U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

Democrats have shut down the government. Department of Justice websites are not currently regularly updated. Please refer to the Department of Justice’s contingency plan for more information.

Legislation (SMART)

White Collar Crime

November 2009

The subprime mortgage industry collapse has led to a record number of foreclosures. In this environment, the interest mortgage fraud has risen, along with questions of how fraud contributed to the crisis. Henry Pontell and Sally Simpson discuss what they have learned about investigating and prosecuting white-collar criminals, the role of corporate ethics in America, and what policymakers and lawyers can learn from evidence of fraud.

See the YouTube Terms of Service and Google Privacy Policy

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.

See the YouTube Terms of Service and Google Privacy Policy

Backlogs and Their Impact on the Criminal Justice System

June 2010

Evidence backlogs have been known to be an issue in crime laboratories. A recent study published by NIJ has shown that backlogs of untested evidence are also an issue in law enforcement evidence storage. This panel will discuss the issues and present preliminary findings from a study of the Los Angeles Police Department's and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's experience with clearing out a large backlog of unanalyzed rape kits.

Transcript
Backlogs and Their Impact on the Criminal Justice System
Audio file
1 of 8: Backlogs and Their Impact on the Criminal Justice System, Gerry LaPorte, National Institute of Justice , 2 of 8: Backlogs and Their Impact on the Criminal Justice System, Joseph L. Peterson, Professor and Director, School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics, California State University, Los Angeles , 3 of 8: Backlogs and Their Impact on the Criminal Justice System, Kevin J. Strom, Senior Research Scientist, Crime, Violence, and Justice Research Program, RTI International , 4 of 8: Backlogs and Their Impact on the Criminal Justice System, Joseph L. Peterson, Professor and Director, School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics, California State University, Los Angeles , 5 of 8: Backlogs and Their Impact on the Criminal Justice System, Dean M. Gialamas, Director, Scientific Services Bureau, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department , 6 of 8: Backlogs and Their Impact on the Criminal Justice System, Joseph L. Peterson, Professor and Director, School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics, California State University, Los Angeles , 7 of 8: Backlogs and Their Impact on the Criminal Justice System, Jeffrey Nye, DNA Technical Leader, Forensic Science Division, Michigan State Police , 8 of 8: Backlogs and Their Impact on the Criminal Justice System, Joseph L. Peterson, Professor and Director, School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics, California State University, Los Angeles

Alternative Sentencing Policies for Drug Offenders

June 2009

The panel presentations from the 2009 NIJ Conference are based on an NIJ-sponsored evaluation of the effectiveness of Kansas Senate Bill 123, which mandates community-based drug abuse treatment for drug possession by nonviolent offenders in lieu of prison. 

Transcript
Alternative Sentencing Policies for Drug Offenders
Audio file
1 of 5: Alternative Sentencing Policies for Drug Offenders, Linda Truitt, National Institute of Justice , 2 of 5: Alternative Sentencing Policies for Drug Offenders, Roger Werholtz, Secretary of Corrections, Kansas Department of Corrections , 3 of 5: Alternative Sentencing Policies for Drug Offenders, Don Stemen, Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Justice, Loyola University Chicago , 4 of 5: Alternative Sentencing Policies for Drug Offenders, Andres F. Rengifo, Assistant Professor, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Missouri-St. Louis , 5 of 5: Alternative Sentencing Policies for Drug Offenders, Question and Answer Session

An Examination of Justice Reinvestment and Its Impact on Two States

June 2010

Funded in part by the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Pew Center on the States, the justice reinvestment project is a data-driven strategy aimed at policymakers to "reduce spending on corrections, increase public safety and improve conditions in the neighborhoods to which most people released from prison return." Representatives from two states where the justice reinvestment strategy is currently being implemented will discuss how it is being used to reduce the rate of incarceration and how states can reinvest in local communities.

Transcript
An Examination of Justice Reinvestment and Its Impact on Two States
Audio file
1 of 5: An Examination of Justice Reinvestment and Its Impact on Two States, Marie Garcia, National Institute of Justice , 2 of 5: An Examination of Justice Reinvestment and Its Impact on Two States, Jake Horowitz, Project Manager, Public Safety Performance Project, Pew Center on the States , 3 of 5: An Examination of Justice Reinvestment and Its Impact on Two States, John Lazet, Chief of Staff, The Office of Senator Alan Cropsey, Lansing, Mich. , 4 of 5: An Examination of Justice Reinvestment and Its Impact on Two States, Anne Rice, Associate Attorney General, New Hampshire Office of Attorney General , 5 of 5: An Examination of Justice Reinvestment and Its Impact on Two States, Marshall Clement, Project Director, Justice Center, The Council of State Governments