On June 20, 2024, George Mason University’s Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy (CEBCP) held its largest symposium to date, focused on “Hard Questions for Evidence-Based Crime Policy.”
More than three dozen experts in crime and justice gathered at Mason Square where they exchanged ideas with more than 400 registrants on a variety of topics, including alternatives to criminal justice systems, community-based violence prevention, stop-question-and-frisk policies, and improving the recruitment and retention of law enforcement officers.
In addition, eight policing leaders were inducted into the Evidence-Based Policing Hall of Fame, an honor given to police practitioners devoted to institutionalizing research findings into policing practice. The Distinguished Achievement Award in Evidence-Based Crime Policy, the center’s highest honor, was also presented to Professor Anthony Braga of the University of Pennsylvania and Jerry Lee of the Jerry Lee Foundation, recognizing their longstanding leadership and achievements in advancing evidence-based crime policy.
Cynthia Lum, CEBCP director and distinguished university professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society, noted that CEBCP has a national and international footprint that makes it one of the leading research and translational centers in criminology and criminal justice.
"The symposium gives George Mason University and the [center] the opportunity to take a leadership role in advocating for more investment in rigorous research for criminal justice and to think carefully with others about how that research might be institutionalized into policies and practices to improve the quality of justice systems," Lum said.
Across the nation’s criminology and criminal justice academic departments, the center remains unique in its mission, goals, and activities, serving as one of the few academic centers that conduct rigorous research while regularly investing in synergistic efforts like symposia, congressional briefings, and publication of Translational Criminology, CEBCP’s magazine.
The symposium, which has occurred yearly since 2009 and which now occurs every two years because of its size, involves leadership from local, state, and national government agencies, universities, research think tanks, and community groups as both presenters and participants.
Nancy La Vigne, director of the National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs, spoke in a panel discussing the scientific evidence on alternative approaches to traditional criminal justice responses. La Vigne praised the symposium as “a resounding success, featuring high-quality content, credible experts, and real-world, evidence-informed applications.”