Bret Bucklen

@CrimeMusica Congrats!

Proud to announce being named Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for “Distinguished contributions to the field of criminology and criminal justice, particularly the multifactorial underpinnings of antisocial conduct and pathological criminal behavior.” news.iastate.edu/news/science-a…

Episode #21 - New episode of #PracademicallySpeaking. A discussion with Randee Brant( Chief of Staff) on @CorrectionsPA new strategic plan. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pra…

@drantbradley Fathers might be the most important predictor of faith persistence but not necessarily the most important CAUSE of faith persistence. Correlation does NOT equal causation. I'm not aware of a significant body of causal research on the impact of fathers on faith persistence.

For the record, this data is completely false. Someone made this up. There is no published research to support these numbers. However, we do know that fathers are the most important predictors of faith persistence in children into adulthood.

I know so many policmakers and practitioners who are desperate for information on which prison programs (if any) are effective. How should facilities use their scarce resources - in terms of staff time and funding? Do existing programs make any difference, in the short term or after release? Traditionally, research in this space has compared inmates who participate in programs (or - worse - complete those programs) with inmates who do not. But it's not random who participates in & completes programs. Those who do were likely encouraged to sign up by case managers, based on their specific needs, or they volunteered based on their motivation to change. Facilities also typically require good behavior in order to participate — this is a way for them to incentivize that good behavior, to keep facilities safer. This is all fine and good, but it means that program participants are different in many ways — most unobservable in the data — that make apples to apples comparisons impossible. If we are comparing motivated, well-behaved people with unmotivated, poorly-behaved people, are we surprised that the former group is less likely to reoffend later? Of course not. We shouldn't attribute differences in future behavior to the program they participated in — but this is what too many researchers do. Enter Steeve Marchand and his colleagues. They are finding and using clever natural experiments to quantify the value-add of various prison programs. I hope others take their methods and apply them in other settings. It's time to get serious about what works in this space, so we can use jail and prison time as the intervention point that it is. Check out my conversation with Steeve for more.

Great article about my new book — The Science of Second Chances — in @voxdotcom. Let's go make some positive change!

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Office of Reentry formally recognized SCI Frackville and SCI Cambridge Springs for their extraordinary achievement through the Recidivism and Desistance Initiative (RDI) as both institutions exceeded their Recidivism Reduction goals every month in 2025. This resulted in a consistent reduction in recidivism for 12 consecutive months. This milestone reflects the dedication, collaboration, and commitment of staff members who work every day to support successful reentry and positive outcomes. The overall goal of the RDI is to launch a state-wide effort at reducing recidivism, increasing desistance, and rewarding locations who are meeting their goals. The DOC Office of Reentry and Bureau of Planning, Research, and Statistics track data from all areas of the agency to set the goals, and facilities compete against only themselves due to the unique nature of each one.

Episode #20 - New episode of #PracademicallySpeaking. There's a claim that college in prison cuts recidivism by 40 percent—but what happens when that claim is tested using an RCT? Dr. Sarah Tahamont discusses results from her @CorrectionsPA evaluation podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pra…

@drantbradley Here’s what you’re missing. Your research base is junk science. Poor quality studies, unable to untangle causation from correlation. We need better consumers of research and scientific evidence. You can do better

Help me understand this: We have nearly 40 years of research showing student ministry has no real impact on long term faith persistence, while relations with parents are the strongest predictor. Yet youth workers reject this data. Why? I don't get it. What am I missing?

@JoshuaBarzon #4 because it’s an isle seat. Can Athanasius and Calvin switch places? I’d really like #1 but hate middle seats and don’t want to be stuck in between Sprout and McArthur arguing about baptism the whole flight

What seat would you choose on this flight?

This is a good reminder of a key insight learned from the late great Al Blumstein, which is that criminal justice operates within an inter-connected system (the “systems” approach). As the below author says, “Sentencing policy IS policing policy.”

