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Crime prevention

Director’s Message: Proactive Policing — What We Know and What We Don’t Know, Yet

There essentially are two ways to police: reactive and proactive. Reactive policing is epitomized by officers responding to calls-for-service. Proactive policing is getting out in front of events in the hopes of preventing crimes and working with the community to reduce crimes.

Proactive policing strategies hold great promise to prevent and reduce crime and potentially improve relations between officers and the communities they serve. However...

Director’s Corner: Juvenile Justice Research Comes to NIJ

David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D.

If you have heard me describing what NIJ does lately, you may have noticed that I have started sprinkling in references to the criminal and juvenile justice systems. There’s a good reason for that.

As of October 22, the juvenile justice research function that had been part of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has moved to NIJ...

Director’s Corner: CrimeSolutions Has Rated 500 Programs and Counting

David B. Muhlhausen, September 2017

It’s important to celebrate milestones, and CrimeSolutions has hit a big one — 500 rated programs. That’s 500 opportunities for the criminal and juvenile justice and victim service practitioners and policymakers we serve to learn about what works, what doesn’t, and what’s promising.

While I am relatively new to the National Institute of Justice...

First Progress Report: NIJ's Response to "Strengthening the National Institute of Justice"

Message from NIJ Director John Laub in response to the report Strengthening the National Institute of Justice by the Committee on Assessing the Research Program of the National Institute of Justice at the National Research Council

I read the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report on the National Institute of Justice when...

Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships

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...

Research on Returning Offender Programs and Promising Practices

It’s a rare event to have so many influential parts of the government convened in one room, and I’m honored to have the opportunity to address you today.

My name is David Muhlhausen and I am the director of the National Institute of Justice, which is the research, development, and evaluation arm of the Department of Justice.

I’ve also been recently appointed by the Attorney...

Homicide in the United States

June 2009

The 2009 NIJ Conference kicked off with a blue-ribbon panel of leaders with expertise in urban issues as they relate to homicide. These experts will discuss promising approaches that have resulted in reduced violence and community empowerment.

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Homicide in the United States
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1 of 6: Homicide in the United States, Kristina Rose, Acting Director, National Institute of Justice , 2 of 6: Homicide in the United States, Laurie Robinson, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs , 3 of 6: Homicide in the United States, James Alan Fox, The Lipman Family Professor of Criminology, Law and Public Policy, Northeastern University , 4 of 6: Homicide in the United States, Gary Slutkin, Executive Director, The Chicago Project for Violence Prevention , 5 of 6: Homicide in the United States, M. Kim Ward, Baltimore County Police Department , 6 of 6: Homicide in the United States, Question and Answer Session

Alternative Sentencing Policies for Drug Offenders

June 2009

The panel presentations from the 2009 NIJ Conference are based on an NIJ-sponsored evaluation of the effectiveness of Kansas Senate Bill 123, which mandates community-based drug abuse treatment for drug possession by nonviolent offenders in lieu of prison. 

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Alternative Sentencing Policies for Drug Offenders
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1 of 5: Alternative Sentencing Policies for Drug Offenders, Linda Truitt, National Institute of Justice , 2 of 5: Alternative Sentencing Policies for Drug Offenders, Roger Werholtz, Secretary of Corrections, Kansas Department of Corrections , 3 of 5: Alternative Sentencing Policies for Drug Offenders, Don Stemen, Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Justice, Loyola University Chicago , 4 of 5: Alternative Sentencing Policies for Drug Offenders, Andres F. Rengifo, Assistant Professor, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Missouri-St. Louis , 5 of 5: Alternative Sentencing Policies for Drug Offenders, Question and Answer Session

Elder Abuse: How Much Occurs and How Do We Measure It?

June 2009

NIJ Conference Panel
Panelists will present NIJ research on elder mistreatment in noninstitutionalized adults as well as tools for measuring the financial exploitation and psychological abuse of the elderly. A recently completed telephone survey of more than 6,500 older adults living in the community provides the most accurate estimates of the prevalence and incidence of physical, sexual, financial and emotional elder abuse. A second study used state-of-the-art science methods to develop a tool that measures the financial and psychological abuse of elders.

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Elder Abuse: How Much Occurs and How Do We Measure It?
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1 of 3: Elder Abuse: How Much Occurs and How Do We Measure It?, Carrie Mulford, National Institute of Justice , 2 of 3: Elder Abuse: How Much Occurs and How Do We Measure It?, Georgia J. Anetzberger, Assistant Professor, Cleveland State University , 3 of 3: Elder Abuse: How Much Occurs and How Do We Measure It?, Ron Acierno, Associate Professor, Medical University of South Carolina

Gang Membership Prevention

June 2010

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and NIJ collaborated on a book that focuses on promising principles for gang membership prevention. This NIJ Conference Panel discusses the risk and protective factors that influence gang membership as well as efforts to reduce such factors. Panelists also explored the direction of gang research for the future.

