This issue focuses on the U.S. Justice Department’s National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ’s) multiple interrelated research portfolios that address violent crime.
Two articles in this issue examine NIJ research related to school shootings and mass shootings. Issues addressed include who is committing these crimes, whether common perceptions of these violent crimes are different from research data on these crimes, and whether the data collected facilitate a multidisciplinary understanding and response to these types of violent crimes. NIJ resources also support research related to domestic radicalization and terrorism in the United States. Such research includes an analysis of why and how people become radicalized to terrorism violence, as well as was what strategies are effective in preventing radicalization or intervening during the radicalization process. One article in the current journal issue describes NIJ’s work with organizations around the world to better understand these crimes and promote evidence-based interventions. NIJ also funds research that evaluates the effectiveness of programs and policies intended to counter various types of violent crime. One article in this issue examines whether an evidence-based delinquency prevention program can be modified to prevent gang involvement and reduce the criminal activities of gang members. Another article reviews NIJ efforts to expand the evidence base for law -enforcement practices intended to prevent and intervene in cases of intimate partner violence. In addition, NIJ supports research on investigative and forensic practices that improve the capabilities of law enforcement and other criminal justice professionals in deterring and responding to violent crime. An article in the current issue considers how a forensic intelligence approach to law enforcement has the potential to improve the detection, investigation, and prosecution of serial and organized violent crimes. Another article addresses how prioritizing cold-case investigations assists in apprehending serial offenders, resolving violent crimes, and preventing others.