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The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the
research Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...
, development and evaluation agency of the
United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...
. NIJ, along with the
Bureau of Justice Statistics The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) of the U.S. Department of Justice is the principal federal agency responsible for measuring crime, criminal victimization, criminal offenders, victims of crime, correlates of crime, and the operation of cri ...
(BJS),
Bureau of Justice Assistance The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, within the United States Department of Justice. BJA provides leadership and assistance to local criminal justice programs that improve and reinforce the nat ...
(BJA), Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP),
Office for Victims of Crime The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) is a part of the Office of Justice Programs, within the U.S. Department of Justice. The OVC's mission is to provide aid and promote justice for crime victims. The office was created in 1988 in an amendment t ...
(OVC), and other program offices, comprise the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) branch of the Department of Justice.


History

The National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice was established on October 21, 1968, under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as a component of the
Law Enforcement Assistance Administration The Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) was a U.S. federal agency within the United States Department of Justice. It administered federal funding to state and local law enforcement agencies and funded educational programs, research, s ...
(LEAA). In 1978, it was renamed as the National Institute of Justice. Some functions of the LEAA were absorbed by NIJ on December 27, 1979, with passage of the Justice System Improvement Act of 1979. The act, which amended the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, also led to creation of the
Bureau of Justice Statistics The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) of the U.S. Department of Justice is the principal federal agency responsible for measuring crime, criminal victimization, criminal offenders, victims of crime, correlates of crime, and the operation of cri ...
. In 1982, the LEAA was succeeded by the Office of Justice Assistance, Research, and Statistics (1982–1984) and then the Office of Justice Programs in 1984. NIJ was notable among U.S. governmental research organizations because it is headed by a
political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studi ...
appointee of the president rather than by a
scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosop ...
or a member of the
civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
. The Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act of 2011 removed the need for
Senate confirmation Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive branch of a government enacts something previ ...
of the NIJ director. In 2010, the
United States National Research Council The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (also known as NASEM or the National Academies) are the collective scientific national academy of the United States. The name is used interchangeably in two senses: (1) as an umbrell ...
released a report on reforming the NIJ, and identified issues with its independence, budget, and scientific mission. While it considered making the NIJ separate from its current department, Office of Justice Programs, it recommended retaining the NIJ within the OJP but giving it increased independence and authority through clear qualifications for its director, control over its budget, and a statutory advisory board. It also recommended that the NIJ: (1) a focus on research rather than forensic capacity building activities,(2) increase funding for programs for graduate researchers, (3) increase transparency, and (4) do periodic self-assessments.


Research areas

NIJ is focused on advancing technology for criminal justice application including law enforcement and corrections, forensics, and judicial processes, as well as
criminology Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and s ...
, criminal justice, and related social science research. Much of this research is facilitated by providing grants to academic institutions, non-profit research organizations, and other entities, as well as collaborating with state and local governments. Areas of social science research include
violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often c ...
, corrections, and crime prevention, as well as program evaluation. Grants for technology development help facilitate research and development of technology and tools for criminal justice application, which is a need that the private sector is otherwise reluctant to meet. NIJ also supports development of voluntary equipment performance standards, as well as conducting compliance testing. Areas of technology research and development include
biometrics Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used to identify i ...
, communications interoperability, information technology, less-lethal technologies (e.g. tasers), and officer safety including bullet-proof vests.
Crime mapping Crime mapping is used by analysts in law enforcement agencies to map, visualize, and analyze crime incident patterns. It is a key component of crime analysis and the CompStat policing strategy. Mapping crime, using Geographic Information System ...
and analysis is a topic that includes both technology and social science (
geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...
) aspects. The National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Centers, which are located throughout the United States, play a role in law enforcement technology development, testing, and dissemination. In the 2000s, NIJ developed the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.


DNA initiative

A major area of research and support is for
forensics Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and crimin ...
and the president's DNA initiative. The
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice ...
developed the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) system as a central database of DNA profiles taken from offenders. In the late 1980s and 1990s, all of the states and the
federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...
required DNA samples to be collected from offenders in certain types of cases. The demand (casework) for DNA analysis in public crime laboratories increased 73% from 1997 to 2000, and by 2003, there was a backlog of 350,000
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...
and homicide cases. In 2003, President George W. Bush proposed the ''Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology'' initiative, which would include $1 billion over five years to reduce backlogs, develop and improve capacity of state and local law enforcement to use DNA analysis, support research and development to improve the technology, and additional training for those working in the criminal justice system.


Technical working groups

Technical working groups (or TWGs) were created by the National Institute of Justice to create crime scene guides for state and local
law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term ...
. The guides were individually developed by a separate Technical Working Group tasked with a single topic. The groups were a multidisciplinary group of content-area experts from across the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. The groups included urban and rural jurisdictions as well as Federal agencies representatives. Each participating member was experienced in the area of crime scene investigation and evidence collection in the criminal justice system from the standpoints of law enforcement, prosecution,
defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indus ...
, or
forensic science Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal ...
. The Technical Working Groups were designed to be short term in duration to respond to a topic. Longer term groups exists under other organizations such as the FBI's Scientific Working Group (SWG's) on Digital Evidence. Technology Working Group topics have included: During the several years of their existence they developed numerous guides including the following: * Crime Scene Investigation: A Reference for Law Enforcement (pdf, 60 pages) Published June 2004 * Death Investigation: A Guide for the Scene Investigator (pdf, 72 pages) Published November 1999 * Fire and Arson Scene Evidence: A Guide for Public Safety Personnel (pdf, 73 pages) Published June 2000 * Guide for Explosion and Bombing Scene Investigation (pdf, 64 pages) Published July 2000 * Electronic Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for First Responders (pdf, 93 pages) First Edition published July 2001, second edition published 2008


See also

*
Law Enforcement Assistance Administration The Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) was a U.S. federal agency within the United States Department of Justice. It administered federal funding to state and local law enforcement agencies and funded educational programs, research, s ...
(LEAA) * National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) *
National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center The National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC) was originally created in 1994 as a program of the National Institute of Justice's (NIJ's) Office of Science and Technology. Resources The ''States, Major Cities and Counties ...
(NLECTC)


References


External links

*
National Institute of Justice
in the Federal Register
National Criminal Justice Reference ServiceNational Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC)The President's DNA InitiativeNew NIJ Body Armor Standards
{{authority control Government agencies established in 1968 United States Department of Justice