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BJA's mission is to provide leadership and services through grant administration and criminal justice policy development to support local, state, and tribal justice strategies to achieve safer communities. Driving BJA's work in the field is the following principles: to reduce crime, recidivism, and unnecessary confinement, and promote a safe and fair criminal justice system. To implement our strategies consistent with these principles, BJA supports effective criminal justice policy, programs, information sharing, and collaborations within state, local, and tribal agencies and communities, and promotes the use of data, research, and information to increase the effectiveness of criminal justice programs. BJA has four primary components: Policy, Programs, Planning, and the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Office. The Fellows will work in the Policy Office, which provides national leadership in criminal justice policy, training, and technical assistance to further the administration of justice. It also acts as a liaison to national organizations that partner with BJA to set policy and help disseminate information on best and promising practices. To address emerging issues and build capacity to improve the administration of criminal justice, BJA launched the BJA Visiting Fellows Program in FY2012. The intent is to leverage state, local, or tribal subject-matter expertise to assess areas of need and to develop strategies, tools, and policies in collaboration with BJA staff for the benefit of the criminal justice field. By hosting up to five Fellows with FY 2014 funds, BJA will collaborate with practitioners and researchers to build capacity to address gaps in priority and emerging issues in the criminal justice field.

Policies for Action: Policy and Law Research to Build a Culture of Health (P4A) was created to help build the evidence base for policies that can help build a Culture of Health. P4A seeks to engage long-standing health care, mental and behavioral health, and public health researchers, as well as experts in areas that we recognize have strong influence on health, well-being and equity-such as labor, criminal justice, education, transportation, housing, and the built environment.

BJA, in a public/private partnership with The Pew Charitable Trusts, launched the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) in 2010 as a multistaged process in which a jurisdiction reduces unnecessary incarceration, increases the cost-effectiveness of its criminal justice system and reinvests savings into high-performing public safety strategies.  JRI jurisdictions reinvest these cost savings into high-performing initiatives that make communities safer. In addition to reducing prison populations, justice reinvestment encourages states to embrace a culture of greater collaboration, data-driven decisionmaking, and increased use of evidence-based practices. While the full impact of justice reinvestment reforms is not yet known, the policies enacted in JRI states hold great promise to reduce prison populations, achieve substantial cost savings, and avert future growth.  However, many of the states found similar factors driving populations and costs for example, parole and probation revocation rates; sentencing policies and practices that favored incarceration of low-risk offenders over alternatives and that resulted in long lengths of stay; insufficient or inefficient community supervision, services, and support; and parole system processing delays and denials. The policy responses to these issues also overlapped, sharing themes of evidence-based practices and data-driven decisionmaking, including risk and needs assessments; accountability measures such as performance and outcome measure reporting; earned credits to encourage compliance with conditions of community supervision; sentencing changes; swift, certain and fair responses to technical probation and parole violations, mandatory post-incarceration supervision requirements; problem-solving courts; streamlined parole processes and expanded parole eligibility; and re-entry programs to reduce recidivism.

BJA, in a public/private partnership with The Pew Charitable Trusts, launched the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) in 2010 as a multistaged process in which a jurisdiction reduces unnecessary incarceration, increases the cost-effectiveness of its criminal justice system and reinvests savings into high-performing public safety strategies.  JRI jurisdictions reinvest these cost savings into high-performing initiatives that make communities safer. In addition to reducing prison populations, justice reinvestment encourages states to embrace a culture of greater collaboration, data-driven decisionmaking, and increased use of evidence-based practices. While the full impact of justice reinvestment reforms is not yet known, the policies enacted in JRI states hold great promise to reduce prison populations, achieve substantial cost savings, and avert future growth.  However, many of the states found similar factors driving populations and costs for example, parole and probation revocation rates; sentencing policies and practices that favored incarceration of low-risk offenders over alternatives and that resulted in long lengths of stay; insufficient or inefficient community supervision, services, and support; and parole system processing delays and denials. The policy responses to these issues also overlapped, sharing themes of evidence-based practices and data-driven decisionmaking, including risk and needs assessments; accountability measures such as performance and outcome measure reporting; earned credits to encourage compliance with conditions of community supervision; sentencing changes; swift, certain and fair responses to technical probation and parole violations, mandatory post-incarceration supervision requirements; problem-solving courts; streamlined parole processes and expanded parole eligibility; and re-entry programs to reduce recidivism.

