April Pattavina

April F. Pattavina, Ph.D.

Professor and Chair

Pronouns
She/Her
College
College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Department
School of Criminology and Justice Studies
Phone
978-934-4145
Office
Health and Social Sciences Building - 4th Floor
Email
April_Pattavina@uml.edu

Expertise

Corrections, gender-based violence, policy analysis, technology

Research Interests

One of her research areas includes public safety laws and their influence on local police practices. Current work in this area involves research on the impact of domestic violence laws on the police response to domestic violence.  She is also interested in the impact of information and computer technology on the operation of the criminal justice system. She has published several articles and book chapters on the subject and is the editor and contributing author of the recent book, Information Technology, and the Criminal Justice System. She teaches courses on crime mapping and criminal justice data analysis.

Education

  • Ph D: Law, Policy & Society, (1998), Northeastern University - Boston, MA
    Dissertation/Thesis Title: Neighborhood Violence and Public School Children: A Contextual Analysis of Academic Achievement in Boston
  • MS: Criminal Justice, (1990), Northeastern University - Boston, MA
  • BS: Criminal Justice, (1986), University of Massachusetts Lowell - Lowell, MA
    Supporting Area: Political Science

Biosketch

April Pattavina, Ph.D., is a Professor and Chair of the School of Criminology and Justice Studies at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Her research focuses on gender-based violence and correctional reform. She has received funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Justice, The Office for Violence Against Women, the Bureau of Justice Assistance, The Boston Foundation, and a host of state and local agencies including the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security and the Boston Police Department.

Selected Awards and Honors

  • Criminal Justice Department Teaching Award (2004), Teaching - University of Massachusetts Lowell, MA
  • Criminal Justice Department Teaching Award (2002), Teaching - University of Massachusetts Lowell, MA
  • Featured Researcher (1998), Scholarship/Research - Northeastern University Magazine
  • Honored for Community Service (1998), Service, Community - The Boston Foundation.
  • Invited Fellow (1996), Scholarship/Research - Center for Innovation in Urban Education Northeastern University
  • Alpha Phi Sigma (1986), Service, Professional - National Criminal Justice Honor Society
  • Excellence in Criminal Justice Research Award (1986), Scholarship/Research - University of Massachusetts Lowell, MA
  • Turner Award for Leadership and Service (1986), Leadership - University of Massachusetts Lowell, MA

