The Science of Second Chances
Jennifer Doleac will present her book, The Science of Second Chances — described as “Freakonomics for criminal justice” — which lays out her approach to criminal justice reform. Drawing on economic research and real-world experiments, Doleac shows how small, evidence-based interventions — from DNA databases to leniency programs for first-time defendants — can reduce reoffending and break the incarceration cycle, all without waiting on large structural overhauls.
Eligible for 1 Hour of General CLE Credit in CA. CLE self-submission options in other states. Email us if you have questions regarding CLE credit.
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Speaker
Jennifer Doleac is leading expert on the economics of crime, and a vocal proponent of using rigorous research to inform policy. She is the author of The Science of Second Chances: A Revolution in Criminal Justice, and creator of the Probable Causation podcast and newsletter. From 2023 to 2026, Dr. Doleac was the Executive Vice President of Criminal Justice at Arnold Ventures, a philanthropy focused on evidence-based policy in the United States. In that role, she invested over $100 million annually in research, policy, and advocacy to improve public safety across the US. Before joining Arnold Ventures, she spent over a decade as an economics professor at the University of Virginia and Texas A&M University (earning tenure in 2018), working on academic research on crime and discrimination. As a professor, she founded and ran the Justice Tech Lab, which focused on measuring the real-world impact of public safety interventions.
Dr. Doleac’s research addresses topics such as DNA databases, prosecutorial reform, risk assessment algorithms, and the unintended consequences of “ban the box” policies. A primary focus of her work has been breaking the incarceration cycle and putting people with criminal records on a better path. She is also a trusted reviewer and translator of research across the economics of crime field. Her work has been supported by multiple governmental and philanthropic organizations, and her research has been published in leading academic journals including the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Review of Economics and Statistics, and the Journal of Labor Economics. She is frequently quoted in the media about public safety research and policy.
Dr. Doleac holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University, and a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics from Williams College. She lives in Houston, TX, with her dog, Chula.