How NIJ Is Organized

NIJ is organized to align our internal structure and processes with the research needs of the field and the priorities of the Administration. We are led by a presidentially appointed director and are organized into eight offices — leadership offices, science office, and two support offices. Two deputy directors have responsibility for the science and support offices respectively.

Each of the science offices is composed of scientists from specific groups of scientific disciplines — social and behavioral scientists, forensic scientists, and physical scientists and engineers. While our science offices are organized into specific focus areas for administrative purposes, they operate in a multidisciplinary and collaborative way. 

NIJ's leadership offices include:

• Office of Director  — leads NIJ, provides overarching direction and vision, creates and implements internal policy, serves as a nationally recognized criminal justice expert, represents NIJ at national- and international-level events, develops critical partnerships and networks, provides strategic direction about which criminal justice topics to invest research and evaluation funding in, makes grant and cooperative agreement funding decisions, and establishes NIJ’s objectives, which are guided by the needs of the criminal justice system and the priorities of the Department. Learn more about the NIJ Director.
• Office of the Principal Deputy Director — serves as the senior management official and the key advisor to the NIJ Director. The office conducts program and budgetary planning and oversees its full execution, manages NIJ-wide initiatives such as program assessment, and provides day-to-day direction on the management of NIJ.
  • Office of Research, Evaluation, Forensics and Technology  — headed by the Executive Science Advisor,  this office encourages and supports research, development and evaluation to further the understanding of causes and correlates of crime and violence; methods of crime prevention and control; criminal justice system responses to crime and violence; improves the quality and practice of forensic science. Nested within this office are the:
    • Office of Investigative and Forensic Sciences
    • Office of Technology and Standards
    • Office of Criminal Justice Systems
    • Office of Crime Prevention and Youth Justice
    • Office of Violence and Victimization Protection
  • Office of the Deputy Director — the Deputy Director is the primary integrating and strategic focal point of the NIJ staff. The Deputy Director oversees the activities of the:
    • Office of Communications
    • Office of Grants Management
    • Office of Operations