Jamie Vaske, Ph.D., is a Founding Research Professor in the Center for Research and Collaborative Partnerships and Research Professor Department of Justice, Law & Criminology in the School of Public Affairs at American University.
Dr. Vaske’s work focuses on the evaluation of both policy and practice within the criminal justice system. She focuses on the use of structured decision-making tools in criminal justice decision-making and interventions that foster collaboration between the behavioral health and criminal justice systems. She specializes in treatment courts, veterans’ issues, jail re-entry, and data management.
She is a Senior Research Associate at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Criminal Justice Innovation Lab where she has spearheaded the evaluation of several bail reform initiatives and early involvement of counsel projects. These projects involved analyzing and merging data from various sources such as bail condition forms, court calendars, and jail data. She is the lead analyst on the Measuring Justice Dashboard, a project that reports key metrics for all cases and defendants served criminal charges in the state of North Carolina.
She is the evaluator and core team member for several treatment court teams in Western North Carolina. Her experience on the treatment court teams allows her to understand key issues faced by treatment courts and the data needed to evaluate those issues empirically. She also collaborates with stakeholders in several other areas, such as jail reentry, co-responder programs, and behavioral health interventions for frontline criminal justice staff.
Prior to conducting translational research, Dr. Vaske specialized in biosocial criminology, where she theorized how biosocial criminology could be used to evaluate and enhance the effectiveness of correctional practices. Jamie Vaske received her PhD in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati.
Turner, H., Vaske, J., & Marion, A. (2025). Evaluating a mental health co-responder program in burlington, north carolina. Criminal Justice Innovation Lab, UNC School of Government. https://cjil.sog.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Burlington-LECC-Evaluation_Final_2025.10.14.pdf
Smith, J., & Vaske, J. (2021). Bail reform in north carolina judicial district 2. Criminal Justice Innovation Lab, UNC School of Government. https://cjil.sog.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/JD-2-Final-Report-9.21.2021.pdf
Vaske, J. C. (2020). North carolina judicial district 30B pretrial pilot final report part II: Evaluation report. Criminal Justice Innovation Lab, UNC School of Government. https://cjil.sog.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/March-2020-Final-Report-30B-Project-Part-2.pdf
Vaske, J. C. (2019, Winter). The effect of disproportionate sanctioning on client noncompliance. Drug Court Review, 3, 8-25. https://ntcrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/DrugCourtReview_Winter2019_Part_2.pdf
Vaske, J. C. (2017). Using biosocial criminology to understand and improve treatment outcomes. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 44(8), 1050-1072. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854817716484
Vaske, J., Galyean, K., & Cullen, F. T. (2011). Toward a biosocial theory of offender rehabilitation: Why does cognitive-behavioral therapy work? Journal of Criminal Justice, 39(1), 90-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2010.12.006
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On November 21, 2024, American University and Verizon co-hosted Voices of Valor: Transformative Journeys Through Veterans Treatment Courts at Verizon’s Technology Policy Center in Washington, D.C. The event marked the launch of a compelling publication by the same name dedicated to advancing awareness and efforts surrounding Veterans Treatment Courts (VTCs).