Drugs and Crime

The National Institute of Justice sponsors research on alcohol and others drugs in the context of the criminal justice system to promote effective law enforcement, court and corrections responses to illegal drug markets and criminal behavior related to illicit drug use. ​

NIJ's drugs and crime research informs crime reduction through several approaches:

• Epidemiology — projects to increase the field's understanding of patterns between drugs, alcohol, violence and crime to inform communities and service providers.
• Prevention and Intervention — projects to increase the field's understanding of patterns between drugs, alcohol, violence and crime to inform communities and service providers.
• Drug Markets — projects to increase the field's understanding about the dynamics of drug production and distribution in domestic and international markets. See:
• Market Disruption — projects to identify and evaluate strategies to disrupt drug markets at different levels and by type of market. 
• Forensics — projects to identify and assess methods, technologies, and strategies for drug recognition and detection, and support of medicolegal death investigation.