DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)
Using Artificial Intelligence to Address Criminal Justice Needs
NIJ Journal Issue No. 279
Wrongful Convictions and DNA Exonerations: Understanding the Role of Forensic Science
Sexual Assault Cases: Exploring the Importance of Non-DNA Evidence
The Importance and Impact of Cold Case Units
Opening the Black Box of NIBIN
Bill King discusses the operations of the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), a program through which firearms examiners at state and local crime laboratories compare tool marks on fired bullets or cartridges found at a crime scene to digitized images of ballistic evidence in a nationwide database.
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The Evaluation of NIJ by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences: NIJ's Response
The National Academies conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the National Institute of Justice. This panel provides an overview of the evaluation and NIJ's response to it. NIJ has accepted many of the recommendations in the NRC report, and you will learn what the agency is doing to implement them. A few of the recommendations were challenging and created considerable debate within NIJ. Plans to address these thorny issues also are discussed.
The National Broadband (Communications) Plan: Issues for Public Safety
The Federal Communications Commission delivered the National Broadband Plan in March 2010. As part of the plan, the FCC proposed a strategy for implementing a national public safety broadband network that would allow public safety responders anywhere in the nation to send and receive critical voice, video and data to save lives, reduce injuries, and prevent acts of crime and terror. How this strategy is implemented will have a significant impact on criminal justice and other public safety agencies nationwide, both with respect to operational capability and to resources.
Just Wrong: The Aftermath of Wrongful Convictions
The strength of our criminal justice system depends on its ability to convict the guilty and clear the innocent. But we know that innocent people are sometimes wrongfully convicted and the guilty remain free to victimize others. The consequences of a wrongful conviction are far-reaching for the wrongfully convicted and the survivors and victims of the original crimes.
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Sexual Assault: Obtaining DNA From Evidence Collected up to a Week Later
Technological advances have made it possible to detect male DNA in evidentiary samples collected several days after a sexual act has taken place. Panelists will present the research that has led to these findings, followed by a discussion of the potential impact of this work from the perspectives of the sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) and the crime laboratory communities.
Strengthening Forensic Science at Its Foundations to Improve Public Safety
With National Forensic Science Week beginning on August 9, I can’t think of a better time to highlight the importance of NIJ’s investment in forensic science research and how that...
Supporting Crime Lab Directors and the Formation of the Forensic Laboratory Needs Technology Working Group
Remarks by NIJ Principal Deputy Director Dr. Howard Spivak at the American Society of Crime Lab Director's 45th Annual Symposium.
I’m very pleased to be here, and bring you warm greetings and regrets from the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs, Alan Hanson, who was obliged to stay in Washington today to attend to urgent Department business.
It’s a privilege...
Supporting Forensic Science Is a Priority at the National Institute of Justice
I have dedicated my life to understanding and preventing violence. From my training as a physician, working on violence prevention at the Centers for Disease Control, and now at NIJ, I have seen the contribution of science to our understanding of how to prevent and address violence and its consequences.
NIJ helped changed the landscape of forensic science through our support of research and development...
Director’s Corner: Responding to Sexual Assaults
April is Sexual Assault Awareness month and I want to take this opportunity to reflect upon all the strides we have made to sexual assault response practice as a country, and how the lessons learned, investments, and technological advances have made it possible for the apprehension of more criminals, and for victims of sexual assault to find closure.
While it is important to celebrate victories...
Feedback from the Field: How Your Colleagues Are Using NIJ's Work
We frequently receive feedback from the field about how our research and training tools are being used. Let me share a few anecdotes that have come in recently.
A prosecutor in California wrote that, a few years ago, he worked on a death-penalty case with DNA evidence...
The Impact of National Institute of Justice’s Solving Cold Cases with DNA Program
Practitioners from across the criminal justice system speak to the impact of NIJ's Solving Cold Cases with DNA grant program.
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The Importance and Impact of Cold Case Units
Practitioners from across the criminal justice system speak to the importance of cold case units and the impact they can have.
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"Sentinel Event" Review in the Criminal Justice System
Listen to James Doyle discuss the basics of a "sentinel event" review in the criminal justice system. This learning-from-error approach borrows from principles that medicine, aviation and other high-risk enterprises have successfully used. Former NIJ Fellow Doyle offers the basics to understand this innovative idea that takes a system-wide perspective of error, bringing all stakeholders together in a non-blaming, forward-looking way after a bad outcome, such as a wrongful conviction, occurs.
Homicide in the United States
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.