Shi Yan
Associate Professor,
School of Criminology & Criminal Justice (CCJ)
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Phone: 602-496-1514
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411 N Central Ave Ste 600 ASU School of Criminology Phoenix, AZ 85004
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Mail code: 4420Campus: Dtphx
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Long Bio
Shi Yan is an associate professor of criminology and criminal justice at Arizona State University (ASU). He is also an affiliated faculty of ASU's Law and Behavioral Science group.
Dr. Yan’s research pursues a better understanding of the contemporary American court system, with two focal areas. He studies the correlates of guilty pleas, including false guilty pleas, with both experiments and analyses of quantitative court record data. He also studies how prior criminal records and other factors shape the image of risk in the criminal justice context, and how perceived risk further relates to case outcomes. He is particularly interested in community-based sentences and programs. To date, he has published over 15 articles in leading peer-reviewed academic journals in criminology, law and psychology, and other disciplines. As a principal investigator or co-principal investigator, he has received over 1.03 million dollars in research funding support from the National Institute of Justice, the National Science Foundation, and state and local agencies in Arizona.
Dr. Yan teaches courses on courts and sentencing, research methods, and statistics, in both classroom and online environments. He also enjoys working with graduate and undergraduate students on research. In both his classes and mentorship, he prioritizes team-building and team-based learning. His mentees have obtained jobs in universities, government, and industry upon completion of their degrees, and some have continued their training in law schools and graduate schools.
Dr. Yan is actively serving the university, the discipline, and the community. He serves on the editorial board of Criminology, American Society of Criminology's flagship peer-reviewed journal. He also participates in various committee work at ASU and professional organizations, reviews journal manuscripts and grant applications, and presents research to practitioners and the media.
Dr. Yan received a Ph.D. in criminal justice from the University at Albany, SUNY, an institution he is always proud to be part of.
Education
University at Albany, State University of New York
- Ph.D. in Criminal Justice, 2016
- M.A. in Criminal Justice, 2013
Research Website URL
Google Scholar URL
Experts.asu.edu URL
Research Interests
- Courts and sentencing
- Plea bargaining and false guilty pleas
- Risk in the criminal justice context
- Measurement issues related to crime and criminal justice data
Publications
Full-text, preprint-style versions for most publications are available for download at https://iamshiyan.com/papers
- Hickert, A., Shi, L., Shaw, O. P., & Yan, S. (2025). Do direct and courtesy prison stigma hinder support for a startup business? A vignette experiment. Journal of Experimental Criminology, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-025-09664-x
- Petersen, N., Mitchell, O., & Yan, S. (2024). Do progressive prosecutors increase crime? A quasi-experimental analysis of crime rates in the 100 largest counties, 2000–2020. Criminology & Public Policy, 23(2), 459-490. http://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12666
- Yan, S., Wilford, M. M., & Ferreira, P. A. (2024). Terms and conditions apply: The effect of probation length and obligation disclosure on true and false guilty pleas. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 20(2), 457-483. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-022-09543-9
- Yan, S., Zgoba, K. M., & Pizarro, J. M. (2023). Restrictive housing placement and length of stay: A Latent class analysis with mixed distributions. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 34(5), 462-487. https://doi.org/10.1177/08874034231184139
- Tahamont, S., Jelveh, Z., McNeill, M., Yan, S., Chalfin, A., & Hansen, B. (2023). No ground truth? No problem: Improving administrative data linking with an active learning algorithm and a little bit of guile. PLOS ONE, 18(4), e0283811. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283811
- Yan, S. & Augustine, B. (2023). Parental monitoring, exposure to family violence, and delinquency: A latent class analysis on Arizona youth. Victims & Offenders. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2023.2189192
- Mitchell, O., Yan, S., & Oramas Mora, D. (2023). Trends in prison sentences and racial disparities: 20-years of sentencing under Florida’s criminal punishment code. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 60(2), 300-338. https://doi.org/10.1177/00224278221120677
- Yan, S., & Walker, J. W. (2022). Does the premium fit the risk? The role of criminal escalation in case processing. Crime & Delinquency, 68(9), 1462-1491. https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287211061719
- Yan, S., & Lao, J. (2022). Sex disparities in sentencing and judges’ beliefs: A vignette approach. Victims & Offenders, 17(4), 597-619. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2021.1947427
- Yan, S. (2022). What exactly is the bargain? The sensitivity of plea discount estimates. Justice Quarterly, 39(1), 152-173. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2019.1707856
- Wu, S., Yoder, G., Lee, N., Yan, S., & Wolfersteig, W. (2021). Racial disparities in school lunch program participation and cigarette use: Evidence from Arizona Youth Survey data. Substance Use and Misuse, 56(10), 1516-1526. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2021.1942051
- Wilford, M. M., Zimmerman, D. M., Yan, S., & Sutherland, K. T. (2021). Innocence in the shadow of COVID-19: Plea decision making during a pandemic. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 27(4), 739-750. https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000367
- Tahamont, S., Jelveh, Z., Chalfin, A., Yan, S., & Hansen, B. (2021). Dude, where's my treatment effect? Errors in administrative data linking and the destruction of statistical power in randomized experiments. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 37(3), 715-749. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-020-09461-x
