Dissertation Research · University of Utah

Punishing Places: Spatial Capabilities and Bayesian Methods for Transforming Community Supervision in Utah

Interactive maps, dashboards, and tables examining how place-based conversion factors — environmental quality, economic opportunity, healthcare access, and social connectedness — predict correctional supervision patterns across Utah's 689 census tracts.

689
Census Tracts
49K+
Supervision Episodes
3
Bayesian Models
17
Credible Predictors
Dissertation Defense

Defense Presentation

Punishing Places: Spatial Capabilities & Criminal Justice Outcomes in Utah

Defense presentation synthesizing the theoretical framework, Simes replication, INLA-BYM2 spatial analysis, and place-based policy framework across all four dissertation chapters. Built with Quarto revealjs.

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Chapters
Chapter 1

Place as Conversion Factor

A Spatial Capabilities Framework for Understanding the Geography of Community Supervision

Research questions and theoretical framework establishing the limits of neoclassical economics in explaining the geography of punishment, and how the capabilities theory repositions community conditions as constitutive of individual possibility.

Conceptual Framework Causal Architecture Diagram Research Questions
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Chapter 2

Punishing Places in Utah

Replication and extension of Simes' Punishing Places methodology, documenting that 21% of Utah's population lives in tracts bearing 50% of all correctional supervision (Gini = 0.496).

Supervision Rate Map Concentration Curve Regional Box Plots Spatial Poisson Models
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Chapter 3

An Empirical Portrait of Punishing Places

Spatial Bayesian Analysis of Place-Based Capabilities

Bayesian spatial modeling identifying which specific conversion factors predict geographic concentration of supervision, with φ = 0.51 confirming collective capabilities matter.

Relative Risk Maps Exceedance Probabilities Coefficient Contribution Maps Interactive Tables Risk Profile Dashboard
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Chapter 4

From Punishing Places to Capability-Enabling Places

A Policy Framework for Organized Spatial Investment

Policy framework translating spatial analysis into a place-based targeting methodology: exceedance probability investment zones, coefficient contribution-based intervention matching, 5 regional cluster profiles, and dual-domain cost-benefit analysis.

Regional Targeting Map Risk Driver Map Convergent Evidence Map Investment Zones Cost-Benefit Analysis
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About This Research

This research applies the capabilities approach to understand how place-based "conversion factors" — the environmental, economic, and social conditions of neighborhoods — shape criminal justice outcomes. Using Bayesian spatial modeling (INLA-BYM2) on 49,000+ community supervision episodes across Utah (2016–2023), the analysis reveals that structural neighborhood conditions predict supervision patterns independently of individual characteristics.

Sheena Yoon · PhD Candidate, Economics · University of Utah
Dissertation Committee: Dr. Richard Fowles, Dr. Peter Phillips, Dr. Sofia Nyström, Dr. Simon Brewer, Dr. Sarah Small, Dr. Catherine Ruetschlin · Data: Utah Department of Corrections