The mission of the National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research (NCGVR) is to fund and disseminate nonpartisan scientific research that offers the public and policymakers a factual basis for developing fair and effective gun policies. NCGVR has issued its first Request for Proposals (RFP) to fund scientific research on selected topics likely to provide valuable information needed by the public and policymakers in their efforts to create programs and policies that will save lives and prevent violence. Both descriptive or basic science studies and applied or policy research will be supported. NCGVR encourages collaborations between researchers and practitioners, as well as research on multidisciplinary interventions, such as those that integrate medical systems and policing.

The fiscal year (FY) 2019 Body-Worn Camera Policy and Implementation Program (BWC PIP) directly supports key priorities of the Department of Justice by promoting the safety of law enforcement officers and citizens and capturing an unbiased recording of police interactions with the public. BWCs can provide critical visual and audio records of interactions. When properly deployed, research has shown that a BWC program can reduce civilian complaints, reduce use of force, and improve justice outcomes. Through this solicitation, BJA intends to select one training and technical assistance provider for BWC PIP to support law enforcement agencies that are planning, expanding, and enhancing their BWC programs. The selected TTA provider will prioritize support to law enforcement agencies that have received funding through BJA’s Body-Worn Camera Policy and Implementation Program to Support Law Enforcement Agencies. When funding is available, the awardee must also provide TTA to nongrantees that request assistance within the scope of the BWC program.

The Supporting Small and Rural Law Enforcement Agency Body-Worn Camera Policy and Implementation Program (SRA-BWC) directly supports key priorities of the Department of Justice by promoting the safety of law enforcement officers and citizens by strengthening the means for evidence capture and by contributing to improved justice outcomes. Both formal research publications and testimonials by law enforcement executives have shown that BWCs, when properly implemented, contribute myriad benefits to law enforcement organizations, their personnel, and the communities they serve. BWC use can have a moderating effect on citizens' behavior; has been shown to reduce use-of-force incidents and citizen complaints; and can help strengthen mutual respect and civility in citizen police interactions. Digital footage from BWCs can provide critical visual and audio records of interactions. The benefits of BWCs can be optimized when properly implemented as part of a deliberate program of carefully thought-out policies and practices in coordination with broader agency missions, including officer safety, accountability, increased disparity, training, and efficiency.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) is soliciting investigator-initiated research that will help expand and advance our understanding about what works to prevent violence by rigorously evaluating primary prevention strategies, programs, and policies to address specific gaps in the prevention of teen dating violence, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and youth violence. This initiative is intended to support the evaluation of primary prevention strategies, programs or policies that target universal or selected high-risk populations (i.e., populations that have one or more risk factors that place them at heightened risk for perpetration of violence). Funds are available to conduct such studies focused on preventing the perpetration of youth violence and/or teen dating/intimate partner/sexual violence as detailed elsewhere in this announcement.

The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) advises the President, Secretary of State, other bureaus in the Department of State, and other departments and agencies within the U.S. Government on the development of policies and programs to strengthen the ability of criminal justice institutions to combat transnational organized crime. INL is operationalizing this policy goal in Guinea. Helping to build the architecture of democracy, INL's goal is for the Government of Guinea to provide citizen security in a manner that respects human rights and the rule of law. Supporting the Ministry of Justice's (MOJ) strategic reform agenda is a key component of our program.

The purpose of the NIJ Research, Evaluation, and Development Project Grants program is to encourage and support research, development, and evaluation to improve criminal justice policy and practice in the United States.With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals to conduct research to identify the different interdiction modalities currently used by criminal justice agencies to keep contraband out of correctional facilities and what is known about their efficacy. An interdiction modality is considered to include both (1) the policies and practices that agencies use to prevent contraband from being brought into a facility as well as (2) those used to detect and remove contraband that may be in the facility. It also includes the statutes and regulations that govern how these modalities are applied.

