Johanna Lacoe
Biographic Data
| ID | 4100202 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Johanna Lacoe |
| GIVEN NAMES | Johanna |
| FAMILY NAME | Lacoe |
| SIGNATURE | LACOE J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Mathematica Policy Research |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7303-9622 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 132 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Mitigating the Stress of Housing Instability: The Impact of Housing Choice Vouchers on Social Supports, Behavioral Health, and Criminal Justice Involvement
The Housing Choice Voucher program is the largest low-income housing subsidy program managed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Research shows that vouchers improve housing affordability and stability and access to higher quality housing units and safer neighborhoods. Yet less is known about how housing supports affect a household’s health and well-being and contact with other social services, and even less about the impact …
Unveiling Intersecting Experiences: Investigating Health Care and Jail System Interaction Before and After Incarceration Among Adults with Serious Mental Illness in San Francisco
Individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. They frequently cycle between jail and emergency departments and experience poor health outcomes. Some jails offer mental health services, but the criminal justice environment is not conducive to optimal treatment and recovery. Individuals with SMI may require targeted interventions, but few studies have examined characteristics of individuals in jai…
The Effect of a Pre-Arraignment Legal Representation Pilot on Pretrial Release and Criminal Case Outcomes
Bail reform and pretrial release: Examining the implementation of In re Humphrey
Research Summary Pretrial reform is driving criminal justice policy debates across the nation. The In re Humphrey decision required the San Francisco County criminal court to set bail levels based on defendant ability to pay rather than the county bail schedule. Under this new policy, the rate of pretrial detention fell by 11%. We find defendants released pretrial were less likely to be convicted (a decline of 3 percentage points) in the post‐ Hu…
The Impact of Felony Diversion in San Francisco
In the traditional criminal justice system, an arrest is followed by multiple decision points determining detention, prosecution, guilt, and sentence. Many jurisdictions across the U.S. are exploring alternative programs and approaches that consider individual needs and assessed risks at each decision point. San Francisco County, California, uses post‐filing pretrial diversion programs as alternatives to the traditional criminal justice system fo…
The academic effects of chronic exposure to neighbourhood violence
This paper estimates the causal effect of repeated exposure to violent crime on test scores in New York City. We use two empirical strategies; value-added models linking student performance on standardised exams to violent crimes on students’ residential block, and a regression discontinuity approach that identifies the acute effect of additional crime exposure within a one-week window. Exposure to violent crime reduces academic performance. Valu…
Spatial spillover effects of crime on private investment at nearby micro-places
Criminal activity may influence the decisions of existing property owners or prospective investors to invest in a property, given the potential elevated expenses and increased uncertainty that often accompany crime. This study investigates the relationship between crime and private investment at nearby micro-places using location-specific crime incident and building permit data from 2008 to 2018 in the cities of Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Ph…
Transforming Practice Through Culture Change: Probation Staff Perspectives on Juvenile Justice Reform
Probation plays a central role in the juvenile justice system, and probation officers are often involved in numerous decisions made in juvenile courts. This study examines the views of probation staff from 23 jurisdictions, some of which participated in an Annie E. Casey Foundation–funded juvenile justice reform effort intended to safely and significantly reduce the use of out-of-home placements, especially for youth of color. We survey juvenile …
Too Scared to Learn? The Academic Consequences of Feeling Unsafe in the Classroom
A safe environment is a prerequisite for productive learning. Using a unique panel data set of survey responses from New York City middle school students, the article provides insight into the relationship between feelings of safety in the classroom and academic achievement. The survey data include the reported feelings of safety for more than 340,000 students annually from 2007 to 2010 in more than 700 middle schools. Findings show a consistent …
Do Suspensions Affect Student Outcomes?
