criminal justice
Criminal Justice
NIJ Issues RFI on the Uses of AI in the Criminal Justice System
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) housed within the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) in the Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued a request for information (RFI) on the future uses of artificial intelligence (AI) in the criminal justice system. In response to the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence Executive Order released by the Biden Administration in October 2023 (see previous COSSA coverage), NIJ seeks to understand the potential impacts of AI use in the criminal justice system to potentially influence a future report on the topic. Comments are requested by May 28 and should be emailed to [email protected].
Applications for NIJ’s Graduate Research Fellowship Open
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is now accepting applications for their Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) program. The program is looking for 20 new fellows and supports doctoral research with relevance to criminal or juvenile justice in the United States. This includes anthropology, sociology, public policy, information sciences, criminology, forensic science, technology for law enforcement, and more. Applications from all science and engineering fields are welcome. The fellowship provides up to three years of support within a five-year period and includes: The grants.gov deadline is April 10 and the JustGrants deadline is April 17. Students must be enrolled full time in a Ph.D….
SSRC Announces New Criminal Justice Fellowship Program with Arnold Ventures
The Social Science Research Council (SSRC), a COSSA member, has announced a new criminal justice fellowship program with support from Arnold Ventures. The Arnold Ventures Criminal Justice Innovation Fellowships will support five post-doctoral fellows who are pursuing policy-relevant causal research designed to innovate and evaluate cost-effective and scalable policy solutions that advance the efficacy and equity of criminal justice practices. The Fellowships will begin in September 2024, are available for up to three years, and will provide salaries of $120,000 with full benefits and annual increases. Applications are due January 15. More information about the program can be found here.
BJS Celebrates 50 Years of National Crime and Victimization Survey
On September 27, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) within the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP) hosted a public seminar celebrating 50 years of the National Crime and Victimization Survey (NCVS). The survey is the only crime and victimization survey in the United States that addresses underreported crime through survey collection rather than police reporting. The NCVS is used to understand crime patterns and the impact of that crime in different households, recognizing victims that may have been indirectly affected by the crime. The seminar included panels that discussed the past, present, and future of the NCVS, including…
National Academies Releases New Report on Reducing Racial Inequality in Crime and Justice
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) recently released a new report, Reducing Racial Inequality in Crime and Justice: Science, Practice, and Policy. The report addresses disparities faced by people of color in the criminal justice system that result from systemic racism and the policies and practices that reinforce it. It highlights evidence-based policy interventions, focusing on reforming the criminal justice system and developing strategies to strengthen community reforms. Recommendations for reforming the criminal justice system include eliminating cash bail, reducing drug incarceration and felony sentences, discarding the death penalty, and more, while community reforms include health and…
Biden Administration Names Nancy La Vigne, Criminologist & COSSA Board Member, to Lead National Institute of Justice
On May 4, it was announced that President Biden has appointed Dr. Nancy La Vigne to be the next Director of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). La Vigne, a distinguished criminal justice researcher, brings a wealth of experience in criminal justice policy, research, and non-profit leadership. Formerly a senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice, La Vigne holds a Ph.D. in criminal justice from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Texas-Austin, and a bachelor’s degree in government and economics from Smith College. She has over a decade…
Office of Justice Programs Releases New Podcast
The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) within the Department of Justice has developed a new official podcast called Justice Today, which covers topics related to the criminal justice system and research, including preventing crime, assisting victims of crime, and disseminating criminal justice research and data. Some of the episodes that have been produced so far include: April 22, 2022 – An Introduction to Justice Today April 25, 2022 – Desistance: It’s a Process, Not an Event April 27, 2022 – Making Second Chances Work; Reentry from Incarceration April 28, 2022 – Chris Poulos: Making the Most of Second Chances You…
CJRA and COSSA to Host “Ask a Criminologist” Virtual Briefing on Police and Community Relations
