods program evaluation to provide empirical feedback for program improvement and dissemination of process and outcome findings to the law enforcement and research communities.
Greenville Project Safe Neighborhoods: Perceptions of Policing among Nicholtown Community Residents:Faculty from INFL Mark Smalls and the CJSR Natallia Sianko and Nasaskyia Hicks partnered with the Greenville City Police Department on the Department of Justice Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). This community-based initiative will assess perceptions of policing to build trust and legitimacy between Nicholtown community residents and law enforcement.
Law Enforcement Family Wellbeing Study: The overarching goal of LEFWS is to investigate the health and well-being of LEOs and their family members (parents, spouses, and children). It seeks to understand the long-term association between law enforcement services and the health and well-being of families. Findings from the study will improve law enforcement services, enhance the public-police relationship, and design effective intervention programs for law enforcement families in need.
Missouri 29th Judicial Circuit Co-Occurring Treatment Court Enhancement Initiative: Director Bryan Lee Miller will evaluate the Missouri Twenty-ninth Judicial Circuit Court’s Jasper County Co-occurring Disorders Court Enhancement Initiative, a rolling admission, post-adjudication, five-phase, 18-month treatment program for offenders experiencing co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse (CMISA). Project goals include: 1) enhancing early identification of participants to minimize time to treatment through administration of RANT screening to abbreviate the timeframe between jail detention and court appearance to expedite treatment trajectories; 2) expanding CODC enrollment per increased need for services; 3) providing increased training and non-adversarial legal representation, 4) the delivery of evidence-based, individualized treatment for CMISA disorders including family programming and 5) effect relapse and recidivism reduction among CODC graduates. The research team will provide a final technical report to include an executive summary and program suggestions, as well as disseminate results to practitioner and scientific stakeholders through journal publications and conference presentations.
Missouri 29th Judicial Circuit Veterans Treatment Court (VTC) Enhancement Initiative: Director Bryan Lee Miller will evaluate the Missouri Twenty-ninth Judicial Circuit Court’s Jasper County Veterans Treatment Court Enhancement Initiative. An embedded jail clinician will align individualized treatment plans, including case management, CBT sessions, MAT community service, restitution, and an aftercare/post-graduation success plan. Project goals include 1) expanding program enrollment; 2) minimizing time to treatment through administration of RANT screening to coordinate program admission with VTC and abbreviating the timeframe between jail detention and court appearance to expedite treatment trajectories; 3) delivery of evidence-based, individualized treatment for SA, MI, and CMISA disorders; 4) effect relapse reduction among VTC graduates; and 5) effect recidivism reduction among VTC graduates.
Oconee County (SC) Addiction Recovery & Solutions Initiative: Director Bryan Lee Miller and CJSR staff Monika Nwajei partnered with Oconee Addiction Recovery & Solutions (OARS) to evaluate Oconee County’s Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Site-based Program. This project aims to design and implement a collaborative intervention strategy for an alternative-to-incarceration program to serve individuals at high risk for overdose or substance abuse. An independent research team based at Clemson University will evaluate and assist the project by assuming responsibility for all quarterly and semi-annual performance measures reporting.
Pennsylvania Sentencing Guidelines: Review and Revision: Faculty Affiliate Rhys Hester partnered with the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing and the Penn State Criminal Justice Research Center to review and revise a new version (v.8) of the PA sentencing guidelines. The multifaceted project aims to evaluate the sentencing risk assessment instrument, focusing on data-driven research to inform best practices for prior record enhancements, guideline structure, departure policies, and mitigating racial and ethnic disparities.
Urbanization and the Transformation of Village Land Rights in China: Faculty Affiliate Yi Wu is investigating the Urbanization and the Transformation of Village Land Rights in China. This project examines how village communities and rural individuals have defended and redefined their land rights within the context of rapid urbanization in China. Through participant observation, interviewing, and documentary research, this project collects field data from village communities in southwest and north China experiencing urbanization at different rates and in different environments.
Bryan Lee Miller, Director
Nasaskyia Hicks, Research Project Manager
Monika Nwajei, Research Assistant
Cadi Imbody, Research Assistant
Rylie Wartinger, Intern