Alfred Blumstein, Who Transformed the Study of Crime, Dies at 95 - The New York Times nytimes.com/2026/02/14/sci…

Episode #19 - New episode of #PracademicallySpeaking is out. The topic of this episode - "evidence-based corrections policy." What does it mean for a program, policy, or practice to be truly "evidence-based?" podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pra…

@Rafa_Mangual Smh. Damn, I’m really old

@kbucklen Completely ignorant of the entire Terror Squad

Some kid in the gym asked me what I was listening to… He’d never heard of Big Pun 😒 Am I really that old!?

Very sorry to receive the news that my first mentor, Al Blumstein, passed away. Al was a giant and a pioneer in the field. Huge loss. legacy.com/legacy/alfred-…

@jenniferdoleac In PA our superintendents (“wardens”) make recommendations to the parole board for parole release. I worked w/ a committee a while back to draft standardized guidelines for DOC recommending parole, which would include input from COs & unit staff. Would love to come back to that.

One thing I’ve been thinking about recently: How to increase the recruitment, retention, and well-being of corrections officers. The challenges of working in policing are widely discussed, as is the difficulty that police departments have filling their open positions. It is remarkable to me how much less attention is paid to the challenges faced by corrections officers. Jails and prisons are dangerous places to work, and, across the US, are woefully understaffed. Staff shortages make the job even more difficult, which drives more officers to quit, which makes facilities even less safe. It is a vicious, unsustainable cycle. We rely on corrections officers to keep us safe, just as we do the police, but somehow they are not included in many advocacy campaigns on behalf of law enforcement. There are many ways we can and should be leveraging corrections talent and experience to improve public safety. For instance, these staff spend all day with those who are incarcerated, and could help parole boards determine who still poses a public safety threat and who could be safely released (saving taxpayers lots of money). Why isn't this commonplace? Also: Jail and prison stays are opportunities to intervene in people's lives, to put them on a better path — indeed, for many, it is a rock bottom moment when the right guidance or programming could have a big impact. Right now, corrections staff are forced to focus on basic safety and security, with little time to invest in rehabilitation. @Arnold_Ventures is funding RCTs of Scandinavian-style prison units, in several US states. It is striking that the strongest feedback we hear is from the officers working in those units — they love finally getting the opportunity to help people. Why isn't that a normal part of the job? We would all be better off if there were a line out the door of people who want to be corrections officers, and an important way to do that is to make these jobs safer and more meaningful. My team is partnering with One Voice United to ensure that corrections officers are at the table in more conversations about public safety and incarceration. There's a lot of work to do here, including on the research side, and I'm grateful to everyone who is helping.

@KevinARing That reminds me of this classic: Did you see the study showing that judges sentence harsher after their college football team loses? Big 10 judges would never do that 😂. johnjayrec.nyc/2016/09/07/atl….”&text=This%20article%20is%20part%20of,Atlantic%2C%20where%20she%20covers%20education

Eagles win —> Homicide rate falls This isn’t any flimsier than some other explanations I’ve heard about crime rates lately. crossingbroad.com/news/eagles/i-…

@CrimeMusica Love this book! Thanks for writing it. It needed to be written. I miss the old companion web/blog site.

A book ahead of its time considering the science vs. activism debate in criminology today. The book is intentionally triggering, deliciously so.

@drantbradley Your data doesn’t say what you think it does. But don’t let facts get in the way of your opinions

I will debate any pastor in America on issue: this is 1000x better than youth group. I have data! In my latest post, is data showing why no youth ministry in the world could ever be more faith-effective than boys signing with just the men once a week (a girls with older women).

Cool job alert: "Postdoctoral Scholar: Criminal Justice Research Center & PA Department of Corrections" This is an opportunity to contribute to the fantastic research program at @CorrectionsPA under @kbucklen. They're doing some of the most innovative, rigorous work in the public safety space. And they're looking for someone with causal inference skills to help them do even more.