- Wu, S., Yan, S., Marsiglia, F. F. & Perron, B. (2020). Patterns and social determinants of substance use among Arizona youth: A latent class analysis approach. Children and Youth Services Review, 110, 104769. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104769
- Yan, S. (2020). Estimating the size of plea discounts: Why does it matter? In C. Spohn & P. K. Brennan (Eds.), Handbook on sentencing policies and practices in the 21st century, The ASC Division on Corrections & Sentencing’s Handbook Series (Vol. 4, pp. 188-207). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429027765-10
- Yan, S. (2019). Does criminal specialization predict case processing? Crime & Delinquency, 65(12), 1648-1688. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128718765123
- Yan, S., & Bushway, S. D. (2018). Plea discounts or trial penalties? Making sense of the trial-plea sentence disparities. Justice Quarterly, 35(7), 1226-1249. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2018.1552715
- Redlich, A. D., Yan, S., Norris, R. J., & Bushway, S. D. (2018). The influence of confessions in guilty plea decisions and sentences. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 24(2), 147-157. https://doi.org/10.1037/law0000144
- Yan, S., Bushway, S. D., & Redlich, A. D. (2018). Discretion in the absence of guidelines: Charge bargaining and sentencing for felony defendants in New York. In J. T. Ulmer & M. S. Bradley (Eds.), Handbook on punishment decisions: Locations of disparity, The ASC Division on Corrections & Sentencing’s Handbook Series (Vol.2, pp. 133-151). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315410371-7
- Yan, S. (2017). Search for the hidden punishments: An alternative approach to studying alternative sanctions. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 33(1), 21-44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-015-9275-4
- Tahamont, S., Yan, S., Bushway, S. D., & Liu, J. (2015). Pathways to prison in New York State. Criminology & Public Policy, 14(3), 431-453. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12136
Teaching Website URL
Courses
2025 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| CRJ 504 | Statistical Tools/Criminal Jus |
| CRJ 100 | Intro to Criminal Justice |
2024 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
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| CRJ 100 | Intro to Criminal Justice |
2024 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| CRJ 100 | Intro to Criminal Justice |
| CRJ 100 | Intro to Criminal Justice |
2023 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| CRJ 513 | Seminar in Courts & Sentencing |
2023 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| CRJ 504 | Statistical Tools/Criminal Jus |
| CRJ 513 | Seminar in Courts & Sentencing |
2022 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| CRJ 513 | Seminar in Courts & Sentencing |
2022 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
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| CRJ 302 | Research Methods |
| CRJ 513 | Seminar in Courts & Sentencing |
2021 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
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| CRJ 203 | Courts and Sentencing |
| CRJ 513 | Seminar in Courts & Sentencing |
2021 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| CRJ 504 | Statistical Tools/Criminal Jus |
| CRJ 100 | Intro to Criminal Justice |
2020 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| CRJ 302 | Research Methods |
| CRJ 513 | Seminar in Courts & Sentencing |
2020 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| CRJ 504 | Statistical Tools/Criminal Jus |
| CRJ 513 | Seminar in Courts & Sentencing |
Honors / Awards
- Gene Carte Student Paper Award, American Society of Criminology, 2015
- Recipient, Bureau of Justice Statistics/Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research Summer Fellowship, Quantitative Analysis of Crime and Criminal Justice Data, University of Michigan, 2012
Editorships
- Editorial Board Member, Criminology, 2024-present.
Professional Associations
- Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS)
- American Psychology-Law Society (APLS)
- American Society of Criminology (ASC)
- Arizona Association of Crime Analysts (AACA)
- Western Society of Criminology (WSC)
Graduate Faculties / Mentoring History
- PhD Students:
- Jason Walker (dissertation committee member, in progress)
- Qingting Hu (dissertation committee member, Summer 2021)
- Karissa Pelletier (dissertation committee member, Spring 2021)
- Matthew Durán, Kathryn Tapp (supervisory committee member, all ongoing)
- MS Students:
- Cheyenne Weaver (thesis chair, Spring 2024);
- Jacob Forston (thesis chair, Spring 2022);
- Ciara Ruiz-Earle (thesis committee member, Fall 2023)
- Kymani Erskine (thesis committee member, Summer 2022)
- Morgan (Jeri) Isabella (thesis committee member, Spring 2022)
- Shayla Gilleland (Fordyce, thesis committee member, Spring 2018)
- Barrett Honors Undergraduate Students:
- Aimee Le (thesis chair, Spring 2024)
Work History
- Associate Professor, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University (2024-present; previously assistant professor, 2016-24)
Service
- School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
- Undergraduate Committee, Member (2023-2024)
- Executive Committee, Member (elected, 2021-2022, 2022-2023)
- Special Search Committee, Member (Spring 2022)
- Comprehensive Exam Committee, Member (2018-2020)
- The American Society of Criminology
- 2023 Annual Meeting Program Committee, Sub-area Chair on Prosecutorial Discretion and Plea Bargaining
- 2022 Annual Meeting Program Committee, Sub-area Chair on Prosecutorial Discretion and Plea Bargaining
- 2020 Annual Meeting Program Committee, Sub-area Chair on Courts and Sentencing
- Division on Corrections and Sentencing, Newsletter Committee, Member (2020)
- The Association of Chinese Criminology and Criminal Justice in the US, Non-officer Director (2016-2018, 2018-2020)
- Ad Hoc Reviewer/Referee for Academic Journals (Most Recent Service in 2015 or Later):
- The American Statistician; Archives of Public Health; Asian Journal of Criminology; Criminal Justice Review; Criminal Justice Studies; Criminology; Criminology & Public Policy; Digital Threats: Research and Practice; Journal of Criminal Justice; Journal of Empirical Legal Studies; Journal of Quantitative Criminology; Justice Quarterly; Law & Society Review; Punishment & Society
- United Way School of Criminology and Criminal Justice Unit Representative (2016, 2017, 2018)