COLLEGE PARK, MD - February 1, 2011 - University of Maryland alumnus Dr. Calvin Johnson of the Court Services & Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA) will kick off Optimal Solutions Group, LLC’s (Optimal’s) Real-Time Policy Seminar Series with a presentation entitled “Business Intelligence and Predictive Analytics in Criminal Justice: Assessing the Risk of Failure While Under Community Supervision.” He will discuss the convergence of business intelligence tools and research methods such as predictive analytics for applications in criminal justice. The seminar will be held February 4, 2011 at the University of Maryland’s Susquehanna Hall in room 1120 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Dr. Johnson will present his work in designing, implementing, and operationally using predictive analytics and business intelligence to prevent criminal activity. He will share best practices, promising outcomes, and ideas for addressing privacy challenges across agencies.

Dr. Johnson’s presentation will be followed by a 45 minute discussion panel with Dr. Mark Turner (Economist) as moderator. The panelists will include:

• Dr. Grace Hong, Research Associate, Statistician and Healthcare Fraud, Waste, and Abuse, Optimal
• Dr. Calvin Johnson, Director of the Office of Research and Evaluation, CSOSA
• Dr. Kiminori Nakamura, Professor, University of Maryland, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Mildred Williams, Senior Associate and Former Chief of Montgomery County Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services/ Director Core Service Agency, Optimal

The panel will discuss the feasibility of implementing and the ethics of utilizing business intelligence and predictive analytics in observing ex-offenders.

Optimal’s Real-Time Policy Seminar Series is a result of the development and implementation of Optimal’s real-time approach to integrating information technology with research. The series are centered on discussion and presentation of new technologies and methods in research through demonstrating their application(s) in the real world. This seminar series will play host to some of the most innovative minds to discuss topics fields such as business intelligence, criminology, survey technologies, and performance dashboards. Future seminar topics will include: real-time analysis and reporting methods; social media analysis; natural language processing; electronic and hybrid surveys; reusable computer coding methods; business intelligence dashboards; time- and cost-saving alternative research methods; and using personal digital assistants (PDAs) in data collection.

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About Dr. Calvin Johnson

As Director of the Office of Research and Evaluation at the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia (CSOSA), Dr. Calvin Johnson is a community crime prevention, policing, and corrections evaluation specialist.  Dr. Johnson has experience in the design and implementation of enterprise data warehouse and business intelligence solutions within the public safety sector for performance measurement, performance-based budgeting, and advanced analytics.

At CSOSA, Dr. Johnson designs evaluation methodologies, constructs performance measures, and conducts data analysis for CSOSA's reports. He prepares data for submission with CSOSA's Annual Congressional Performance Budget report and follow-on analyses requested by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Appropriations Committees of the United States Congress (U.S. Congress).

He earned a PhD in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1997

About Optimal Solutions Group, LLC

Founded in 2000, Optimal Solutions Group, LLC, is a nonpartisan public policy research and technical assistance firm that differentiates itself by its quantitative expertise and innovative approaches in order to provide rigorous, data-driven research and technical assistance to government agencies, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and philanthropic foundations. Located at the University of Maryland’s M Square Research Park in College Park, Optimal is a leader in driving real-time public policy research. Optimal has 60+ employees including multidisciplinary researchers that have backgrounds in economics, health policy, statistics, psychology, sociology, public policy, communications, education, urban planning, and business. Optimal has four research centers—Health; Education; Housing; Workforce Development and Social Policy.