Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

Every year, there are millions of interactions between the public and the criminal justice system. Most of those interactions result in a legitimate or just outcome. However, that is not always the case. In the relatively rare instances when the outcome is not legitimate or just, it can be devastating for individuals, families, communities, and criminal justice professionals.

As with any complex system of agencies...

Thank you, and good morning. My name is Howard Spivak and I am the Principal Deputy Director of the National Institute of Justice, NIJ.

For those of you who aren’t familiar, NIJ is the research, development, and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. We use science to inform and advance criminal justice policies and practices across the country. To do this, we provide...

...if the results of research are never effectively communicated to criminal justice practitioners, the relevance and utility of that research is severely diminished.

Howard Spivak, May 2017

The value of criminal justice research is inextricably tied to the extent to which it informs and improves policy and practice. If a research project fails to address the field’s priority questions, or if the results of research are...

Violence against American Indians and Alaska Natives is more common than violence against others — far more common than previous research has indicated. One of NIJ’s core missions is understanding and preventing violence using scientific methods that help policymakers and practitioners understand the full nature and extent of the problem. I am very proud of a study we...

During my tenure at the National Institute of Justice, numerous high-profile incidents across the nation have illustrated the dangers and challenges of policing in the United States. The rigors of policing have become complicated by the expanding roles of the police that require officers to protect the nation against foreign and domestic threats...

In our personal lives, most of us do some research before we buy a new tool or piece of equipment. We want to make sure that what we buy works as it is supposed to and that we get our money’s worth. When criminal justice agencies purchase equipment, the stakes are higher. Equipment is costly, budgets are tight, and most importantly the lives of officers...

The National Institute of Justice’s Research Efforts Help Officers Rely on Their Equipment, Policies, and Procedures.

Our nation’s law enforcement officers are put in dangerous and stressful situations every day as they protect and serve their communities. Some of these dangers, such as gun violence, are obvious; whereas others, such as officer fatigue, are a hidden yet significant risk to an officer’s well-being.

As we...

While NIJ is proud of the progress we have made, we know there is still a great deal more to be done to improve sexual assault investigations, provide trauma-informed support to victims, and strengthen the efficiency of sexual assault kit testing.

–Nancy Rodriguez

Sexual assault is a traumatic crime with a wide range of impacts on both the victim and public safety. Over the last...

Remarks by David B. Muhlhausen given at the Korean Institute of Criminology Forum, December 7, 2017, in Seoul, South Korea.

Thank you, Dr. Yeon. I am honored to be here in Seoul and humbled to join this distinguished gathering of criminologists from across the Republic of Korea and the world.

I want to thank the Korean Institute of Criminology for extending me the invitation to...