Articles Published by NIJ

Illicit opioid supplies can be greatly reduced if distribution networks are disrupted. New research highlights the power of computer modeling and community-based intelligence to reveal network connections.

For cases in which violence is a contributing factor, new research presents the importance of characterizing the NamUs database.

Two NIJ-funded projects introduce new methods and tools for collecting and processing digital evidence in cases involving child sexual abuse materials and large-scale computer networks.

New drone-mounted remote sensing technologies could complement conventional ground-based laser scanning in efficiently recreating crime scenes for forensic analysis.

Criminal investigators use physiological changes and insect development to determine how long a body has been dead, but scientists are using the trillions of microbes involved in human decomposition to find more accurate postmortem intervals.

Researchers created an open-access computer program for estimating the age of skeletal remains that outperforms current methods. The algorithm is based on 20 age-related skeletal changes identified by experienced forensic anthropologists.

Improving postmortem interval estimation with standardized and simplified protocols could significantly impact medicolegal death investigations by providing more accurate and reliable data for determining time since death.

Researchers investigated how marijuana affects skills required for safe driving and found that biofluid levels of THC did not correlate with field sobriety test performance or marijuana intoxication, regardless of how the cannabis was ingested.