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Gang Membership Prevention
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1 of 4: Gang Membership Prevention, Louis Tuthill, National Institute of Justice , 2 of 4: Gang Membership Prevention, Gretchen C.F. Shappert, Project Safe Neighborhoods National Coordinator and Anti-Gang Coordinator, Executive Office for United States Attorneys, U.S. Department of Justice , 3 of 4: Gang Membership Prevention, James Buddy Howell, Senior Research Associate, National Youth Gang Center in Tallahassee, Fla.; and Special Advisor, Life History Research Program, University of Pittsburgh , 4 of 4: Gang Membership Prevention, Jorja Leap, Adjunct Associate Professor of Social Welfare, School of Public Affairs, University of California, Los Angeles

NIJ Journal Issue 263, June 2009

Date Published
June 1, 2009

Research-based information that can help inform policy decisions and improve understanding of the criminal justice system.

International Organized Crime: Recent Developments in Policy and Research

June 2010

Since 2008, DOJ has been reviewing its policies and programs on international organized crime, with the goal of strengthening law enforcement's response to this threat. In this NIJ Conference Panel, the speakers will explore how DOJ and other U.S. government agencies are responding to it. Attendees will learn more about the Attorney General's Organized Crime Council, the International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center, and the recent National Intelligence Estimate on International Organized Crime.

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International Organized Crime: Recent Developments in Policy and Research
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1 of 4: International Organized Crime: Recent Developments in Policy and Research, John T. Picarelli, National Institute of Justice , 2 of 4: International Organized Crime: Recent Developments in Policy and Research, Jennifer Shaksky Calvery, Senior Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General, Director of the Attorney General's Organized Crime Council , 3 of 4: International Organized Crime: Recent Developments in Policy and Research, Lisa Holtyn, Senior Intelligence Adviser, Organized Crime and Racketeering Section, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice , 4 of 4: International Organized Crime: Recent Developments in Policy and Research, John T. Picarelli, National Institute of Justice

Situational Approaches to Making Communities and Correction Institutions Safer - Panel at the 2010 NIJ Conference

June 2010

NIJ Conference panelists will present the results of three studies that applied situational crime prevention (SCP) principles: (1) an evaluation of the Safe City initiative in Chula Vista, Calif., designed to combine the expertise and resources of local law enforcement, retailers and the community to increase the safety of designated retail areas; (2) a randomized controlled trial (in partnership with the Washington Metro Transit Police) that assessed the effectiveness of SCP to reduce car crime in Metro's parking facilities; and (3) an evaluation of the impact of SCP

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Situational Approaches to Making Communities and Correction Institutions Safer - Panel at the 2010 NIJ Conference
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1 of 4: Situational Approaches to Making Communities and Correction Institutions Safer, Winnie Reed, National Institute of Justice , 2 of 4: Situational Approaches to Making Communities and Correction Institutions Safer, Nancy La Vigne, Director, Justice Policy Institute, Urban Institute , 3 of 4: Situational Approaches to Making Communities and Correction Institutions Safer, Gary Wedge, Captain, Administrative Services Division, Chula Vista Police Department, Calif. , 4 of 4: Situational Approaches to Making Communities and Correction Institutions Safer, Tara H. Wildes, Chief, Jails Division, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Fla.

Sex Offenders in the Community: Post-Release, Registration, Notification and Residency Restrictions

May 2010

The management of sexual offenders in the community post-release is an issue of increasing concern to law enforcement, policymakers and the public. In recent years, efforts to strengthen registration and notification have been enhanced. At the same time, comparatively little attention has been paid to related matters, such as how residency restrictions may impact offenders' efforts to find stable work and living arrangements once they are released from prison, whether rates of recidivism have changed, and whether these policies increase the safety of potential victims.

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Sex Offenders in the Community: Post-Release, Registration, Notification and Residency Restrictions
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1 of 4: Sex Offenders in the Community: Post-Release, Registration, Notification and Residency Restrictions, Karen J. Bachar, National Institute of Justice , 2 of 4: Sex Offenders in the Community: Post-Release, Registration, Notification and Residency Restrictions, Elizabeth Letourneau, Assistant Professor, Medical University of South Carolina , 3 of 4: Sex Offenders in the Community: Post-Release, Registration, Notification and Residency Restrictions, Kristen M. Zgoba, Research Scientist, New Jersey Department of Corrections , 4 of 4: Sex Offenders in the Community: Post-Release, Registration, Notification and Residency Restrictions, Alisa Klein, Public Policy Consultant, Association for the Treatment of Sex Abusers

Crime Prevention

NIJ performs research in and evaluations of many specific types of crime prevention strategies — from more traditional crime, such as gun crime and child abuse, to emerging crime, such as identity theft and human trafficking.

On this page, find links to articles, awards, events, publications, and multimedia related to crime prevention.

Crime File: Neighborhood Safety

January 1985

One of the series of videos from the 'Crime File' public affairs program, this video on neighborhood safety mainly uses a panel interview to describe, evaluate, and identify success factors for police-citizen crime prevention programs; programs considered include citizen patrol, block watch, police 'storefront' services, and police door-to-door contact with citizens.

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