Research inspires innovation and improves the strength and efficiency of forensic science. NIJ is the research and development arm of the U.S. Department of Justice, and offers resources and support to state, federal, local, and tribal crime laboratories. Our forensics funding supports:
- Adopting new methods or instruments.
- Disseminating new knowledge for forensic scientists at all career stages.
- Building databases and collections of scientific literature.
- Evaluating emerging methods and existing protocols.
As you celebrate National Forensic Science Week, check out the latest NIJ publications, our strategic plan, and resources to help the forensics community facilitate justice for all.
Subscribe now to get notified when we release new resources and funding opportunities.
Drug Analysis Innovation
- New Forensic Methods to Accurately Determine THC in Seized Cannabis
- What’s That Drug? Fast Screening of Seized Drugs
- New Screening Method to Detect Drugs and Poisons Postmortem
- Detecting Drugs in Hair: Is It Drug Use or Environmental Contamination?
- Drug-Impaired Driving: The Contribution of Emerging and Undertested Drugs
- The Impact of Drugs on Human Decomposition: What Insect, Scavenger, and Microbial Evidence Tells Us
- Detecting Drug Exposure Long After the Fact: New Method Proves Effective
Evidence Collection and Investigations
- Death Investigation: A Guide for the Scene Investigator, 2024
- Reducing Gun Violence Through Integrated Forensic Evidence Collection, Analysis, and Sharing
- The Daunting Task of Strengthening Medical Examiner and Coroner Investigations Across Hundreds of Jurisdictions
- Advances in Detecting and Identifying Explosives After an Attack
- The Impact of False or Misleading Forensic Evidence on Wrongful Convictions
DNA Analysis
Identification
- Determining the Age-At-Death of Infants, Children, and Teens
- Is It an Accident or Abuse? Researchers Develop Predictive Models for Pediatric Head Injuries
- OsteoID: A New Forensic Tool to Help Identify the Species of Skeletal Remains
Workforce, Collaboration, and Professional Development
- Forensic Science Research and Development Technology Working Group: Operational Requirements
- Police Crime Lab Accreditation Initiative
- Understanding Forensic Intelligence: The NIJ Framework
- Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCoE)
- Research Forensic Library
- National Center on Forensics
- National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
- Forensic Science Research and Development Technical Working Group
- Graduate Research Fellowship program
- Connecting Researchers with Forensic Laboratories
Date Published: September 11, 2024