According to federal attorney Patrick Meehan, current Penn Criminology students will serve as a bridge between law enforcement and social science.
Meehan, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, discussed the introduction of scientifically based approaches to law enforcement, specifically tackling such issues as domestic violence and predatory lending.
"The real challenges will be those you are unable to anticipate," he said, but those challenges are useful because they necessitate the re-evaluation of old assumptions.
In the realm of domestic violence, Meehan noted the problem of "victimless" crimes. Many fearful victims refuse to participate in the prosecution of their attackers, often resulting in subsequent, more heinous incidents. To avoid such tragedies, Meehan stressed changing the power dynamic in these crimes.
The purpose of law enforcement he said, is to "restrain" the abuser and "empower" the victim by providing the latter with support and choices. To do so, Meehan argued, the system must be improved.
He suggested that prosecutors personally guide victims through confusing legal paperwork, as well as better training for trauma centers in the immediate needs of a victim and getting employers to provide time for victims to pursue the matter in court.
"Following the victim through the world they impact" and applying the lessons of social science research along the way "bolsters the system to get a better outcome," he said.
Equally troubling, though less well documented than victimless crime, is the issue of predatory lending. Particularly problematic in poor neighborhoods such as West Philadelphia, it occurs when lenders convince homeowners to take out second mortgages with extremely high interest rates, which leads to foreclosure, the abandonment of homes and destabilization of communities. Increased crime, he said, is then a natural consequence.
Meehan cited his office's recent work with the Philadelphia -based Reinvestment Group to map demographic and social statistics onto property maps in the city. When sets of data were layered over each other, the information led to identifying at-risk neighborhoods, the formation of lending-counseling programs and the prosecution of at least one notorious lender.
Criminology graduate student Laura Herring called Meehan's presentation "extensive" and "articulate," while fellow Criminology graduate student Vanessa Paris deemed it "very informative," especially on the less-known subject of predatory loans.
