Two CCJS faculty members have been selected to receive the 2020-2021 Koret Scholars Award.
Dr. Emily K. Asencio submitted a research proposal entitled "Community Policing in the Age of Social Justice." Her research project is part of the ongoing collaboration between CCJS and the Sonoma County’s Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach (IOLERO). Four CCJS student interns under Dr. Asencio’s supervision – Zachary Harkins, Kaory Hernandez, Carmen Martinez, and Abbygail Tardie – have been working on two research projects involving a review of use-of-force and de-escalation policies of the 58 sheriff’s offices across California and a survey of community policing practices by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.
Prof. Caitlin Kelly Henry proposed a research on "Reducing Unconstitutional or Unfair Prison Sentences." She will be working with CCJS students Danielle Caballero, Paloma Chavez, Kristine Pham, and DeDe Williams in examining the June 2018 and January 2019 amendments to Section 1170(d)(1) of the California Penal Code, and how the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) recommended people for resentencing and how courts have responded to these recommendations. The results of this project could help California create a new, nationally replicable strategy to reduce prison populations and save billions of dollars.
The 2020-2021 Koret Scholars Awards are made possible by a grant from the Koret Foundation. The awards are intended to support undergraduate students and their faculty mentors in research and creative projects across all academic disciplines. Each award provides funding for one faculty mentor working with four undergraduate SSU students. The selection of the research projects proposed by Dr. Asencio and Prof. Henry "reflects the quality of their proposals and their dedication to the high impact practice of engaging undergraduate students in research." Each project will get $8,000.