Discipline reformers claim that suspensions negatively affect suspended students, while others suggest reforms have unintended consequences for peers. Using student panel data from the School District of Philadelphia, we implement student fixed effects and instrumental variable (IV) strategies to examine the consequences of suspensions for offending students and their peers. A suspension decreases math and reading achievement for suspended studen…
School Climate and the Impact of Neighborhood Crime on Test Scores
Does school climate ameliorate or exacerbate the impact of neighborhood violent crime on test scores? Using administrative data from the New York City Department of Education and the New York City Police Department, we find that exposure to violence in the residential neighborhood and an unsafe climate at school lead to substantial test score losses in English language arts (ELA). Middle school students exposed to neighborhood violent crime befor…
Exploring the Policy Implications of High‐Profile Police Violence
High-profile incidents of police violence can translate into shifts in public perceptions of police and behavior. For example, sense of obligation to obey the law, perceived trustworthiness of the police, and perceptions of procedural justice can change
Reforming School Discipline: School-Level Policy Implementation and the Consequences for Suspended Students and Their Peers
States and districts are revising discipline policies to reduce out-of-school suspensions (OSSs), but the consequences of these reforms are largely unknown. We examine a reform in Philadelphia that prohibited OSS for classroom disorder infractions. Employing a difference-in-differences approach, we examine the relationship between the reform and student suspensions, achievement, and attendance. For students suspended before the reform, classroom …
Rolling Back Zero Tolerance: The Effect of Discipline Policy Reform on Suspension Usage and Student Outcomes
Beginning in the early 1990s, states and districts enacted zero-tolerance discipline policies that relied heavily on out-of-school suspensions. Recently, districts nationwide have revised these policies in favor of more tempered disciplinary responses. In 2012–2013, Philadelphia reformed its discipline policy to limit suspensions for nonviolent student misconduct and granted principals greater discretion in responding to more serious occurrences …
Crime and private investment in urban neighborhoods
Life in a Crime Scene: Stop, Question, and Frisk Activity in New York City Neighborhoods in the Aftermath of Homicides
Johanna Lacoe, Patrick Sharkey Sociological Science, February 24, 2016 DOI 10.15195/v3.a7 Abstract An incident of extreme violence, such as a homicide, disrupts daily life not only through the incident itself but also through the chaos and disruption that emerge in the aftermath of violence
High Stakes in the Classroom, High Stakes on the Street: The Effects of Community Violence on Student’s Standardized Test Performance
This article examines the effect of exposure to violent crime on students' standardized test performance among a sample of students in New York City public schools. To identify the effect of exposure to community violence on children's test scores, we compare students exposed to an incident of violent crime on their own blockface in the week prior to the exam to students exposed in the week after the exam. The results show that such exposure to v…
Do foreclosures cause crime
Youth Organizing, Identity-Support, and Youth Development Agencies as Avenues for Involvement
What are the differences in outcomes among youth organizing and other efforts to involve young people at the community level? This paper examines differences in developmental outcomes among youth organizing, identity-support, and traditional youth development agencies, with the finding that there are significant differences in outcomes such as civic activism and identity development. It reports that youth organizing agencies show higher levels of…
Do foreclosures cause crime
High Stakes in the Classroom, High Stakes on the Street: The Effects of Community Violence on Student’s Standardized Test Performance
This article examines the effect of exposure to violent crime on students' standardized test performance among a sample of students in New York City public schools. To identify the effect of exposure to community violence on children's test scores, we compare students exposed to an incident of violent crime on their own blockface in the week prior to the exam to students exposed in the week after the exam. The results show that such exposure to v…
Youth Organizing, Identity-Support, and Youth Development Agencies as Avenues for Involvement
What are the differences in outcomes among youth organizing and other efforts to involve young people at the community level? This paper examines differences in developmental outcomes among youth organizing, identity-support, and traditional youth development agencies, with the finding that there are significant differences in outcomes such as civic activism and identity development. It reports that youth organizing agencies show higher levels of…
Rolling Back Zero Tolerance: The Effect of Discipline Policy Reform on Suspension Usage and Student Outcomes
Beginning in the early 1990s, states and districts enacted zero-tolerance discipline policies that relied heavily on out-of-school suspensions. Recently, districts nationwide have revised these policies in favor of more tempered disciplinary responses. In 2012–2013, Philadelphia reformed its discipline policy to limit suspensions for nonviolent student misconduct and granted principals greater discretion in responding to more serious occurrences …
Too Scared to Learn? The Academic Consequences of Feeling Unsafe in the Classroom
A safe environment is a prerequisite for productive learning. Using a unique panel data set of survey responses from New York City middle school students, the article provides insight into the relationship between feelings of safety in the classroom and academic achievement. The survey data include the reported feelings of safety for more than 340,000 students annually from 2007 to 2010 in more than 700 middle schools. Findings show a consistent …
