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De-escalation Training: What Works, Implementation Lessons, and Taking It to Scale; Plenary at the 2023 NIJ Research Conference

August 2023

Police use of force, while infrequently used, is a tremendous concern to public safety in the United States when officers employ it excessively or inappropriately, causing injury or death and eroding public trust in law enforcement. This plenary from the 2023 NIJ Research Conference describes the Integrating, Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (ICAT) de-escalation training program developed by the Police Executive Research Forum to guide officers in defusing critical incidents.

A Leg Up: NIJ’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program

March 2023

NIJ Director Dr. Nancy La Vigne joins the show to interview Dr. Marie Garcia, Director of NIJ’s Criminal Justice Systems Division and a former NIJ graduate research fellow. They discuss the application process, Marie’s experience as a fellow while at Temple University, and advice for future applicants. 

Reading and Resources from NIJ:

Tribal Crime, Justice, and Safety (Part 1)

June 2022

Research indicates that Native American persons experience crime victimization at higher rates than non-Native people. Furthermore, the unique position of American Indian and Alaska Native tribes as both sovereign nations and domestic dependents of the U.S. creates jurisdictional complexities in responding to crime, justice, and safety. Senior social and behavioral scientist Christine (Tina) Crossland discusses NIJ’s research on these topics, especially on the prevention of violence towards American Indians and Alaska Natives. Communications Assistant Stacy Lee Reynolds hosts. 

NEPA: NIJ Grants Program Checklist and Instructions

NIJ Grants Program Checklists provide a method for ensuring that the projects NIJ is considering for funding do not have any unique characteristics that would create the potential for significant environmental impacts. The NIJ Grants Program Checklist summarizes the typical resource concerns that are often associated with projects submitted to NIJ for funding by applicants and subrecipients. Each resource area is listed separately, with the...

Don't Jump the Shark: Understanding Deterrence and Legitimacy in the Architecture of Law Enforcement

November 2010

Deterrence theory dominates the American understanding of how to regulate criminal behavior but social psychologists' research shows that people comply for reasons that have nothing to do with fear of punishment; they have to do with values, fair procedures and how people connect with one another. Professor Meares discussed the relevance of social psychologists' emerging theory to legal theory and practice and how deterrence and emerging social psychology theories intertwine.

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.

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:

Cell Phones in Prison

June 2010

Criminals are using cell phones illegally in prisons and jails to conduct their business and intimidate witnesses. Although technology solutions to this problem are available, they can create new challenges, such as legal and implementation issues associated with cell phone use in correctional facilities. Panelists will discuss various aspects to consider from how prisoners use cell phones, to day-to-day and operational aspects, to legal and regulatory concerns.

Special Technical Committees: How They Are Changing NIJ's Standards Development Process

June 2010

NIJ has established a new standards development process based on Special Technical Committees whose members include practitioners, scientists, researchers, subject matter experts, staff of test laboratories and major criminal justice stakeholder organizations, and representatives knowledgeable in standards development and conformity assessment. The members collaborate to develop the standard and ensure that practitioner needs are addressed.

What Works in Probation and Parole

June 2009

How can we prevent reoffending and reduce costs? Research points to a number of solutions. At the Tuesday plenary, Judge Steven Alm from Hawaii will describe his successes with hard-core drug offenders. “Swift and sure” is his motto. West Virginia Cabinet Secretary James W. Spears will discuss the issues from his state's perspective, and Adam Gelb, Director of the Pew Charitable Trust's Public Safety Performance Project, will lend a national overview.

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.

Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women and Men: Findings from a National Survey

June 2016

This seminar provides the first set of estimates from a national large-scale survey of violence against women and men who identified themselves as American Indian or Alaska Native using detailed behaviorally specific questions on psychological aggression, coercive control and entrapment, physical violence, stalking, and sexual violence. These results are expected to raise awareness and understanding of violence experienced by American Indian and Alaska Native people.