Following are articles published by the National Institute of Justice
School Safety: Research on Gathering Tips and Addressing Threats
A new area of research suggests that schools should have a systematic and coordinated approach in place to gather and process information on threats, respond appropriately, and document the response.
New Method for Measuring Human Decomposition Could Significantly Impact Medicolegal Death Investigations
Improving postmortem interval estimation with standardized and simplified protocols could significantly impact medicolegal death investigations by providing more accurate and reliable data for determining time since death.
Field Sobriety Tests and THC Levels Unreliable Indicators of Marijuana Intoxication
Researchers investigated how marijuana affects skills required for safe driving and found that biofluid levels of THC did not correlate with field sobriety test performance or marijuana intoxication, regardless of how the cannabis was ingested.
The Importance of Addressing Organizational Stress Among Corrections Officers
Providing Reliable Interoperability for First Responders
The emergency communications ecosystem can be supported by planning in advance, developing relationships, and implementing new technology where appropriate.
Fast and Portable Drug Testing: Dual-Method Prototype Shows Promise for Court-Admissible Drug Testing
Researchers integrate two independent, validated drug-testing techniques – mass spectrometry and Raman spectroscopy – onto a single platform prototype for fast and accurate analysis of seized substances.
The Overlap Between Those Committing Offenses Who Also Are Victims: One Class of Crime Victim Rarely Seeks or Receives Available Services
First responders can help those who commit offenses who also become crime victims connect with services, but an NIJ- sponsored study reveals scant progress against systemic barriers.
Program for Improving Relations and Promoting Healing Between Communities and Police Not Yet Ready for Outcome Evaluation
An NIJ-sponsored evaluability assessment of the Collective Healing Initiative found that although the outcomes of the initiative’s five demonstration sites could be evaluated individually, they were too dissimilar to compare.
Study Revealed Safe Harbor Laws Increased Protections for Sex-Trafficked Youth, Identified Needs for Agency Support and Judicial Training
A study of Kentucky’s safe harbor laws revealed they have helped decriminalize sex-trafficked youth. However, the study also highlighted a lack of resources and training for child welfare personnel and judges who work with these youth.
Database Provides a Foundation for Product Counterfeiting Research
New database to serve as a first step to better understanding pharmaceutical, electronic, and food counterfeiting. An initial analysis revealed pharmaceutical counterfeiting was the most common counterfeit scheme in the U.S. between 2000-2015.
Advancing the Collection of Juvenile Justice Data
The National Institute of Justice and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention are working to improve data on juvenile residential placement facilities and the youth they hold.
Autonomous Vehicles: Expert Panel Lists Top Needs for Law Enforcement as the Dawn of Driverless Roads Inches Closer
A new age of algorithms taking the wheel en masse is still some years away, but law enforcement must prepare now, an NIJ-sponsored group concludes.
Child Abuse or Accident? Bringing Science to Pediatric Emergency Departments and Forensic Investigations
NIJ-funded researchers are developing a probability model to predict child head injuries in falls.
The Data-Informed Jail
A data-informed approach to managing jails can yield benefits in key functional areas.
NIJ’s Role Under the First Step Act
Caution Is Necessary When Expanding Field Testing Capabilities
Director’s Message - NIJ Journal Issue No. 282
Migrant Farm Labor Trafficking in North Carolina: Pinning Down Elusive Data
Labor trafficking is a global affliction cloaked in quantitative uncertainty. One research team used a new analytical approach in search of better clarity on the presence, treatment, and possible trafficking of migrant farmworkers in North Carolina.
Ranking Needs for Fighting Digital Abuse: Sextortion, Swatting, Doxing, Cyberstalking and Nonconsensual Pornography
Experts put a premium on public education, more practitioner awareness, and victim empowerment for responding to technology-facilitated abuse.
NIJ and NSF Renew Forensic Science Collaboration
Two leading funding agencies renew a joint commitment to evaluate and support scientific activities relevant to criminal justice.
What Do the Data Reveal About Violence in Schools?
A review of the most commonly cited sources of school safety data indicates that although crime and violence in schools have generally been decreasing for some time, multiple-victim homicide incidents have been increasing.
Anti-Bullying Intervention for Teachers Shows Positive, Short-Term Outcomes
The Bullying Classroom Check-Up — an integrated coaching and mixed-reality simulator strategy — has potential for coaching teachers to detect and identify bullying in the classroom, but the effects were not sustained by the end of the second school year.
Tracking Individuals Who Commit Sex Offenses: Federal Law, Resources Have Led to Marked Improvement of State Registries, But More Work Is Needed
A 2006 federal law drove all states to keep better track of those convicted of sex offenses through enhanced technology and consistent practices, but some states are falling short of standards.
Improving the Analysis and Collection of Trace Evidence Samples
Gangs vs. Extremists: Solutions for Gangs May Not Work Against Extremism
Can the wealth of existing research on criminal gang members point to better solutions to violent extremism in the United States? A study finds only limited parallels.