Life in a Crime Scene: Stop, Question, and Frisk Activity in New York City Neighborhoods in the Aftermath of Homicides
Johanna Lacoe, Patrick Sharkey Sociological Science, February 24, 2016 DOI 10.15195/v3.a7 Abstract An incident of extreme violence, such as a homicide, disrupts daily life not only through the incident itself but also through the chaos and disruption that emerge in the aftermath of violence
Crime and private investment in urban neighborhoods
Exploring the Policy Implications of High‐Profile Police Violence
High-profile incidents of police violence can translate into shifts in public perceptions of police and behavior. For example, sense of obligation to obey the law, perceived trustworthiness of the police, and perceptions of procedural justice can change
Reforming School Discipline: School-Level Policy Implementation and the Consequences for Suspended Students and Their Peers
States and districts are revising discipline policies to reduce out-of-school suspensions (OSSs), but the consequences of these reforms are largely unknown. We examine a reform in Philadelphia that prohibited OSS for classroom disorder infractions. Employing a difference-in-differences approach, we examine the relationship between the reform and student suspensions, achievement, and attendance. For students suspended before the reform, classroom …
The academic effects of chronic exposure to neighbourhood violence
This paper estimates the causal effect of repeated exposure to violent crime on test scores in New York City. We use two empirical strategies; value-added models linking student performance on standardised exams to violent crimes on students’ residential block, and a regression discontinuity approach that identifies the acute effect of additional crime exposure within a one-week window. Exposure to violent crime reduces academic performance. Valu…
Spatial spillover effects of crime on private investment at nearby micro-places
Criminal activity may influence the decisions of existing property owners or prospective investors to invest in a property, given the potential elevated expenses and increased uncertainty that often accompany crime. This study investigates the relationship between crime and private investment at nearby micro-places using location-specific crime incident and building permit data from 2008 to 2018 in the cities of Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Ph…
School Climate and the Impact of Neighborhood Crime on Test Scores
Does school climate ameliorate or exacerbate the impact of neighborhood violent crime on test scores? Using administrative data from the New York City Department of Education and the New York City Police Department, we find that exposure to violence in the residential neighborhood and an unsafe climate at school lead to substantial test score losses in English language arts (ELA). Middle school students exposed to neighborhood violent crime befor…
Youth Organizing, Identity-Support, and Youth Development Agencies as Avenues for Involvement
What are the differences in outcomes among youth organizing and other efforts to involve young people at the community level? This paper examines differences in developmental outcomes among youth organizing, identity-support, and traditional youth development agencies, with the finding that there are significant differences in outcomes such as civic activism and identity development. It reports that youth organizing agencies show higher levels of…
Do foreclosures cause crime
High Stakes in the Classroom, High Stakes on the Street: The Effects of Community Violence on Student’s Standardized Test Performance
This article examines the effect of exposure to violent crime on students' standardized test performance among a sample of students in New York City public schools. To identify the effect of exposure to community violence on children's test scores, we compare students exposed to an incident of violent crime on their own blockface in the week prior to the exam to students exposed in the week after the exam. The results show that such exposure to v…
Life in a Crime Scene: Stop, Question, and Frisk Activity in New York City Neighborhoods in the Aftermath of Homicides
Johanna Lacoe, Patrick Sharkey Sociological Science, February 24, 2016 DOI 10.15195/v3.a7 Abstract An incident of extreme violence, such as a homicide, disrupts daily life not only through the incident itself but also through the chaos and disruption that emerge in the aftermath of violence
Exploring the Policy Implications of High‐Profile Police Violence
High-profile incidents of police violence can translate into shifts in public perceptions of police and behavior. For example, sense of obligation to obey the law, perceived trustworthiness of the police, and perceptions of procedural justice can change
Reforming School Discipline: School-Level Policy Implementation and the Consequences for Suspended Students and Their Peers
States and districts are revising discipline policies to reduce out-of-school suspensions (OSSs), but the consequences of these reforms are largely unknown. We examine a reform in Philadelphia that prohibited OSS for classroom disorder infractions. Employing a difference-in-differences approach, we examine the relationship between the reform and student suspensions, achievement, and attendance. For students suspended before the reform, classroom …
Rolling Back Zero Tolerance: The Effect of Discipline Policy Reform on Suspension Usage and Student Outcomes
Beginning in the early 1990s, states and districts enacted zero-tolerance discipline policies that relied heavily on out-of-school suspensions. Recently, districts nationwide have revised these policies in favor of more tempered disciplinary responses. In 2012–2013, Philadelphia reformed its discipline policy to limit suspensions for nonviolent student misconduct and granted principals greater discretion in responding to more serious occurrences …
Crime and private investment in urban neighborhoods
Do Suspensions Affect Student Outcomes?
