Articles Published by NIJ

Nanoparticles and other subvisible particles potentially present in nearly all trace evidence are often overlooked in forensic investigations. NIJ-supported researchers have characterized several types of particles and developed detection methods.

Tip lines make possible confidential reporting of threats and problems and may benefit schools beset by safety and crime threats. More studies are needed on their effectiveness, but a new tip line toolkit instructs schools on how they work.

An expert workshop on a hidden hub of crime on the internet identified priority investigative needs, including demystifying the “dark web”, training investigators to identify dark web evidence and activity, and building cross-jurisdictional partnerships.

Analyzing illicit drugs such as methamphetamine is difficult because the drugs break down when heated in gas chromatographs. Investigators determined that a new method can avoid the heat issue and improve results.

A new line of research envisions mobile devices tapping into artificial intelligence to make reentry more efficient and more likely to succeed for those reentering supervisors, their supervisors, and communities.

Cognitive capacity assessment tools can help identify seniors at risk of financial exploitation and equip law enforcement and service providers to intervene.

The technique used to pinpoint mineral deposits, hyperspectral imaging, could be used to find humans, both dead and alive. An NIJ-funded researcher realized that the technology could use drones with sensors to cover large areas and find human bodies.

NIJ’s findings point to the adoption of uniform definitions and comprehensive databases as logical next steps for improving research and practice to prevent mass shootings.

Identifying individuals through next generation DNA sequencing may involve degraded or mixed samples. A researcher has developed a technique to make fragmented DNA more readable, and a method to help pull individual profiles from mixed samples.