National Institute of Justice Annual Report 2001

• NCJ Number: 195076
• Date Published: August 2003
• Length: 45 pages
• Agencies: NIJ
• Publication Type: Report (Annual/Periodic)

Annotation

This report highlights the activities and achievements in 2001 of the U.S. Justice Department's National Institute of Justice (NIJ), whose mission is to support research and apply its findings to criminal justice problemsolving and policy development.

Abstract

In the weeks that followed the September 11 terrorist attacks, NIJ supplied through its Web site a draft series of five equipment guides for emergency first responders that had been under development. The guides help agencies make informed decisions about the evaluation and purchase of equipment that first responders use during a critical incident. Other NIJ projects that focus on critical incident and counterterrorism technologies pertain to response to weapons of mass destruction, first-responder equipment standards, bomb disposal, border security, critical incident management, weapons detection, biometrics, and surveillance. Part of NIJ's mission is to test research-based interventions that communities can use to identify the specific nature of their crime problems and develop solutions to those problems. NIJ's field tests and evaluations have found that successful interventions involve comprehensive community-based coalitions, strategic planning, and analysis of research data. In the areas of DNA analysis and forensic sciences, NIJ-sponsored research has focused on reducing the DNA backlog and helping overburdened forensic laboratories. Activities designed to improve law enforcement have focused on community interaction with police, the identification of problem officers, keeping officers and suspects safe, reducing law enforcement and corrections officer stress, and policing on American Indian reservations. Other NIJ projects in 2001 have addressed the breaking of the drug-crime nexus, the provision of technology assistance in the information age, and making life safer for women and children. Appended supplementary information on NIJ organization, financial data, fiscal year 2001 grant awards, materials published in fiscal year 2001, and a list of key conferences