Abstract
This issue completes my first term as your Editor-in-Chief for Criminal Justice and Behavior (CJB). I assumed my term on January 1, 2018, and in the subsequent 3 years, we have decisioned 1,122 manuscripts and published 272 articles. We have achieved many of our goals, while some goals remain in progress. I am honored to report that based on the success of my Editorial Team, we have been asked by the International Association of Correctional and Forensic Psychology (IACFP) Board to continue for another term. I humbly accepted this offer as it is my privilege to serve you—the readership of CJB.
Thus, as we close our first term and embark the second, I want to provide you the current state of the journal. First, let me remind you of the members of my Editorial Team that put in tireless hours to make our journal a continued success. Dr. Jaime Henderson (First Judicial District of Pennsylvania) is my Managing Editor, a role she has dutifully served for 5 years. I have three Associate Editors: Dr. Beth Huebner (University of Missouri–St. Louis), Dr. Jim Ogloff (Swinburne University of Technology), and Dr. Mark Olver (University of Saskatchewan). Dr. Ashley Batastini (University of Memphis) serves as our Book Editor. And finally, but certainly not least, as she single-handedly keeps everything moving, is my trusted Editorial Assistant, Ms. Lexie Brown (soon to be Dr. Brown after she completes her predoctoral internship). This team has helped us maintain the incredibly high standards and prestige of the journal. That said, I am excited to announce a few revisions to my team. First, Dr. Batastini will be joining the team as an Associate Editor and so we will be looking for a new Book Editor. Second, with the support of the IACFP, we have added Dr. Daryl Kroner (Southern Illinois University) to my Editorial Team as a statistical consultant. Not mentioned above are the members of the CJB Editorial Board (see inside front cover for a complete list of these board members). We could not decision the number of submissions we receive without the support of these hardworking scientists. I speak for all of us when I say we are eager to continue to serve you over the next 3 years.
Submissions and Rejection Rate
An important goal for my Editorial Team was to increase the number of manuscripts received and to reduce the time from submission to decision. As seen in Table 1, we successfully increased the number of submissions beginning with the start of our editorial term in 2018, such that we now receive well over 400 submissions per year. These increased submissions allow my Editorial Team and me to publish the best scientific papers in the field. As such, we have maintained a very high rejection rate of 78% (2019 data).
CJB Manuscripts Received by Year (2015–2020)
Note. Original manuscripts only. CJB = Criminal Justice and Behavior.
Data for 2020 are current through September 15, 2020.
Time to Decision
My primary goal as Editor-in-Chief in Year 1 (2018) was to reduce the time from manuscript submission to editorial decision. Editorial decision time is a primary factor authors consider when weighing journal options. As you can see in Table 2 and Figure 1, we have accomplished this goal.
CJB Turnaround Time by Year (2015–2020)
Note. CJB = Criminal Justice and Behavior.
Data for 2020 are current through September 15, 2020.
Time From Submission to First and Final Decision
Figure 1 includes data on time to first and final decision (obtained from the SAGE 2020 Publishers Report for CJB).
Impact Factor (IF)
CJB is a prominent psychology and criminal justice journal with traditionally impressive objective metrics. The 2019 IF of 1.523 is down from 2.164 in 2018. There are a few things to note regarding this drop. First, in 2018, we had a substantive increase in the number of articles published which directly affects the IF. Specifically, the increased number of articles raises the denominator in the IF formula, so with more articles, all other things being the same, the IF will shrink.
Another important consideration is that IF is only one indicator of a journal’s success and scientific impact. It is a significant factor as it is widely recognized by many in the scientific community, but it is also increasingly known as a fallible measure due to direct ability to positively influence the IF. That is, editors can engage in practices specifically designed to alter the IF. As such, other indicators of journal quality are becoming more common. For example, Google Scholar Rankings are perceived by some to be more reflective of a journal’s true impact (see https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=top_venues&hl=en&vq=soc_criminologycriminallawpolicing).
As you can see from these data, CJB ranks very high (#3 of 20 criminology, criminal justice, and policing journals). The h-index in this ranking is for the last 5 years (2015–2019) and is a ratio of the number of articles published by citations. So, in the last 5 years, CJB has 39 articles with 39 or more citations which is an impressive outcome (Dr. Emily Salisbury, Past-Editor, deserves much of the credit for this outcome).
