Law enforcement

David B. Muhlhausen, September 2017

It’s important to celebrate milestones, and CrimeSolutions has hit a big one — 500 rated programs. That’s 500 opportunities for the criminal and juvenile justice and victim service practitioners and policymakers we serve to learn about what works, what doesn’t, and what’s promising.

While I am relatively new to the National Institute of Justice...

This year NIJ celebrates its fiftieth anniversary. This anniversary has been an opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come. Fifty years ago, 911, hot spot policing, and license plate reader technology didn’t exist. We should be proud of how far we’ve come.

The concept of evidence-based practice has been on the rise over the past decade, but there is still a dramatic need for...

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.

Thank you, and good morning. My name is Howard Spivak and I am the Principal Deputy Director of the National Institute of Justice, NIJ.

For those of you who aren’t familiar, NIJ is the research, development, and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. We use science to inform and advance criminal justice policies and practices across the country. To do this, we provide...

Over my first six months as NIJ Director, I have made it a priority to engage with the criminal justice field at conferences, site visits, and other events. I’ve spoken face to face with police chiefs, forensic scientists, medical examiners, prosecutors, and many others working in criminal justice.

One of the most important things I have heard throughout...

I was honored earlier this month to serve on a panel discussion sponsored by CNA about the changing role of policing, entitled: “Making Change Happen — What Must Be Done.” My specific topic was how NIJ’s investments can help move policing reforms in the right direction. This edition of the Director’s Corner is inspired by the conversation at the event.

For...

Thank you! Let me start with that because the real message here is one of thanks for what you do for your communities and the nation.

There is a lot that I would like to share about how NIJ can support your agency.

Keeping you safe…

At NIJ, we never lose sight of the fact that police work is inherently dangerous. Officers face a constant...

In our personal lives, most of us do some research before we buy a new tool or piece of equipment. We want to make sure that what we buy works as it is supposed to and that we get our money’s worth. When criminal justice agencies purchase equipment, the stakes are higher. Equipment is costly, budgets are tight, and most importantly the lives of officers...

This symposium presents a truly unique opportunity for you to participate in an unprecedented event on an important issue facing our nation: sexual assault.

I am pleased to announce that on September 8-9, 2016, through our longstanding commitment to improving sexual assault response, NIJ is hosting Looking Ahead: The National Sexual Assault Policy Symposium, and I invite all to attend. This event will bring together...

Recent events across the country have made calls for criminal justice reform commonplace, and law enforcement in particular has been called upon to increase standards of performance and advance the field as a profession. At the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), we are committed to supporting law enforcement in their efforts to advance policing, and we strongly believe that science can play a pivotal role...

As colleges and universities across the country begin a new academic year, I want to discuss one of my high-priority goals — supporting the research activities of new and emerging scholars. These creative thinkers from a variety of disciplines are proposing innovative ideas to study and solve criminal justice problems. I am proud to offer my support in the form of fellowships and research assistantships...

The National Institute of Justice’s Research Efforts Help Officers Rely on Their Equipment, Policies, and Procedures.

Our nation’s law enforcement officers are put in dangerous and stressful situations every day as they protect and serve their communities. Some of these dangers, such as gun violence, are obvious; whereas others, such as officer fatigue, are a hidden yet significant risk to an officer’s well-being.

As we...