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Evidence-based programs

Progressing from Evidence to Action

July 2023

A large body of research on crime and justice is available, yet it can take years for findings to influence practice in the field. During a recent panel at NIJ’s 2023 National Research Conference, researchers and practitioners shared ideas and discussed practical steps and promising new approaches to inspire change. Three guests join the show to continue their conversation: Dr. Tamara Herold, a senior advisor to NIJ, hosts Dr. Shon Barnes, the police chief of the Madison (Wisconsin) Police Department, and Dr.

Applying the Latest Research to Prevent Bullying: Empowering Schools to Change Behavior & Attitudes

January 2020

Bullying prevention is an important aspect of school safety. During this webinar, co-sponsored by NIJ and the Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention, renowned bullying prevention researchers will share information schools can use to address bullying. This information will include helping teachers respond to bullying in the classroom and giving students who see bullying tools to take action to address it. 

NIJ LEADS Program Increases Research Capabilities of Law Enforcement Officers

October 2019

This video, produced for IACPTV, provides an overview of the NIJ Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) program. NIJ LEADS Scholars from Dayton and Newark police departments provide an overview of the LEADS program as they describe their projects and experiences working in the program.

Hear from LEADS scholars Major Wendy Stiver, Dayton Police Department, and Captain Ivonne Roman, Newark Police Department.

State Responses to Mass Incarceration

June 2011

Researchers have devoted considerable attention to mass incarceration, specifically its magnitude, costs, and collateral consequences. In the face of economic constraints, strategies to reduce correctional populations while maintaining public safety are becoming a fiscal necessity. This panel will present strategies that states have undertaken to reduce incarceration rates while balancing taxpayer costs with ensuring public safety.

Nurse-Family Partnerships: From Trials to International Replication

January 2010

David Olds, founder of the Nurse-Family Partnership Program, describes the programs long-term impact on mothers and babies who began participating in the program more than 19 years ago. The Nurse-Family Partnership maternal health program introduces vulnerable first-time parents to maternal and child health nurses. It allows nurses to deliver the support first-time moms need to have a healthy pregnancy, become knowledgeable and responsible parents, and provide their babies and later children and young adults with the best possible start in life.

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.

Reforming New Orleans' Criminal Justice System: The Role of Data and Research

September 2012

With its criminal justice system in disarray following Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans invited the Vera Institute of Justice to examine the city's court and jail operations. For five years, Vera has been tracking arrest-to-first-appearance time, custodial arrests versus summonses, the granting of pretrial release, and many other decision-making points. Based on analysis of these data, Vera is making policy recommendations to assist with the implementation of new procedures and to ensure performance monitoring.

Children Exposed to Violence

June 2010

Panelists will discuss the results of the recent Office of Juvenile Justice and ​Delinquency Prevention's National Survey on Children's Exposure to Violence and findings from a seven-year follow-up study, funded by NIJ, on home visitation in New York. The survey's findings included startling figures: More than 60 percent of the children interv​iewed were exposed to violence, crime and abuse within the past year, and more than 1 in 10 were injured in an assault.

What Is Research and Evaluation Evidence and How Can We Use It?

June 2010

This NIJ Conference Panel will explore the development and use of evidence-based policies, programs and technologies to improve effectiveness and efficiencies related to government. Through casual observation, practices and programs may appear to be effective, but under closer scrutiny the results may look much different.

What Works in Reentry

December 2018
This Research for the Real World seminar, held October 29, 2018 focuses on the role and importance of institutional and community corrections, and rehabilitative and reentry services in crime prevention and public safety efforts. The seminar supports NIJ and the field in furthering the corrections and reentry research agenda, and advancing the knowledge of the Federal Interagency Council on Crime Prevention and Improving Reentry.

Evidence-Based Policing: The Importance of Research and Evidence

July 2018
NIJ’s two Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science programs encourage law enforcement officers and agencies to use data and research to inform their policies and practices. This panel convened leading practitioners and researchers to discuss evidence-based policing for an audience that includes the next generation of U.S. policing leadership. Panelists come from a variety of backgrounds and will draw from on-the-ground experience to discuss evidence-based policing as it relates to law enforcement training curriculums, practitioner-led trials, research clearinghouses, and other topics.

Find School Safety Programs on CrimeSolutions

October 2016
Dr. Stephanie Gerstenblith, Development Services Groups, discusses how to use CrimeSolutions to find evidence-based programs and practices that can improve school safety. Many of these programs were added to CrimeSolutions under NIJ’s Comprehensive School Safety Initiative.

Dr. Gerstenblith also addresses the lack of strong evaluations of school safety programs that schools are implementing and invested in; and the opportunity that presents for the research community.