Nicholas Corsaro

• PhD - Michigan State University
• Professor (Associate) at University of Cincinnati

Research Summary The use of focused deterrence to reduce lethal violence driven by gangs and groups of chronic offenders has continued to expand since the initial Boston Ceasefire intervention in the 1990s, where prior evaluations have shown relatively consistent promise in terms of violence reduction. This study focuses on the capacity of focused...

Background: Police agencies across the globe enforce laws that prohibit drug transportation, distribution, and use with varying degrees of effectiveness. Within the United States, law enforcement strategies that rely on partnerships between criminal justice officials, neighbourhood residents, and social service providers (i.e., collaborative imple...

Research indicates that focused deterrence interventions are associated with violence reductions, although levels of success vary across sites. It is unknown if these strategies can produce sustained reductions over time, and if the variation in success is due to differences in program activities and dosages. This study provides a detailed descript...

Since the mid-1990s, a number of initiatives intended to address gang, gun and drug-related violence have arisen and demonstrated promise in reducing levels of violent crime. These initiatives have employed some combination of focused deterrence and problem-solving processes. These strategies formed the basis for Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a...

While the number of state legislative changes to relaxed concealed firearm carrying laws continues to increase, research examining the impact of these laws on changes in criminal behavior, particularly in urban contexts, has not kept pace. To enhance our understanding of the potential impact of permitless carry legislative changes, we examined the...

Objective: The purpose of this study was to estimate the behavioral impacts of training police officers in implicit bias awareness and management. Hypotheses: Training police in implicit bias reduces racial and ethnic disparities in stops, arrests, summonses, frisks, searches, and/or use of force. Method: A cluster randomized controlled trial using...

Research summary Changing police use of force policies and training to incorporate de‐escalation tactics is one of the most routinely recommended police reform measures. Despite widespread promotion and proliferation of de‐escalation trainings, to date, no research has empirically demonstrated that these trainings reduce use of force in the field (...

Despite calls for police reform that include changes to use of force training and field supervision, evidence regarding their impact is sorely lacking. This study examines survey data collected from first-line supervisors in the Louisville (KY) Metro Police Department after department-wide de-escalation training. Presented as part of a larger rando...

Objectives This randomized experiment explored the impact of hot spots policing (HSP) strategies on criminal offenses and calls for service within chronic, persistent violent crime clusters in Las Vegas, NV. Methods Forty-four street segments were randomized into treatment (N = 22) and control (N = 22) conditions across nine chronic, persistent vi...

Thermal oils are nowadays largely employed as heat transfer fluids or cooling media in industrial and energy production plants. However, despite their widespread use, very few data are currently available about their chemical stability and possible composition changes in function of the operating temperatures, which are of crucial importance to eva...

The most fitting way to celebrate Joan Petersilia’s numerous advancements within the field of criminal justice is to deliberately practice the two most important lessons that perhaps best define her legacy. First, embedded research should drive collaborative partnerships to foster real-world change based on science. Second, such real-world change s...

The selection of a proper heat transfer (HTF) and storage (HSM) material is a key parameter in the design of a CSP system, especially in the employment of parabolic trough concentrating solar power plants (CSP). The use of nitrates as HTF, alternatively to thermal oils, can increase the CSP efficiency and several mixtures have been proposed at this...

When designing a concentrating solar power (CSP) system, selection of a proper heat transfer fluid (HTF) material is a key, especially when employed in parabolic trough CSP plants. In particular, the use of low melting mixtures as an alternative to the widely commonly used “solar salt” can increase the CSP manageably and, as a result, several innov...

Chapter Three considers the police decision to arrest, including a thorough discussion of the factors that influence this decision. Identifying the factors that influence arrest (and the relative strength of their influences) is a logical first step that provides the foundation upon which evidence-based strategies must be developed. While there are...

Arrest has several substantial direct and collateral consequences for individuals and communities. Given these costs, it is important to consider the utility of alternatives to arrest. This chapter focuses on two primary forms of arrest alternatives: police-led diversion and citations in lieu of arrest. For police-led diversion, three sup-topics ar...

