Robert Apel
@bobapel.bsky.social
Social scientist at Rutgers with expertise in criminology and social policy
This reminds me of my favorite oxymoron, heard at every academic research conference: anecdotal evidence 😆
October 3, 2025 at 9:23 PM
This reminds me of my favorite oxymoron, heard at every academic research conference: anecdotal evidence 😆
9/ Reproducibility package is on my Github page and includes a pre-publication manuscript, since the published article is not open access: github.com/bobapel-git/...
GitHub - bobapel-git/demir-apel-2025-jq: Reproducibility package for Demir and Apel (2025), published in Justice Quarterly
Reproducibility package for Demir and Apel (2025), published in Justice Quarterly - bobapel-git/demir-apel-2025-jq
github.com
August 6, 2025 at 6:52 PM
9/ Reproducibility package is on my Github page and includes a pre-publication manuscript, since the published article is not open access: github.com/bobapel-git/...
8/ Full study is here, with lots of analysis and other interesting findings, along with a case for integrating prospect theory with procedural justice: www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/...
Recorded Justice or Procedural Justice? A Randomized Controlled Experiment of the Influence of Body Worn Cameras and Officer Behavior on Citizen Attitudes
We implement cluster randomization to test the impact of procedurally just and unjust police behavior during a hypothetical traffic stop (versus procedurally neutral behavior), in addition to the i...
www.tandfonline.com
August 6, 2025 at 6:52 PM
8/ Full study is here, with lots of analysis and other interesting findings, along with a case for integrating prospect theory with procedural justice: www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/...
7/ 📢 Bottom line: Procedural justice—the quality of how officers treat people—is more powerful in shaping public attitudes than mere presence of a camera. Cameras might record justice—but only officers can actually deliver it.
August 6, 2025 at 6:52 PM
7/ 📢 Bottom line: Procedural justice—the quality of how officers treat people—is more powerful in shaping public attitudes than mere presence of a camera. Cameras might record justice—but only officers can actually deliver it.
6/ Even generalized views—like willingness to cooperate with or follow the law—were affected by a single (imagined) traffic stop. But the most powerful effects were on how people judged the officer’s behavior in the moment.
August 6, 2025 at 6:52 PM
6/ Even generalized views—like willingness to cooperate with or follow the law—were affected by a single (imagined) traffic stop. But the most powerful effects were on how people judged the officer’s behavior in the moment.
5/ 😬 Interestingly, negative encounters had a bigger impact than positive ones. Unfair treatment led to more negative attitudes than fair treatment led to positive ones—evidence of “loss aversion” in how people judge interactions with police.
August 6, 2025 at 6:52 PM
5/ 😬 Interestingly, negative encounters had a bigger impact than positive ones. Unfair treatment led to more negative attitudes than fair treatment led to positive ones—evidence of “loss aversion” in how people judge interactions with police.
4/ 🎥 What about body-worn cameras? Whether or not the officer said they were wearing a BWC made no difference to people’s attitudes. That’s right: being filmed didn’t help if the officer acted poorly, and didn’t enhance impressions if they acted well.
August 6, 2025 at 6:52 PM
4/ 🎥 What about body-worn cameras? Whether or not the officer said they were wearing a BWC made no difference to people’s attitudes. That’s right: being filmed didn’t help if the officer acted poorly, and didn’t enhance impressions if they acted well.
3/ 🚨 Key finding: How the officer behaved mattered—a lot. Respectful, fair treatment improved people’s views of the officer and the police generally. Hostile, unfair behavior worsened views even more strongly.
August 6, 2025 at 6:52 PM
3/ 🚨 Key finding: How the officer behaved mattered—a lot. Respectful, fair treatment improved people’s views of the officer and the police generally. Hostile, unfair behavior worsened views even more strongly.
2/ We administered mock traffic stop scenarios portraying different officer behaviors: Procedurally JUST (respectful, fair); procedurally UNJUST (hostile, disrespectful), and procedurally NEUTRAL (standard, no-frills). We also varied whether the officer announced a body camera.
August 6, 2025 at 6:52 PM
2/ We administered mock traffic stop scenarios portraying different officer behaviors: Procedurally JUST (respectful, fair); procedurally UNJUST (hostile, disrespectful), and procedurally NEUTRAL (standard, no-frills). We also varied whether the officer announced a body camera.
