Community Safety and Criminal Justice
Our community safety and criminal justice research focuses on programs, policies, and systems that address:
- Community safety, violence prevention and early intervention
- Criminal behavior intervention and diversion
- Support for victims of crime
This work is necessarily rooted in addressing the systems and root causes that affect community safety, with particular attention on populations that are underserved, unserved or harmed by existing systems. Central to this is an understanding that everybody impacted by criminal behavior deserves to be treated with dignity and to receive the supports necessary to repair the harm caused, heal and move on with their life.
We recognize that being involved in the criminal justice system has lasting impacts on many people, directly and indirectly.
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XFeatured Community Safety Research
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives: Policy, Best and Emerging Practices, and Current Issues in Minnesota
The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office is dedicated to preventing and ending the targeting of Indigenous women, children, and two-spirit people. This report provides an overview of the policy landscape, best and emerging practices, and recommendations for addressing the MMIR injustice in Minnesota. Read the report »External Review of Minnesota's Response to Civil Unrest
Results of an external review of the state’s response to civil unrest that occurred May 26-June 7, 2020, following the murder of George Floyd. Read the project »Related Blog Posts
Law Enforcement Response to Mental Health Needs: How Do We Measure Improvement?
Both law enforcement and mental health advocates have long identified issues with how individuals with mental health and substance use needs are served. Sometim... Read the article »Addressing the strengths & needs of families affected by incarceration
Minnesota Strengthening Families Affected by Incarceration Collaborative
Wilder Research is part of this collaborative addressing the strengths and needs of families affected by incarceration in Minnesota. Find out about the academic, chemical health, and mental health outcomes of youth who are affected, and what the collaborative is doing to support families.
STORIES OF OUR WORK WITH PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
Learning How Student Safety Coaches Create Safe and Productive Schools
Like many school districts across the nation and Minnesota, Intermediate School District 287 (ISD 287) had contracted with police departments to have police officers (called “School Resource Officers”) in school buildings. However, ISD 2...More about this story »
What our partners say
"Wilder has been instrumental in helping restructure and improve service development and delivery for youth, families, and communities with justice involvement in Hennepin County Juvenile Probation. They have provided research to support program development through a lens of best practices and equity, developed avenues to support data collection with community agencies selected to deliver services, and most importantly connected with program recipients to learn about the impact and effectiveness of the program. It’s been a pleasure to work with them over the past few years!"
- Adesola Jaiyesimi, Youth Equity and Innovation Manager, Juvenile Probation Division, Hennepin County Department of Community Corrections