BJA seeks applications for a Technical Assistance Provider (“TA Provider”) to assist in the establishment and facilitation of national-level technical assistance to approximately 20 to 25 demonstration sites in furtherance of the Sentinel Events Initiative (SEI). SEI is an effort led by the National Institute of Justiceâ€Â" the US Department of Justice’s research, development, and evaluation agencyâ€Â"to explore whether an all-stakeholder, forward-looking, non-blaming review of unanticipated events that signal an underlying system weakness in criminal justice can be used to understand areas of system risk and weaknesses, reduce the occurrence of these outcomes, increase safety, and augment the criminal justice system’s ability to fulfill its mission. Drawing heavily from similar successful efforts in the fields of medicine and transportation, this scientific inquiry aims to determine a) whether sentinel event reviews (SERs) can be implemented and routinized in a criminal justice context, b) whether these reviews can inform policy and practice improvements to mitigate the risk of analogous errors or weaknesses in the future, c) whether changes in policy and practice maximize the criminal justice system’s ability to meet its mission of reducing crime, protecting the public, and advancing the administration of justice, and d) whether these reviews are sustainable over time.

With this solicitation, NIJ seeks to build upon its research efforts to understand and aid in accelerating the process of desistance from crime. Applicants should propose research projects that have clear implications for criminal justice policy and practice in the United States. NIJ encourages applicants to submit proposals for innovative approaches to advance the field’s conceptualization of desistance, novel ways of understanding the processes underlying desistance from crime, and integrating desistance into criminal justice practice and policy. NIJ is particularly interested to receive applications for: > Research on the dynamic process of desistance that considers changes in individual offenders’ psychological states, developmental capacities, life events, and social context and how these changes relate to changes in offending over time. > Research to better understand the underlying mechanisms inherent in the process of desistance from crime, in particular whether and how these mechanisms may vary by race/ethnicity, gender, neighborhood context, and the like. > Research on desistance from crime for subgroups of offenders or those who specialize in specific crime types for example burglars, drug offenders or violent offenders. > Research that includes longer term follow-up periods for previously collected data or evaluations of programs that demonstrated promise for reducing offending. > Formative examinations of criminal justice programs or practices that fully incorporate desistance principles into their logic models and theories of change.

With this solicitation, NIJ seeks applications for funding of multidisciplinary research projects addressing three topics: 1) The impact of fatigue and stress on officer performance. 2) Enhancing strategies for officer interaction with mentally ill individuals. 3) Advancing Resiliency for the Forensic Workforce- Understanding the Impact and Management of Stress, Burnout, and Vicarious Trauma. This solicitation supports the U.S. Department of Justice’s priority of protecting officers and other public safety personnel. This solicitation also supports the following five objectives of the NIJ Safety, Health, and Wellness Strategic Research Plan 2016-2021 (August 2016): 1) Objective I.2: Support development, and promote strategies, policies, practices, and technologies that enhance the safety of criminal justice personnel. 2) Objective I.4: Develop policies, strategies, and technologies to promote safety in criminal justice interactions with the public. 3) Objective II.1: Promote research to improve the physical and mental health of individuals working in the criminal justice system. 4) Objective II.2: Study both trauma and suicide among criminal justice employees. 5) Objective II.4: Promote science-based tools and strategies to monitor physical and mental health.

This solicitation will support field-initiated, methodologically rigorous research and/or evaluations focused on interactions between law enforcement and youth, with practical implications for the identification and development of programs and policies that ensure officer, youth, and community safety. This solicitation encourages researchers to propose studies that contribute to the development of scientific evidence about factors that facilitate or inhibit positive police-youth interactions, as well as evaluations of the implementation and effectiveness of trainings, programs, practices, or policies designed to facilitate productive law enforcement and youth engagement.