COSSA and the Crime & Justice Research Alliance (CJRA) (a collaborative effort of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and the American Society of Criminology, both COSSA members) will host the next in a series of “Ask a Criminologist” Congressional briefings on Wednesday October 21 at 3:00 pm ET. This interactive briefing will focus on the intersection between law enforcement and residents during an extremely complicated time. Panelists will include Dr. Jennifer Cobbina, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University; Dr. Rod Brunson, Thomas O’Neill Chair of Criminology at Northeastern University; and Dr. Everette Penn, Professor of Criminal…
Sen. Schatz, Rep. Dean Introduce Legislation to Reestablish Science Advisory Board at the Department of Justice
On July 25, Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Representative Madeleine Dean (D-PA) introduced S. 2286 and H.R. 3989, the Improving Justice Programs through Science Act. If enacted, the bill would reestablish a Science Advisory Board at the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) within the Department of Justice to better integrate scientific knowledge to inform crime reduction nationwide and provide scientific backing and evidence-based policies in the OJP’s programs and activities, including grants. The Board was originally chartered by the Obama Administration in 2010 and since then provided OJP with guidance in several proactive criminal justice reform efforts, including: the importance…
CJRA and COSSA to Host “Ask a Criminologist” Panel on How the Opioid Epidemic and Police-Community Relations Impact Homicides
COSSA and the Crime & Justice Research Alliance (CJRA) (a collaborative effort of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and the American Society of Criminology, both COSSA members) will host the third in a series of “Ask a Criminologist” Congressional briefings on Tuesday, May 22. This interactive briefing will explore key factors, including the opioid epidemic, that led to an increase in homicide rates in communities across the United States in 2015 and 2016 and share how criminologists have been using research and statistics to help policymakers identify and address these causes. The discussion will be moderated by CJRA Past…
CJRA and COSSA to Host “Ask a Criminologist” Panel on Technology and Policing
The Crime & Justice Research Alliance (CJRA) (a collaborative effort of the Academy of Criminal Justice Science and the American Society of Criminology, both COSSA members) and COSSA will be hosting the second in a series of “Ask a Criminologist” Congressional briefings on Wednesday, June 21. This interactive event will feature criminologist experts who will provide an overview of research on the latest technologies police are using across the country. Experts include CJRA Chair Dr. Nancy La Vigne of The Urban Institute, Dr. Cynthia Lum of George Mason University, Dr. Eric Piza of John Jay College, and Eddie Reyes of…
Congressional Briefing on Violence Prevention
The Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy and WestEd’s Justice and Prevention Research Center are hosting a Congressional Briefing on Tuesday, September 27 on violence and violence prevention. Topics covered will include strategies for violence prevention, patterns of violence, as well as the influences and costs of violence. Nancy Rodriguez, the Director of the National Institute of Justice, will introduce a diverse panel of experts from the public, academic, and non-profit sectors, including COSSA board member and Director of the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center Nancy La Vigne. Register to attend the briefing here. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
COSSA and CJRA Host “Ask a Criminologist” Congressional Roundtable on Increasing Homicide Rates
On July 7, COSSA and the Crime and Justice Research Alliance (CJRA) hosted the first in a series of “Ask a Criminologist” Congressional Roundtables. This briefing highlighted the work of Dr. Richard Rosenfeld of the University of Missouri, St. Louis on possible research directions to identify the causes of the sharp increase in U.S. homicides in 2015 (slides available here). Dr. Rosenfeld presented to over 130 attendees and was joined by CJRA chair Dr. Nancy La Vigne and Washington Post crime reporter Tom Jackman for a panel discussion and audience questions. The audience of Capitol Hill staff and community stakeholders…
APA Briefing Explains the Psychology behind False Confessions
The American Psychological Association (APA), a COSSA governing member, held a Congressional briefing on April 29, in conjunction with the Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) Exhibition. The briefing featured Saul Kassin, Distinguished Professor of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (also a COSSA member), who spoke about his research on false confessions. Kassin observed that it is often difficult for people to understand why someone would admit to a crime they did not commit. However, in his analysis of a database of convictions overturned by DNA evidence, Kassin found that more than a quarter of the wrongly…
NRC Releases Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform Report
This month, the Committee on Law and Justice within the National Research Council’s Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (DBASSE) released a report, Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform: The Federal Role. The report is a follow-on to the 2013 report, Reforming Juvenile Justice: A Developmental Approach, and is “designed to provide specific guidance to [the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) in the Department of Justice] regarding the steps that it should take, both internally and externally, to facilitate juvenile justice reform grounded in knowledge about adolescent development and effective interventions.” Back to this issue’s table of…