'Internationalizing' Criminal Justice Research

• NCJ Number: 222902
• Journal: National Institute of Justice Journal Issue: 260 Dated: July 2008 Pages: 12-14
• Author(s): Philip Bulman
• Date Published: July 2008
• Length: 3 pages
• Publication Series: NIJ Journal
• Grant Number(s): 1999-IJ-CX-0028
• Agencies: NIJ
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description

Annotation

This article describes ways in which the National Institute of Justice's (NIJ's) International Center is supporting partnerships and projects with other nations, collecting and sharing knowledge with researchers and working together in order to develop new information that will benefit U.S. State and local agencies as well as other nations.

Abstract

For many years, NIJ's International Center has funded research partnerships in countries where events were influencing crime in the United States. This includes research in El Salvador on the MS-13 gang, a Burmese project on drug smuggling, and a study of Chinese smugglers who have trafficked people into the United States illegally. NIJ is now expanding its International Center in order to ensure that its research portfolios consider what the U.S. criminal justice research community can learn from and share with other countries. Forensics is another area in which international contacts are beneficial. NIJ's relationship with Australia's National Institute of Forensic Science has promoted the sharing of research findings, particularly in the areas of processing damaged DNA and using robotics in crime laboratories. U.S. Federal agencies often work cooperatively in providing expertise to a foreign country; for example, NIJ teamed up with other Federal agencies and the University of Maryland in working with staff from several Chinese universities in developing and implementing an academic criminal justice curriculum. NIJ's international efforts also involve broad efforts with international bodies such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, which focuses on research and technical assistance that helps member countries meet the challenges of transnational crime. 1 note