APRI Highlights - Summer 2001

Office of Research and Evaluation

Elaine Nugent, Director

APRI's Office of Research and Evaluation serves as the cornerstone for the organization, conducting cutting edge research and analyses of the most current and pressing issues facing prosecutors. The goal is to ensure that prosecutors have access to the most up-to-date research about prosecution and criminal justice policies and programs.

Staffed by highly experienced professionals, trained in both qualitative and quantitative research methods, the Research Office strives to meet three primary objectives:

• To inform prosecutors about new, innovative and tested strategies for addressing crime in their communities;
• To provide prosecutors with empirical tools for more effective case management and processing; and
• To enhance prosecutors' ability to design and implement effective internal and external policies, procedures and programs.

Studies conducted by the Research Office are traditionally funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, state legislatures, county commissions and individual prosecutors' offices. Specific areas of concentration include:

• program evaluation,
• identification of promising practices,
• survey research,
• policy analyses,
• workload assessment,
• consultant services and management studies, and
• training and technical assistance.

Workload assessment is one of the most heralded aspects of our work. In the past three years, the Research Office has developed an objective method for quantifying the work of prosecutors and using the information to project resource needs based on average case processing time. Workload assessments have been conducted in six states and three counties with more than 1,000 attorneys, investigators, victim/witness advocates and support staff participating nationally.

New studies this year include an evaluation of the Cuyahoga County (OH) Community Prosecution effort, development of a long-range strategic plan for the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference, a case-weighting study of the King County (WA) Prosecuting Attorney's Office, an assessment of prosecutors' responses to hate crimes, a survey of prosecutors on community prosecution and several workload assessments.

The Research Office has also trained hundreds of prosecutors on the identification and use of performance or outcome measures to track the effectiveness of their various efforts.

In the coming months, the Research Office will be publishing guidance for prosecutors on caseload standards and new research on community prosecution. Other priority areas include further documentation of innovative hate crime responses, gun prosecution, drug prosecution, child abuse and juvenile justice issues.

For more information about APRI's Office of Research and Evaluation, please contact research@ndaa-apri.org.