A final comment regarding IF: It is likely that our efforts to improve efficiency and timeliness to authors are negatively affecting our IF. We have substantially reduced our time from acceptance to print publication. Once accepted, our manuscripts remain online for only 88 days before they are in print. When articles remain online, they build an increased following such that they are more likely to have citations 1 to 2 years post print than articles with a shorter time online. That is, journals with a significant lag time from acceptance to print publication can have a head start toward increasing their IF. At CJB, our time from submission to print for manuscripts accepted is, on average, less than 9 months.
At the Forefront (ATF)
I introduced a new feature—ATF. ATF aims to provide readers with a concise, focused, expert review of emerging areas in criminal justice psychology. Specifically, ATF will provide readers a state-of-the-art integration and synthesis of previously published work with clear implications for theory and practice, and recommendations for future research. This feature is aimed at increasing the quality and impact of CJB for a broad audience. We have published two such articles to date with additional articles forthcoming.
Hanson, R. K. (2018). Long-term recidivism studies show that desistance is the norm. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 45(9), 1340–1346.
Vincent, G. M. & Viljoen, J. L. (2020). Racist algorithms or systemic problems? Risk assessments and racial disparities. This issue.
COVID-19 Impact and Females in Science
As you are all well ware, COVID-19 has affected our daily lives in unprecedented ways. This includes science. Although I anticipate some positive outcomes by way of interesting science and articles that will help us better prepare for a future global crisis, the status of this current pandemic is one of concern. Concern for health and well-being of our humankind across the globe is primary, but there are also concerns for science and scientists that could not be foreseen when the pandemic initially struck. One particular worry for me is the impact of COVID-19 on researchers’ ability to do research, but particularly for females. Data clearly suggest that COVID-19 disproportionately affects females in many ways, including in the sciences. As Figures 2 and 3 indicate, this has not yet become apparent in our total number of submissions or submissions by females, but this is a concern that we will continue to follow and track as we progress through this pandemic. As of yet, I have no answers for an anticipated reduction in submissions, particularly by females, but I am eager to hear from our female scientists.
CJB Original Submissions, 2020
CJB 2020 Submissions by Sex
Please contact me with thoughts and opinions that you think will help me better serve our readers and the field of criminal justice psychology. I would be particularly interested in an article from a team of criminal justice psychology female researchers outlining the impact of COVID-19 on your science and productivity with recommendations for the field for combating sex imbalance where it occurs.
One goal on which I have made limited progress is a concerted effort to increase transparency in the scientific process. Specifically, I have done little by the way of encouraging authors to make their data publicly available. This will be a concerted effort of mine in 2021, and I will pursue Open Science Badges for CJB authors. Badges were developed in 2013 by the Center for Open Science to promote soundness and transparency in scientific practice and will be available to authors who voluntarily share data and/or materials or who preregister their study designs or analysis plans.
Beyond the day-to-day operations of the journal, my Editorial Team and I are concerned about racism and inequities in the criminal justice system. After the tragic loss of life of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, we issued a strong statement recognizing our obligation as scientists to support scientific approaches toward exploring and dismantling structural racism, particularly in the criminal justice system. We will continue to strive to remove barriers for all voices of this work. We also acknowledge that racism may not be intentional and conscious, but that we are in a privileged position to educate others and promote responsible research to meaningfully change systems. As such, we are eager to receive papers reporting the results of qualitative and quantitative studies, as well as systematic reviews with diverse populations and that engage with race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and other oppressed and marginalized statuses in the criminal justice system. It is only collectively that we can achieve progress in reducing inequity in criminal justice systems across the globe. As such, we remain committed to listening for guidance and feedback on how we can continue to use this platform for change.
In closing, I thank you for your confidence in my Editorial Team and me. We remain eager to serve you and the field of criminal justice psychology. My team and I thank you for contributing to CJB as Editorial Board members, reviewers, and authors, and for reading the journal. I have appreciated several suggestions for improving the journal and welcome similar dialogues.