Selected Publications

  • Corrections
  • Pattavina, A., Long, J.S., Petrich, D.M., Byrne, J.M., Cullen, F.T., & Taxman, F.S. (2023). Revisiting the Effectiveness of HOPE/swift-certain-fail supervision programs: A meta-analytic review. Criminology & Public Policy, 1-32. DOI: 10.1111/1745-9133.12635
  • Pattavina, A. & Corbett, R. (2019) How smartphone technology can link the theoretical, policy, and practical contexts of community supervision Reform: Voices from the field. Victims and Offenders, 14; 777-792. DOI:10.1080/15564886.2019.1659894
  • Curcio G., Pattavina, A., & Fisher, W. (2016). Gender differences on the road to redemption. Feminist Criminology,13,2. DOI:10.1177/1557085116654566
  • Taxman, F.S., Pattavina, A., & Caudy, M. (2014). Justice reinvestment in the United States: An empirical assessment of potential impact of increased correctional programming on recidivism, Victims and Offenders: An International Journal of Evidence-based Research, Policy, and Practice,9, 50-75. DOI: 10.1080/15564886.2013.860934
  • Pattavina, A. & Taxman, F.S. Using discrete-event simulation modeling to estimate the impact of RNR program implementation on recidivism levels. In Taxman, F.S. & Pattavina, A. (Eds.) Simulation Techniques for Reducing Recidivism; Risk, Need, Responsivity Modeling for the Criminal Justice System(pp.267-284) New York:Springer.
  • Gender-Based Violence
  • Pattavina, A., Morabito, M.S. Rapisarda, S.S. & Williams, L.M. (2024). Moving forward while looking back: Understanding the impact of a “test all” sexual assault kit mandate. Criminal Justice Policy Review. Online first. DOI: 10.1177/08874034241226939
  • Pattavina, A., Morabito, M.S. & Williams, L.M. Pathways to sexual assault case attrition: Culture, context, and case clearance. (2021) Victims & Offenders, 16 (8), 1061-1076. DOI:10.1080/15564886.2021.1970661
  • Morabito, M., Pattavina, A., & Williams, L. (2020) Vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress or burnout?: An exploratory study of the effects of investigating sexual assault cases on detectives. Policing: An international journal., vol. 44, Issue 1. DOI:10.1108/PIJPSM-07-2020-0123
  • Pattavina, A., Morabito, M.S., & Williams, L. M. (2016) Examining connections between the police and prosecutor in sexual assault cases: Does the use of exceptional clearance facilitate a downstream orientation? Victims and Offenders: An International Journal of Evidence-based Research, Policy, and Practice, 11, 2,315-334. DOI:10.1080/15564886.2015.1046622
  • Pattavina, A., Socia, K.M., & Zuber, M.J. (2015) Economic stress and domestic violence: Examining the impact of mortgage foreclosures on incidents reported to the police 2005 to 2009. Justice, Research and Policy, 16:147-164. DOI: 10.1177/1525107115623938
  • Pattavina, A., Hirschel, D., & Scearbo, M. (2013). Assessing the reliability of substance abuse reporting in intimate partner violence. Justice, Research and Policy, 15, 21 -42. DOI: 10.3818/JRP.15.2.2013.21
  • Law Enforcement
  • Pattavina, A., Carkin, D.M., & Tracy, P.E. (2017). Assessing the representativeness of NIBRS arrest data. Crime & Delinquency, 63,12. DOI:10.1177/0011128717724298
  • McCormack, P.D., Pattavina, A., & Tracy, P.E.(2017) Assessing coverage and representativeness of the National Incident Based Reporting System. Crime & Delinquency. 63:493-516. DOI:10.1177/0011128717694595
  • Fagan, J., Braga, A.A., Brunson, R.K., & Pattavina, A. (2016). Stops and stares: Street stops, surveillance, and race in the new policing. Fordham Urban Law Journal, 43:539-612.

Selected Contracts, Fellowships, Grants and Sponsored Research

  • PI: Continued Development of Risk, Need, Responsivity (RNR) Discrete Event Simulation Model (), Grant - Bureau of Justice Assistance and George Mason University
  • PI: Risk, Need, Responsivity (RNR) Simulation Tool (2009), Grant - Bureau of Justice Assistance and George Mason University
  • Explaining the Prevalence, Context and Consequences of Dual Arrest for Intimate Partner Cases. Supplemental Funding (2003), Grant - National Institute of Justice
  • PI: Supporting The Police Response to Family Violence Through Information Technology: The Development of the Integrated Family Information System (IFIS) for the City of Lawrence, Massachusetts (2003), Grant - National Institute of Justice
  • Explaining the Prevalence, Context and Consequences of Dual Arrest for Intimate Partner Cases (2002), Grant - National Institute of Justice
  • PI:Evaluation of the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Safe Neighborhoods Program (1999), Grant - Department of Housing and Urban Development and Peabody Properties Inc.
  • PI:Continued Development of the Boston Children and Families Database (1998), Grant - The Boston Foundation
  • PI: GIS Techniques to Support Neighborhood Policing Strategies. (1997), Grant - Boston Police Department, IT Division
  • Risk, Need, Responsivity (RNR) Simulation Tool (2009), Contract - U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
    Pattavina, A.F. (Principal)
  • Co-PI: Decision-Making in Sexual Assault Cases: Multi-site Replication Research on Sexual Violence Case Attrition in the U.S. (2013), Grant - National Institute of Justice
  • Decision-Making in Sexual Assault Cases: Multi-site Replication Research on Sexu (2013), Grant -
    Pattavina, A.F. (Co-Principal)