Dr. Deborah Koetzle
Professor | John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Dr. Deborah (Debi) Koetzle is Professor of Criminal Justice at John Jay College and a Fellow with the University of Cincinnati Corrections Institute. From 2013-2020 she served as the Executive Officer (Chair) of the Doctoral Program in Criminal Justice at John Jay/The Graduate Center. She received her PhD in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati in 2006.

Her research centers around evaluating and improving correctional interventions with an eye towards reducing recidivism and improving outcomes. Within this context, she focuses on risk/need assessments, problem-solving courts, community-based interventions, reentry programs, and the application of evidence-based practices in Latin America and the Caribbean. She has received nearly $10 million in external funding, including awards from the Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, the National Institute of Justice, the National Science Foundation, and the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

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 El Salvador Dirección General de Centros Penales, the Singapore Prison System, the Nevada Department of Corrections, the Los Angeles County Department of Probation, and the New York City Department of Probation.

In 2022, she received the Marguerite Q. Warren and Ted B. Palmer Differential Intervention Award from the American Society of Criminology, Division of Corrections and Sentencing. She was a recipient of the Above & Beyond Award for Outstanding Women in Education, awarded by City and State (New York), in 2018. She received her PhD from the University of Cincinnati.