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Law enforcement

Body-Worn Cameras: Investigating and Evaluating Their Use by Police

I recently discussed NIJ’s research on the use of body-worn cameras in a short video about the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s body-worn camera toolkit. Because this technology has been front and center in the national discussion, I thought it was important for me to remind viewers that, to date, there has been little scientific research to help law enforcement executives and other officials decide whether...

Message from the Director on the Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Initiative Strategic Plan

Portrait of David B. Muhlhausen, NIJ Director, and Alan Hanson, Acting Assistant Attorney General

Through the Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Initiative, the National Institute of Justice supports law enforcement using data and research to inform effective policies and practices.

Police-led research has never been more important. Increasingly, law enforcement agencies are expected to implement evidence-based practices to improve policing in a safe and just manner. As budget constraints force departments to invest wisely in courses of...

Impression Evidence: Strengthening the Disciplines of Fingerprints, Firearms, Footwear, and Other Pattern and Impression Sciences Through Research

June 2010

Forensic examinations involving specific forensic science disciplines are typically dependent upon qualitative analyses and expert interpretation of observed patterns based on a scientific foundation, rather than quantitative results. These disciplines include latent fingerprints, questioned documents, footwear, and other forms of impression and pattern evidence.

Transcript
Impression Evidence: Strengthening the Disciplines of Fingerprints, Firearms, Footwear, and Other Pattern and Impression Sciences Through Research
Audio file
Speaking: Gerry LaPorte, National Institute of Justice; and Tom Busey, Professor of Cognitive Science, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington , Speaking: Lynn Abbott, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Tech , Sargur Srihari, SUNY Distinguished Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

Law Enforcement

NIJ's is dedicated to the development of knowledge and tools that will advance policing operations and practices to deliver policing services to communities more effectively and efficiently. The National Institute of Justice has been a leader in developing and advancing the research agenda for policing.

On this page, find links to articles, awards, events, publications, and multimedia related to law enforcement and policing.