U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

Advancing Justice Through Science

Learn more about NIJ

New Forensic Intelligence Framework

NIJ released guidance for implementing an innovative approach to crime investigation for law enforcement agencies and forensic laboratories. The new guide outlines the foundations for developing or enhancing a forensic intelligence program and evaluating its effectiveness, including helping agencies detect and disrupt patterns of crime.

Determining Accidental Injury or Intentional Abuse in Children

Differentiating intentional abuse from accidental injury in children and infants is key to advancing justice for medical, medicolegal, and forensic science communities. NIJ has invested more than $11 million since 2007 in studies that model skull fractures, identify bruising patterns, and aid in other injury identification.

2024 LEADS Scholarship Recipients

NIJ’s Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) program is designed to increase the research capabilities of law enforcement officers and agencies. This year, we selected 13 new LEADS scholars. We look forward to their contributions across the policing field!

Term of the Month — Bloodstain Pattern Analysis

Bloodstain pattern analysis is a forensic discipline that reconstructs a blood shedding event by examining and interpreting the attributes of bloodstains. It can provide crucial evidence in some legal cases, supporting or contradicting witness testimony.

Criminal Justice Data Archives

The National Archive of Criminal Justice Data archives data on crime and justice and contains data from over 2,700 curated studies or statistical data series. The website is home to several large-scale datasets, including the National Crime Victimization Survey, FBI's Uniform Crime Reports and National Incident-Based Reporting System, and the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods.

List of Compliant Ballistic Resistant Body Armor
Cali9/iStock (see reuse policy).

List of Compliant Ballistic Resistant Body Armor

NIJ certifies torso-worn ballistic resistant body armor for law enforcement that complies with the requirements our Compliance Testing Program. If you’re in the law enforcement profession, review a newly updated list of all compliant armor, searching by manufacturing company, gender, threat levels, and other factors.

Recent Articles

Listen, Learn, Inform - About NIJ

Find funding opportunities

Find funding opportunities

NIJ awards research, development, testing, and evaluation grants.
Read the latest

Read the latest

Review a list of publications and articles from both NIJ and the researchers we fund.
Register for events

Register for events

Check out a list of our upcoming events. If you don't see anything of interest, we also offer a number of recorded, on-demand event and training opportunities.
Browse all topics

Browse all topics

Find articles and other information on a wide variety of criminal justice topics.

CrimeSolutions Program and Practice Ratings

PSYCHOPATHY.COMP (Portugal)

This is an individual compassion-focused, therapy-based intervention adapted from traditional compassionate-focused therapy to reduce psychopathic traits in youth in a correctional setting in Portugal.

Police Body-Worn Cameras (Boston, Massachusetts)

This involves police officers wearing cameras on their uniforms to improve the civility of their interactions with citizens.

Imprisonment for Individuals Who Committed a Drunk Driving Offense (New South Wales, Australia)

This involves prison time for individuals who have committed drunk-driving offenses to reduce their risk of recidivism upon their release.

Person holding a pen at an event.
Motorion/iStock (see reuse policy).

The First Step Act

The First Step Act of 2018 aims to reform the federal prison system and reduce recidivism. NIJ is working to assess and develop an existing risk and needs assessment system for incarcerated individuals, and develop recommendations regarding effective evidence-based recidivism reduction programs and activities.