
Education
Ph.D. University of Cincinnati
M.A. Indiana State University
B.S. Indiana State University
Bio
Deborah (Debi) Koetzle is Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice. She received her Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati in 2006 and is a research fellow with the University of Cincinnati Corrections Institute. Her research focuses on effective correctional interventions, including the use of risk/need assessments, prison and community-based interventions, and problem-solving courts. Currently, she is the principal investigator on an INL-funded project designed to survey inmates in Central America on their experience with the rule of law and living in prison. Other funded research activities include a NIJ-funded project on the implementaiton and evaluation of the Organizational Coaching Model in three community supervision sites and a NSF-funded study on the relationship between comprehension, adolescent development, and legal decision-making for youth on probation. Past projects have included the evaluation and development of a specialized probation unit for young adults, the evaluation of reentry programs in Nevada, and an INL-funded project in El Salvador to reduce overcrowding in Salvadoran prisons. She has over 20 years of experience designing and delivering training curricula related to correctional interventions for community and prison-based settings and is a certified master trainer on multiple risk/need assessments. She has provided technical assistance to local, state, and federal agencies including the United States Administrative Office of the Courts, the Singapore Prison System, the Nevada Department of Corrections, and the Los Angeles County Department of Probation. Her research has appeared in Justice Quarterly, the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, and other scholarly outlets. She is editor of Drug Courts and the Criminal Justice System and author of What Works (and Doesn’t) in Reducing Recidivism, 2nd edition.
JJC Affiliations
Professional Memberships
Scholarly Work
Latessa, E. J., Listwan, S. J. & Koetzle, D. (2020). What works (and doesn’t) in reducing recidivism, 2nd edition. New York:Routledge.
Guastaferro, W.P., Koetzle, D., Lutgen, L., & Teasdale, B. (2022). Opioid use disorder and criminal justice: Predicting the use of OAT within a justice involved population. Substance Use and Misuse.
Schwalbe, C.S.J. & Koetzle, D. (2021). What the COVID-19 pandemic teaches about the essential functions of community corrections and supervision. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 48(9), 1300-1316.
Koetzle, D. & Matthews, B. (2020). Social capital: The forgotten responsivity factor. European Journal of Probation, 12(3), 219-237.https://doi.org/10.1177/2066220320976110
Mellow, J., Koetzle, D. & Vazquez, L. (2019). Assessing Criminological Technical Teams to reduce overcrowding in Salvadoran prisons. Revista de la Maestría en Administración Pública, 2, 203-232.
Honors and Awards
2014 Mid-Career Research Award, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Research Summary
My research interests center around correctional rehabilitation with an emphasis on evaluating and improving program policy and practice to improve the outcomes of individuals under correctional supervision, both in the US and in central and south America. Current projects include:
- Assessing adherence to the Rule of Law in Central American prisons. In collaboration with UCA and Rowan University, we are interviewing individuals living in prison in Central America to determine how closely their lived experiences in prison align with rule of law indicators
- Racial Equity and Community Corrections. Using a sample of 30 probation and parole officers, we are exploring perceptions of racial equity and how this understanding influences correctional practice.
- Assessing adolescent comprehension and understanding of probation conditions and its impact on compliance. Working with New York City Department of Probation, we are planning an experimental study to test the relationship between comprehenision and short-term compliance, and whether comprehension can be enhanced with specialized interview techniques.
- Drug Court Treatment Risk Assessment Quality (DC-TRAQ) study. In collaboration with Temple University, this project consists of three distinct studies aimed at further disengtangling the effects of risk and treatment quality on drug court outcomes.
- Developing a national model for reducing probation and parole revocations. This 5-year multi-site study is collaborative project designed to implement the Organizational Coaching Model in three jurisdictions, monitor implementation fidelity, and evaluate its impact on revocations.