This chapter considers the important and unanswered questions from existing research examining the police power to arrest and highlights directions and questions for future research studies related to this area. We argue that the most critical research needed should focus on police-decision making, as we need a better understanding regarding how an...

The police decision to arrest is impacted by several areas, including policy, community, and law. This chapter discusses the need to better understand the long-term and unintended consequences of the decision to arrest as well as alternatives to arrest. Well-designed evaluations, particularly through the use of systematic social observation and pol...

This chapter considers the different definitions of arrest and the reasons for the difficulty in creating a universally standard term. However, a singular definition is offered, which is used to guide discussions throughout this review. This chapter considers the historical use of arrest, including the evidence for the general and specific deterren...

This insightful volume examines key research questions concerning police decision to arrest as well as police-led diversion. The authors critically evaluate the tentative answers that empirical evidence provides to those questions, and suggest areas for future inquiry. Nearly seven decades of empirical study have provided extensive knowledge regard...

With the aim of supporting the thermodynamic modeling of phase equilibria of molten salt mixtures, this article investigates the solid phases present in NaNO3 and KNO3 binary mixtures. To that end, an innovative approach based on the combined use of high-temperature Neutron Scattering Analysis and Differential Scanning Calorimetry was proposed. A s...

The production of electric energy from solar radiation is nowadays one of the most investigated and developed “carbon free” technology. A throughout investigation of the ceramics most commonly used as heat transfer fluids and/or heat storage materials for concentrating solar power systems (i.e. alkaline and heart alkaline nitrate/nitrite mixtures)...

Objectives The utility of police consolidation, and in particular police contracting of services, has received widespread attention in academic and practitioner circles. However, the bulk of empirical research centers on potential fiduciary benefits; only limited scholarship has explored the possibility that changes in police services may correspon...

Research Summary Despite significant national reductions in crime during the past three decades, a comparable reduction in adult arrest rates has not occurred. In addition, scant attention has been paid to the role of the police in pretrial justice and other criminal justice reform efforts, despite their role as gatekeepers to the criminal justice...

We assessed the impact of planned aggression across homicide mobility types in Newark, New Jersey, from 1997 through 2007. Homicides where offenders traveled to victims’ resident/incident locales were more likely to involve aggressive intent, whereas homicides where victims traversed to offender/incident locales were less likely to involve planned...

Objectives We describe and explain how the findings from nonexperimental studies of the relationship between police force size and crime have changed over time. Methods We conduct a systematic review of 62 studies and 229 findings of police force size and crime, from 1971 through 2013. Only studies of U.S. policing and containing standard errors of...

Molten salt (MS) mixtures are used for the transport (HTF-heat transfer fluid) and storage of heat (HSM-heat storage material) in Concentration Solar Plants (CSP). In general, alkaline and earth-alkaline nitrate/nitrite mixtures are employed. Along with its upper stability temperature, the melting point (liquidus point) of a MS mixture is one of th...

The empirical examination of criminal violence typically centers on four interrelated units of analysis: individuals, groups such as gangs and gang networks, events, and places. This chapter attempts to disentangle each of these various dimensions of violent crime. First, a review of violent crime across individuals, groups, events, and places is p...

In 2006, the city of Cincinnati, Ohio had the worst year for traffic crash fatalities in more than one decade, with 36 fatal crashes and 37 people killed. Five years later, Cincinnati had the fewest traffic fatalities in fifteen years and fewer than any large city in the state of Ohio. This transformation did not occur by accident. It is attributed...

Thermochemical water splitting cycles, where the H2O molecule is converted into hydrogen and oxygen by using recyclable and in general inorganic compounds as intermediates, basically consist of two separate sections, where, respectively, hydrogen and oxygen are produced. The most investigated cycles are based on the employment of sulphur containing...