The Justice Information Sharing (JIS) Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) solicitation has 2 categories listed; (1) Criminal Intelligence Online Training and Technical Assistance (28 CFR Part 23), and (2) RISS Technology Service Center (RTSC) and Administration Support. The Criminal Intelligence Systems Operating Polices 28 CFR Part 23 TTA Program provides an online training to help state and local law enforcement professionals understand the guidelines that govern the development and implementation of policies and systems that facilitate criminal intelligence sharing and in FY16 over 6,900 users took this online training. The program also provide technical assistance to agencies wanting to ensure their policy and procedures protect the privacies and civil liberties as identified in 28 CFR Part 23. The RISS Technology Service Center (RTSC) staff supports technical programs and projects that span the RISS enterprise and support the six RISS Centers nationwide. This includes the infrastructure and security of the RISS Secure Cloud (RISSNET) and database applications development. The tasks will be to continue to operate, maintain, and upgrade RISSNET, support RISS member connectivity and access to RISSNET, maintain and enhance the RISSNET Portal and RISSNET infrastructure, continue to operate and further enhance RISS applications, participate in national information sharing projects and working groups, work with other federal agencies and share technology, and ensure applicable databases adhere to 28 CFR Part 23 Guidelines.

This award will support efforts in at least two of four target countries (select among: Argentina, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru) to identify priority substantive anti-corruption measures and assist in implementation of reform actions related to them. The substantive measures will be determined in reference to the international and regional standards to which these countries have agreed, and the recommendations of the peer review bodies associated with them. Several anti-corruption mechanisms and fora promote action on these standards by facilitating peer recommendations or encouraging country commitments. Exemplar mechanisms and fora include UNCAC and MESICIC (primary) and the Anti-Bribery Convention, Open Government Partnership, Summit of the Americas and related policy (secondary). Each of the target countries has engaged in at least one of these entities and has received recommendations or made commitments to address corruption in various ways. INL intends for this project to initiate a multi-stakeholder process in each country selected for this project to prioritize two to three peer review body recommendations addressed to - or political commitments made by -- the country. The project should then support the development of action plans and targeted follow-up action (i.e. technical assistance, advocacy, and coordination) to help governments implement the action plans. Suggested focus areas in which to develop priorities, action plans, and follow-up measures include judicial integrity/independence, criminalizing foreign bribery, public procurement, public sector ethics, and international legal cooperation. Supporting action in these areas would aid the criminal justice sector and civil society in making tangible steps to adopt laws, policies, or procedures that either prevent or combat corruption.

This award will support efforts in at two or three of five target countries (select among: Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Armenia, and Montenegro) to identify priority substantive anti-corruption measures and assist in implementation of related reform actions. The substantive measures will be determined in reference to the countries' commitments in the context of relevant international standards, and to the recommendations of the peer review bodies associated with those standards. Several anti-corruption mechanisms and fora promote action on these standards by facilitating peer reviews, resulting in recommendations for reform, or by generating country commitments. Exemplar mechanisms and fora include UNCAC and GRECO (primary) and the Anti-Bribery Convention, Istanbul Action Plan, Open Government Partnership, and related policy (secondary). Each of the target countries has engaged in at least one of these entities and has received recommendations or made commitments to address corruption in various ways. INL intends for this project to initiate a multi-stakeholder process in each country selected for this project to prioritize two to three peer review body recommendations addressed to - or political commitments made by -- the country. The project should then support the development of action plans and targeted follow-up action (i.e. technical assistance, advocacy, and coordination) to help governments implement the action plans. Suggested focus areas in which to develop priorities, action plans, and follow-up measures could include judicial integrity/independence, criminalizing and enforcing foreign bribery, transparency of party funding and electoral campaigns, law enforcement reforms, and public procurement fraud and corruption. Supporting action in these areas would aid the criminal justice sector and civil society in making tangible steps to adopt laws, policies, or procedures that either prevent or combat corruption.

