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Strategies for Improving Fentanyl Analysis
Don Emmert/AFP (see reuse policy).

Strategies for Improving Fentanyl Analysis

With the influx of synthetic opioids like fentanyl and other emerging drugs of abuse into forensic casework, labs are working on innovative solutions to the challenges of narcotics analysis. NIJ-funded researchers analyzed and evaluated whether a re-envisioned workflow could lead to increased safety, speed, sensitivity, and selectivity in controlled substance analysis. 

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.

crowded school hallway
Matty Symons (see reuse policy).

Five Facts About Mass School Shootings

Preventing mass shootings in schools is a priority for families, government leaders and officials, public safety agencies, mental health professionals, educators, and local communities. What does evidence say about how to detect, prevent, and respond to these tragic events? A new fact sheet reviews what we’ve learned through NIJ-sponsored research.

Virtual comparison microscopy image scan
Cadre Research LLC (see reuse policy).

What is virtual comparison microscopy?

Virtual comparison microscopy is the use of high-resolution 3D surface scanning and measurement in the field of firearm and tool mark analysis. The surface imaging of bullets and shell casings with 3D visualization tools and advanced algorithms allow forensic examiners to develop a statistical basis for identifying and matching ballistics evidence.

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. 

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

Empathic Supervision Intervention for Probation or Parole Officers

The brief intervention targeted probation and parole officers’ mindsets about adults on probation or parole. Its goal was to reduce rates of recidivism and violations among adults on probation or parole by promoting empathic perspectives among officers.

Use of Restrictive Housing in Prison to Reduce Recidivism (New Jersey)

This intervention involves the removal of incarcerated individuals from the general prison population.

Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition Program (Pa.) for First-Time DUI Offenses

The purpose of this program is to afford individuals who have committed a driving-under-the-influence (DUI) offense the opportunity to avoid the stigma of a criminal conviction and criminal labeling by expunging criminal records pertaining to the DUI offense through a diversion program.

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.