Multimedia Listing

The criminal justice system encounters and supervises a large number of drug abusing persons. Punishment alone is a futile and ineffective response to the problem of drug abuse. Addiction is a chronic brain disease with a strong genetic component that in most instances requires treatment. Involvement in the criminal justice system provides a unique opportunity to treat drug abuse disorders and related health conditions, thereby improving public health and safety.

Our mission is to help the justice system efficiently deliver outcomes for individuals regardless of wealth or status, and a necessary component of our work is strengthening and improving indigent defense. How we do that is of course varied, but one important aspect is the research that's needed to identify solutions to indigent defense, and that's why the solicitation is so important.

Expert Chat Webinar

The surge in incarceration since 1980 has been fueled in part by the mistaken belief that the population can be divided neatly into "good guys" and "bad guys." In fact, crime rates are not determined by the number of at-large criminals, any more than farm production is determined by the number of farmers. Crime is a choice, a choice that is influenced by available opportunities as much as by character. This perspective, drawn from economic theory, supports a multi-faceted approach to crime control. Dr.

NIJ Conference

Interview

June 2011

John Laub, Director, National Institute of Justice, and Robert Sampson, Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences, Harvard University

Michael Davis, Chief of Police, Brooklyn Park Police Department, Minn.

NIJ Conference

June 2011

The NIJ-sponsored Expert Working Group on Human Factors in Latent Print Analysis is clarifying potential sources of error in pattern recognition analysis. It will develop best practices to remove or minimize these sources. NIJ is addressing recommendations in the 2009 National Academy of Sciences' report titled "Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward." Specifically, the panelists focus on recommendation 5, which encourages research programs on human observer bias and sources of human error in forensic examinations.

John H. Laub, Ph.D., Director of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), welcomes attendees to the NIJ Conference 2011 plenary session "Translating the Science of Community to Criminal Justice Practice (and Back)," and introduces speakers Robert Sampson, Commissioner Edward Davis, and Chief Michael Davis.

The tragedy of 9/11 posed unprecedented challenges to forensic science, social science, and physical science and technology — the three bedrock sciences at NIJ. Recovering from the attack and preventing another one have became topmost priorities in the 10 years since the attack. As we approach the 10th anniversary, Gary LaFree discusses how that fateful day impacted social scientific priorities and the outcomes from those changes.

John H. Laub, Director, National Institute of Justice

This is the second in a series of conversations with John Laub discussing the most recent efforts by the National Institute of Justice to build stronger ties with the Bureau of Justice Statistics to solve crime problems.

In this interview conducted at the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Conference 2011, Edward Latessa, Ph.D., University of Cincinnati, discusses the substantial impact of the Crimesolutions website on criminal justice, juvenile justice, and crime victim services.

Tom Simon, Deputy Associate Director for Science, Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury, Centers for Disease Control

Researchers have devoted considerable attention to mass incarceration, specifically its magnitude, costs, and collateral consequences. In the face of economic constraints, strategies to reduce correctional populations while maintaining public safety are becoming a fiscal necessity. This panel will present strategies that states have undertaken to reduce incarceration rates while balancing taxpayer costs with ensuring public safety.

NIJ Conference Interview, June 2011 Robert Shaler, Pennsylvania State University (ret.).

This interview was conducted at the 2011 NIJ Conference in Arlington, VA.

NIJ Conference Plenary Panel

Wednesday's plenary brought together the leaders of several federal science agencies for a discussion about the challenges of using scientific discoveries to shape policy and practice.

In this interview conducted at the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Conference 2011, Edward Davis, Police Commissioner of the Boston Police Department, Massachusetts, discusses action research, including the successful use of violence reduction teams, and building trust between the community and the criminal justice field.

Panelists discuss the application of research findings from an NIJ-sponsored study of sexual assault attrition to police practice in Los Angeles. There are three main focal points: (1) the mutual benefits of researcher/practitioner partnerships, (2) the implications of variation in police interpretation of UCR guidelines specific to clearing sexual assault (with an emphasis on cases involving nonstrangers), and (3) the content of specialized training that must be required for patrol officers and detectives who respond to and investigate sex crimes.

Change doesn't come easy, particularly within an institution as large and complex as the criminal justice system. Greg Berman, Director of the Center for Court Innovation, offered lessons from several efforts to make reform stick in criminal justice settings. In particular, he focused on the development of community courts — experimental court projects that are attempting to reduce both crime and incarceration in dozens of cities across the U.S. and around the world.

Expert Chat Webinar

John Laub discusses the creation of a culture of science within the Institute, including the value of embracing transparency and a critical perspective.

How do we decide how to allocate criminal justice resources in a way that minimizes the social harms from both crime and policy efforts to control crime? How, for that matter, do we decide how much to spend on the criminal justice system and crime control generally, versus other pressing needs? These questions are at the heart of benefit-cost analysis.

Since the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, great strides have been made in the areas of child protection and advocacy. However, the concept of children, and specifically adolescents, as functional and engaged citizens has also emerged. Through the guidance and recognition of adults, children can participate in deliberative democracy as legitimate and competent citizens. This citizenship, like that of adults, can be used to enrich and improve local communities by creating a sense of ownership and fairness. Dr.