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Perspectives on Research and Evidence-Based Policing

Every year, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) supports 30 midcareer, research-minded law enforcement professionals to take part in professional development and travel opportunities, network, and contribute to the policing and research communities through the Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Scholars program. The LEADS scholars are both practitioners and researchers. They work in the field while simultaneously striving to evaluate and improve the...

NIJ's Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science Scholars Program for Civilians

New scholars selected!

Meet the 2024 class of scholars.

NIJ typically accepts applications for new scholars in the spring.

The Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Civilians program offers a unique opportunity to engage and partner with other NIJ LEADS Scholars, all of whom are mid-career police officers, fellow civilians, and academics dedicated to advancing the police profession through science. 

The program has...

Epidemiology of Crime Guns: Summary

NCJ Number
254131
Date Published
September 2016
Agencies
NIJ-Sponsored
Publication Type
Research (Applied/Empirical), Program/Project Description

NIJ’s Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science Scholars Program for Academics

New scholars selected!

Meet the 2024 class of scholars.

NIJ typically accepts applications for new scholars in the spring.

The Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Academics program offers a unique opportunity for early-career academics to engage and partner with other NIJ LEADS Scholars, all of whom are mid-career police officers, civilians, and fellow academics dedicated to advancing the police profession through science...

The NIJ/IACP Partnership

January 2016

This video, featuring NIJ Director Nancy Rodriguez and Hassan Aden of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), describes the partnership between NIJ and IACP and how the two organizations are linking what we know about what works in policing to the field.

Fighting the Opioid Crisis

Convening Police Leaders and Researchers to Learn Promising Practices and to Inform Research Agenda

Director Muhlhausen's prepared remarks at the NIJ-hosted Opioid Research Summit.

NIJ Director David B. Muhlhausen at the podium

NIJ Director Muhlhausen

Good morning and welcome to Washington, DC. It’s a privilege to host you here today at the National Institute of Justice. I’m particularly honored to have the Attorney General and the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General with...

Director’s Corner: Spotlight on NIJ Research at International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference

Next week, law enforcement leadership from around the world will attend the annual conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), in Philadelphia. On Saturday, October 21, NIJ will host our 4th annual Saturday Session around the theme “What Works and What Matters in Policing.”

The session will include three panels bringing together law enforcement and academic experts to discuss officer safety, technology...

Director’s Corner: Pushing the Edge on Evidence-Based Policing - Reflections on Research for the Real World

“Most of what we do has never been tested,” pointed out Dr. Angela Hawken, before going on to explain how her organization, BetaGov, is working to change that through hundreds of rapid-implementation randomized controlled trials (RCTs). BetaGov is an innovation hub out of New York University that supports public sector practitioners conducting evaluations of their programs. Dr. Hawken has a deep research background and is...

Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships

Thank you, and good morning. My name is Howard Spivak and I am the Principal Deputy Director of the National Institute of Justice, NIJ.

For those of you who aren’t familiar, NIJ is the research, development, and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. We use science to inform and advance criminal justice policies and practices across the country. To do this, we provide...

A View From the Street: Police Leaders Share Their Perspectives on Urgent Policy and Research Issues

June 2010

Sponsored by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and its Research Advisory Committee (RAC), this panel unites law enforcement leaders from across the country to discuss their policy and research concerns. Charles Wellford, IACP RAC co-chair and University of Maryland professor, will facilitate the panel. Presenters will discuss urgent policing issues that merit ongoing research, law enforcement and academic research partnerships, and how research can and does affect agency policy and operations.

Director's Message: Advancing the Police Profession Through Science

Recent events across the country have made calls for criminal justice reform commonplace, and law enforcement in particular has been called upon to increase standards of performance and advance the field as a profession. At the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), we are committed to supporting law enforcement in their efforts to advance policing, and we strongly believe that science can play a pivotal role...

Director's Message: Driving Innovation in Crime Forecasting

In order to strengthen justice in the United States, we need to apply the expertise of all scientific disciplines to better respond to the challenges that criminal justice practitioners face every day. One of those challenges is finding the most effective and efficient analytics tools to map and forecast crimes. While NIJ has been a long-time investor in research on mapping and analysis for public...

Understanding the Opioid Crisis Case-by-Case: Overdose Fatality Reviews in Wisconsin

May 2019
Mallory O’Brien, Assistant Professor, Medical College of Wisconsin, discusses the Wisconsin’s Overdose Fatality Review process, a joint effort of the State Departments of Justice and Public Health, that brings together all of the stakeholders to share specific case information to understand the overdose, the events leading up to it, and what opportunities the can uncover for actions that can be taken to address the overall crisis.