Discipline reformers claim that suspensions negatively affect suspended students, while others suggest reforms have unintended consequences for peers. Using student panel data from the School District of Philadelphia, we implement student fixed effects and instrumental variable (IV) strategies to examine the consequences of suspensions for offending students and their peers. A suspension decreases math and reading achievement for suspended studen…
School Climate and the Impact of Neighborhood Crime on Test Scores
Does school climate ameliorate or exacerbate the impact of neighborhood violent crime on test scores? Using administrative data from the New York City Department of Education and the New York City Police Department, we find that exposure to violence in the residential neighborhood and an unsafe climate at school lead to substantial test score losses in English language arts (ELA). Middle school students exposed to neighborhood violent crime befor…
Transforming Practice Through Culture Change: Probation Staff Perspectives on Juvenile Justice Reform
Probation plays a central role in the juvenile justice system, and probation officers are often involved in numerous decisions made in juvenile courts. This study examines the views of probation staff from 23 jurisdictions, some of which participated in an Annie E. Casey Foundation–funded juvenile justice reform effort intended to safely and significantly reduce the use of out-of-home placements, especially for youth of color. We survey juvenile …
Too Scared to Learn? The Academic Consequences of Feeling Unsafe in the Classroom
A safe environment is a prerequisite for productive learning. Using a unique panel data set of survey responses from New York City middle school students, the article provides insight into the relationship between feelings of safety in the classroom and academic achievement. The survey data include the reported feelings of safety for more than 340,000 students annually from 2007 to 2010 in more than 700 middle schools. Findings show a consistent …
The Impact of Felony Diversion in San Francisco
In the traditional criminal justice system, an arrest is followed by multiple decision points determining detention, prosecution, guilt, and sentence. Many jurisdictions across the U.S. are exploring alternative programs and approaches that consider individual needs and assessed risks at each decision point. San Francisco County, California, uses post‐filing pretrial diversion programs as alternatives to the traditional criminal justice system fo…
The academic effects of chronic exposure to neighbourhood violence
This paper estimates the causal effect of repeated exposure to violent crime on test scores in New York City. We use two empirical strategies; value-added models linking student performance on standardised exams to violent crimes on students’ residential block, and a regression discontinuity approach that identifies the acute effect of additional crime exposure within a one-week window. Exposure to violent crime reduces academic performance. Valu…
Spatial spillover effects of crime on private investment at nearby micro-places
Criminal activity may influence the decisions of existing property owners or prospective investors to invest in a property, given the potential elevated expenses and increased uncertainty that often accompany crime. This study investigates the relationship between crime and private investment at nearby micro-places using location-specific crime incident and building permit data from 2008 to 2018 in the cities of Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Ph…
Bail reform and pretrial release: Examining the implementation of In re Humphrey
Research Summary Pretrial reform is driving criminal justice policy debates across the nation. The In re Humphrey decision required the San Francisco County criminal court to set bail levels based on defendant ability to pay rather than the county bail schedule. Under this new policy, the rate of pretrial detention fell by 11%. We find defendants released pretrial were less likely to be convicted (a decline of 3 percentage points) in the post‐ Hu…
The Effect of a Pre-Arraignment Legal Representation Pilot on Pretrial Release and Criminal Case Outcomes
Mitigating the Stress of Housing Instability: The Impact of Housing Choice Vouchers on Social Supports, Behavioral Health, and Criminal Justice Involvement
The Housing Choice Voucher program is the largest low-income housing subsidy program managed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Research shows that vouchers improve housing affordability and stability and access to higher quality housing units and safer neighborhoods. Yet less is known about how housing supports affect a household’s health and well-being and contact with other social services, and even less about the impact …
Unveiling Intersecting Experiences: Investigating Health Care and Jail System Interaction Before and After Incarceration Among Adults with Serious Mental Illness in San Francisco
Individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. They frequently cycle between jail and emergency departments and experience poor health outcomes. Some jails offer mental health services, but the criminal justice environment is not conducive to optimal treatment and recovery. Individuals with SMI may require targeted interventions, but few studies have examined characteristics of individuals in jai…
Criminology (12 works) · Political science (12 works) · Psychology (12 works) · Sociology (9 works) · Crime Patterns and Interventions (8 works) · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis (7 works) · Law (7 works) · Economics (6 works) · Education Discipline and Inequality (6 works) · Demographic economics (5 works)