START Director Dr. Gary LaFree was recently selected to serve on the Office of Justice Programs Science Advisory Board under U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch. The Science Advisory Board was established in 2010 to bridge the divide between research and practice in criminal justice fields.
Comprised of scholars and practitioners in criminology, statistics, sociology, and practitioners in the criminal and juvenile justice fields, the board provides an extra-agency review of and recommendations for OJP research, statistics and grant programs, ensuring the programs and activities of the office are scientifically sound and pertinent to policymakers and practitioners.
The new board, of which LaFree is a member, was appointed in April and met this summer.
“The meeting impressed on me just how committed the various branches of the U.S. Department of Justice are to taking a science-based approach to the administration of justice,” LaFree said. “I believe that the need for objective, evidence based policy may be especially great when it comes to issues like terrorism and violent extremism; acts which are often calculated to promote emotional response.”
LaFree is excited to delve further into the work of the board.
“One of my main personal goals for this appointment is to bring to the Science Advisory Board the important work on violent extremism currently being conducted by researchers in the United States and around the world,” LaFree said.