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Evaluation

Less Prison, More Police, Less Crime: How Criminology Can Save the States from Bankruptcy

April 2010

Professor Lawrence Sherman explains how policing can prevent far more crimes than prison per dollar spent. His analysis of the cost-effectiveness of prison compared to policing suggests that states can cut their total budgets for justice and reduce crime by reallocating their spending on crime: less prison, more police.

Human Factors in Latent Print Examination

June 2011

The NIJ-sponsored Expert Working Group on Human Factors in Latent Print Analysis is clarifying potential sources of error in pattern recognition analysis. It will develop best practices to remove or minimize these sources. NIJ is addressing recommendations in the 2009 National Academy of Sciences' report titled "Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward." Specifically, the panelists focus on recommendation 5, which encourages research programs on human observer bias and sources of human error in forensic examinations.

Changing the Behavior of Drug-Involved Offenders: Supervision That Works

December 2012

A small number of those who commit crimes are heavily involved in drugs commit a large portion of the crime in this country. An evaluation of a "smart supervision" effort in Hawaii that uses swift and certain sanctioning showed that individuals committing crimes who are heavily involved in drug use can indeed change their behavior when the supervision is properly implemented.

Benefit-Cost Analysis for Crime Policy

February 2011

How do we decide how to allocate criminal justice resources in a way that minimizes the social harms from both crime and policy efforts to control crime? How, for that matter, do we decide how much to spend on the criminal justice system and crime control generally, versus other pressing needs? These questions are at the heart of benefit-cost analysis.

The Evaluation of NIJ by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences: NIJ's Response

June 2011

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.

Innovative Approaches to Addressing Violent Crime

Prepared remarks by NIJ Director David B. Muhlhausen given at CNA Executive Session "Innovative Approaches to Addressing Violent Crime."

Good morning, and thank you for having me here. On behalf of the National Institute of Justice, I’d like to congratulate CNA on the celebration of its 75th anniversary of service. It’s an honor to be here. I’m glad to have the opportunity to share some...

Research Assistantship Opportunities at NIJ

December 2016

The NIJ Research Assistantship Program (RAP) is designed to provide highly qualified doctoral students with practical and applied research experience in criminal justice issues. NIJ provides funds to participating universities to pay salaries and other costs associated with research assistants who work on NIJ research activities.

This webinar reviews the opportunities that are currently available for the 2017-2018 academic year and will cover the application process, eligibility requirements and application deadlines.

Presenters include:

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...

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

Message from NIJ Director John H. 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.

Responding to the NRC Report

This page provides updates on our response to the results of an evaluation by The National Academy of Sciences's National Research Council that...

Funding Opportunities for Publicly Funded Crime Labs, Fiscal Year 2017

January 2017

This webinar will inform the audience of the changes to three programs available for publicly funded forensic laboratories and introduce a new program for FY 2017. Changes to existing programs will be highlighted and presenters will discuss the background and goals of the solicitations, recommendations for successful applications, application expectations and requirements, the review process, and the application checklist. There will also be time for questions and answers at the end of the webinar.

Solicitations discussed include:

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...

Research and Evaluation on Domestic Radicalization to Violent Extremism

April 2016

This webinar will provide details and guidance for potential applicants to help build knowledge and evidence related to strategies for effective prevention and intervention of domestic radicalization and violent extremism in the United States. The overall purpose of this program will be to reduce the likelihood that acts of violent extremism occur. This funding will support replication and evaluation of existing programs as well as development and evaluation of programs where none currently exist.

Situational Approaches to Making Communities and Correction Institutions Safer

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