The relationship between police force size and crime control effectiveness has long been a matter of intellectual curiosity in criminology and crime prevention. Indeed, scholars and practitioners have had conflicting perspectives for more than four decades as to whether crime deterrence can be achieved by increasing police strength. If all of these...

The High Point Police Department in North Carolina was the first law enforcement agency to implement a series of "pulling levers" interventions in specific neighborhoods in order to reduce crime problems associated with street-level drug markets. The High Point Drug Market Intervention (DMI) has since received considerable attention among practitio...

PurposeThis study examines the Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative (CAGI) implemented across 12 U.S. jurisdictionsMethods Annual firearm homicide trends are examined in a balanced panel regression framework in order to test whether CAGI cities experienced changes in gun homicide (i.e., a gang violence proxy) between pre- and post-intervention, and a...

Scholarly interest in self-protective behaviors is demonstrated in studies examining victimization; these behaviors are presumed to reduce the likelihood of experiencing crime. Protective behaviors are not taken by all citizens equally, however, so it is critical to explain these behaviors within the population. The current study extends existing w...

Pulling levers policing draws upon the focused deterrence framework, which has shown considerable promise when directed at youth, gun, and gang offenders. However, much less is known about the viability of pulling levers when applied to different contexts as well as to diverse groups of offenders. We examine the High Point (North Carolina) Drug Mar...

Research Summary Pulling levers policing draws upon the focused deterrence framework, which has shown considerable promise when directed at youth, gun, and gang offenders. However, much less is known about the viability of pulling levers when applied to different contexts as well as to diverse groups of offenders. We examine the High Point (North C...

Policing Images: Policing, Communication, and Legitimacy. Rob C. Mawby. Portland, OR: Willan Publishing, 2002. ISBN 1?903240 71?9. Hardback US $55.00. 214 pages. Armed Robbery. Roger Mathews. Portland, OR: Willan Publishing, 2002. ISBN 1?903240?61?1. 162 pages.

The authors examined a strategic policing initiative that was implemented in a high crime Nashville, Tennessee neighborhood by utilizing a mixed-methodological evaluation approach in order to provide (a) a descriptive process assessment of program fidelity; (b) an interrupted time-series analysis relying upon generalized linear models; (c) in-depth...

Rates of homicide risk are not evenly distributed across the US population. Prior research indicates that young males in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods are particularly vulnerable to lethal violence. The traditional criminal justice response to violent crime in the urban context has the potential to exacerbate problems, particularly when broad-b...

Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice Programs which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Office for Victims of Crime. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the authors and do not represe...

Problem-oriented policing strategies have been regarded as promising approaches for disrupting open-air drug markets in vulnerable communities. Pulling levers deterrence interventions, which are consistent with the problem-oriented framework, have shown potential as an effective mechanism for reducing and preventing youth, gun, and gang violence. T...

Since the publication of analyses suggesting the significant impact on youth homicide of the Boston “pulling levers” intervention, a series of studies of similar strategies have indicated promise in reducing homicide and gun assaults. One of these studies was an assessment of a pulling levers strategy in Indianapolis, where trend analyses indicated...

Despite the attention the crime of homicide has received by the academic community there are still gaps in the literature. One of these gaps pertains to the examination of the mobility patterns of homicide victims and offenders. This study addresses this gap by focusing on three research questions: (1) does the distance traveled by homicide suspect...

The decade of the 1990s witnessed unexpected but welcome large declines in homicide and serious firearms violence. Yet, despite these declines, rates of firearms crime in the United States remain high compared to other western democracies and impose significant costs to society generally and to specific communities particularly. One promising appro...

The increasing number of former inmates returning from prison to the community, coupled with the high level of reoffending among former inmates, raises public safety issues for society in general as well as for particular communities in which significant numbers of former inmates reside. From a problem‐solving perspective, crime generated by recent...

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to assess the impact of a strategic intervention intended to eliminate overt drug markets and their associated crime and disorder and to improve relationships between the police and local neighborhood residents. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study included a process assessment of the nature of the interv...