Oh, I wouldn’t suggest eliminating any of them. What I find interesting is that there was a time when divisions basically catered to interests outside of “mainstream criminology” (whatever that means). That hasn’t been true for some time now.
July 8, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Oh, I wouldn’t suggest eliminating any of them. What I find interesting is that there was a time when divisions basically catered to interests outside of “mainstream criminology” (whatever that means). That hasn’t been true for some time now.
10/ Reproducibility package is on Harvard Dataverse as well as my Github page: github.com/bobapel-git/...
GitHub - bobapel-git/lageson-apel-2025-crim: Reproducibility package for Lageson and Apel (2025), published in Criminology
Reproducibility package for Lageson and Apel (2025), published in Criminology - bobapel-git/lageson-apel-2025-crim
github.com
June 23, 2025 at 5:00 PM
10/ Reproducibility package is on Harvard Dataverse as well as my Github page: github.com/bobapel-git/...
9/ Full study by @sarahlageson.bsky.social and @bobapel.bsky.social is here and is open access: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
The mark or trace of a criminal record: A survey experiment of race and criminal record signaling
Employment discrimination from a criminal record is a salient social fact, evidenced by a robust body of experimental research. In Part 1 of this study, we analyze prior criminal record hiring experi...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
June 23, 2025 at 5:00 PM
9/ Full study by @sarahlageson.bsky.social and @bobapel.bsky.social is here and is open access: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
8/ TLDR: In today’s hiring landscape, the “mark of a criminal record” is alive and well. An unofficial and online “trace of a criminal record” can also hurt job chances. Race interacts with these effects in evolving, complex ways.
June 23, 2025 at 5:00 PM
8/ TLDR: In today’s hiring landscape, the “mark of a criminal record” is alive and well. An unofficial and online “trace of a criminal record” can also hurt job chances. Race interacts with these effects in evolving, complex ways.
7/ Why the shift? We discuss several possibilities: “Ban the Box” hiring policies, social movements (e.g., post-George Floyd reckoning), experimental study design (e.g., in-person audit vs. online audit vs. opt-in survey), and greater skepticism toward informal online data.
June 23, 2025 at 5:00 PM
7/ Why the shift? We discuss several possibilities: “Ban the Box” hiring policies, social movements (e.g., post-George Floyd reckoning), experimental study design (e.g., in-person audit vs. online audit vs. opt-in survey), and greater skepticism toward informal online data.
6/ That’s a reversal from older studies, which have shown Black applicants are penalized more for a criminal record. But in a separate part of our paper, we document a closing of this racial gap over the last 20 years.
June 23, 2025 at 5:00 PM
6/ That’s a reversal from older studies, which have shown Black applicants are penalized more for a criminal record. But in a separate part of our paper, we document a closing of this racial gap over the last 20 years.
5/ The twist? White applicants with an official criminal record were penalized more than Black applicants with the same record (no racial difference in the impact of a Google hit).
June 23, 2025 at 5:00 PM
5/ The twist? White applicants with an official criminal record were penalized more than Black applicants with the same record (no racial difference in the impact of a Google hit).
4/ We estimate that an official record cut hiring chances by ~42%, and a Google hit for a record (even if not official) cut chances by ~8%. Both had independent effects—meaning, a Google hit adds to the penalty even if the record is already known.
June 23, 2025 at 5:00 PM
4/ We estimate that an official record cut hiring chances by ~42%, and a Google hit for a record (even if not official) cut chances by ~8%. Both had independent effects—meaning, a Google hit adds to the penalty even if the record is already known.
3/ We tested how employers responded to fictional applicants by varying: applicant race (Black or White), presence of a criminal record (official background check report), and a Google search "hit" showing a criminal history.
June 23, 2025 at 5:00 PM
3/ We tested how employers responded to fictional applicants by varying: applicant race (Black or White), presence of a criminal record (official background check report), and a Google search "hit" showing a criminal history.
2/ Hiring managers still penalize applicants with criminal records—no surprise there. But our study finds even a Google search insinuating a criminal record can reduce a job applicant’s chance of being hired.
June 23, 2025 at 5:00 PM
2/ Hiring managers still penalize applicants with criminal records—no surprise there. But our study finds even a Google search insinuating a criminal record can reduce a job applicant’s chance of being hired.