The purpose of this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is to advance the following U.S. government policy objectives in Syria: a) Ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS and empower local communities to resist the encroachment of Iranian proxies by enabling the provision of community security in areas liberated from ISIS; and b) Achieve a political solution to the Syrian conflict under the auspices of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2254. The Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Office of Assistance Coordination (NEA/AC), will support the following assistance objectives to advance these policy objectives: 1) Support the enduring defeat of ISIS by enabling the provision of community security in liberated areas; and 2) Advance

The NIJ Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) program in Social and Behavioral Sciences is open to doctoral students in all social and behavioral science disciplines. This program provides awards to accredited academic institutions to support graduate research leading to doctoral degrees in areas that are relevant to ensuring public safety, preventing and controlling crime, and ensuring the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States. NIJ invests in doctoral education by supporting academic institutions that sponsor students who demonstrate the potential to successfully complete doctoral degree programs in disciplines relevant to the mission of NIJ and who are in the final stages of graduate study. Applicants sponsoring doctoral students are eligible to apply only (1) if the doctoral student'‚ƒƒ™s degree program is a Social and Behavioral Science discipline and (2) if the student's proposed dissertation research has direct implications for criminal justice policy and practice in the United States.

The NIJ Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) program in Social and Behavioral Sciences is open to doctoral students in all social and behavioral science disciplines. This program provides awards to accredited academic institutions to support graduate research leading to doctoral degrees in areas that are relevant to ensuring public safety, preventing and controlling crime, and ensuring the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States. NIJ invests in doctoral education by supporting academic institutions that sponsor students who demonstrate the potential to successfully complete doctoral degree programs in disciplines relevant to the mission of NIJ and who are in the final stages of graduate study. Applicants sponsoring doctoral students are eligible to apply only (1) if the doctoral student'‚ƒƒ™s degree program is a Social and Behavioral Science discipline and (2) if the student's proposed dissertation research has direct implications for criminal justice policy and practice in the United States.

NIJ is seeking investigator-initiated proposals to conduct research that examines criminal justice tools, protocols, and policies concerning drug trafficking, markets and use, and the effects of drug legalization and decriminalization on law enforcement, applicable to State, tribal and local jurisdictions. Proposals must address one of two criminal justice activities: drug intelligence and community surveillance, or criminal investigation and prosecution. In addition, NIJ has identified three drug research priorities: Marijuana and cannabis products; Heroin and other opioids (including diverted prescription drugs); and Novel psychoactive substances (also known as synthetic drugs).

NIJ is seeking investigator-initiated proposals to conduct research that examines criminal justice tools, protocols, and policies concerning drug trafficking, markets and use, and the effects of drug legalization and decriminalization on law enforcement, applicable to State, tribal and local jurisdictions. Proposals must address one of two criminal justice activities: drug intelligence and community surveillance, or criminal investigation and prosecution. In addition, NIJ has identified three drug research priorities: Marijuana and cannabis products; Heroin and other opioids (including diverted prescription drugs); and Novel psychoactive substances (also known as synthetic drugs).

With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals for basic or applied research and development projects. An NIJ forensic science research and development grant supports a discrete, specified, circumscribed project that will: (1) increase the body of knowledge to guide and inform forensic science policy and practice, or (2) lead to the production of useful material(s), device(s), system(s), or method(s) that have the potential for forensic application. The intent of this program is to direct the findings of basic scientific research; research and development in broader scientific fields applicable to forensic science; and ongoing forensic science research toward the development of highly-discriminating, accurate, reliable, cost-effective, and rapid methods for the identification, analysis, and interpretation of physical evidence for criminal justice purposes. Projects should address the challenges and needs of the forensic science community. The operational needs discussed at NIJ’s FY 2016 Forensic Science TWG meeting may be found on NIJ.gov. Additional research needs of the forensic science community can be found at the Organization of Scientific Area Committees website. While the goals and deliverables of proposed projects do not necessarily need to result in immediate solutions to the posted challenges or needs, they should speak to them and produce knowledge that adds to work towards eventual resolutions.