TSU to launch hub for criminal justice research

Texas Southern University will launch the HBCU Criminal Justice Research Hub to conduct research on reducing mass incarceration and violent crime.

Driving the news: TSU received a $351,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation to pursue this project.

Why it matters: Policymakers, community leaders and faculty at historically Black colleges and universities will collaborate for two years to advance criminal justice prevention initiatives and provide solutions for nationwide crime and incarceration problems.

• The hub will create an action plan for the City of Houston and will look at the root causes for mass incarceration and violent crime.

What they're saying: "When you think about this hub, we're trying to make sure that the solutions to mass incarceration and violent crime are diverse, and that we're able to look at the issues from a unique vantage point whereby we may be better able to identify solutions," said Howard Henderson, founding director of the Center for Justice Research at TSU.

• "We felt like many of the solutions that were proposed around the country did not bring this group together. They chose not to have the composition that we're going to have to begin to devise proven solutions to the problem."

Separately, the Center for Justice Research received a $600,000 grant in November from Arnold Ventures to study prosecutor diversions and provide greater awareness and insights into the decisions made by prosecutors across the U.S.

What's next: The Center for Justice Research will officially launch the hub in mid-2023.