Last month, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) in Partnership with the National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA) and the National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics (SEARCH), published a brief on the Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA). Congress originally passed the DCRA in 2000 in an effort to collect data on deaths involving law enforcement. In 2013, Congress reauthorized the law and expanded its requirements. However, as State Administering Agencies continue to work with their state and local partners to collect data, they frequently encounter questions about the differences between the DCRA, Mortality Correctional Institutions and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Use of Force reporting. This brief provides a historical background of the DCRA, explains reporting conditions, describes the overlapping reporting requirements of state and local agencies, and outlines the federal government’s previous and current data analysis efforts.
To learn more about the DCRA, access A Primer for Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA) and Related Program Data Requirements.
In recognition of Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) recently published a literature review on national dating violence research in adolescent relationships. Teen dating violence is a complex issue that can include varying layers of abusive behavior. In the past, dating violence research was limited to college-age or young adult victims. However, in more recent years, there has been a steady increase in this research with greater focus on adolescents. Concentrating on youth between 12-18 years old, this literature review includes definitions of different types of dating violence, the scope of the problem, risk and protective factors related to perpetration and victimization, short and long-term consequences, and outcome evidence of programs that seek to prevent or reduce the occurrence of teen dating violence.
To learn more about teen dating violence and model intervention initiatives, check out Model Programs Guide Literature Review: Teen Dating Violence.
In 2020, to address increasing health and safety concerns within prison populations through the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous prison and parole authorities were directed by their states to reduce population sizes and perform intensive policy restructuring. As a result, through the support of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center in partnership with the Association of Paroling Authorities International (APAI) surveyed 74 paroling authorities across the nation to assess the lasting impact of these changes. The survey aimed to better understand some of the challenges faced, while creating the opportunity to share experiences and lessons learned. This month, the CSG Justice Center released a report on the survey’s key findings, common challenges faced during the pandemic, and four identified areas of permanent reform.
To read more on the impact of prison reform as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, access States Report Parole Policy Transformations.
Supported by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center recently published a brief that highlights ways in which clinicians can support mental health and criminal justice collaborations using the Sequential Intercept Model (SIM). According to Policy Research Associates, the SIM identifies six intercepts of the criminal justice system including, community services, law enforcement, initial detention or initial court hearings, jails or courts, reentry, and community supervisions. While using this model as a strategic tool to examine how people move through the criminal justice system, incorporating direct clinician interception at various stages can also help agencies develop new strategies for support or offer immediate intervention. This brief shares suggestions for direct clinician involvement within the justice system, examples of successful programs, and an overview of the SIM.
To learn more about the SIM and clinical collaboration, access Embedding Clinicians in the Criminal Justice System.
By Jessica Herbert, PhD, Founder & CEO of IDEA Analytics
In 2019, the Orlando Police Department (OPD), tasked with protecting the safety of nearly 290,000 full-time residents and millions of visitors each year, began a three-year project aimed at improving public safety and reducing crime in their city.
Through technical assistance support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC), IDEA Analytics worked with OPD leadership to identify challenges facing their analysts and officers and addressed the needs of each with a focus on improved analytical capacity and outcomes. The areas addressed included leadership, technology, and people, allowing OPD leadership to find opportunities for enhancing resources, developing strategies, and ensuring access to services for the community and their teams.
When completed, this effort completely overhauled crime analysis functions and led to the full realignment of analyst personnel, redesign of analysis reporting, and launch of a new OPD Crime Center. The results not only changed how analysts do their work in Orlando but also improved how crimes are solved, while better supporting officers on patrol. During and after the project, leadership was able to create and follow data-driven policing strategies to support the next generation of policing in the city. Read the full case study of their efforts to learn more.
Strengthening Leadership for the Next Generation of Policing
In 2018, OPD Chief Orlando Rolón recognized the importance of creating data-driven policing strategies to support the next generation of policing in Orlando. This began the vision of the Crime Center and the work that eventually led to its opening.
Early in the project, as the strategy for the creation of the Crime Center became clearer, several issues moved to the forefront. The first was the need to appoint leadership to spearhead the effort and the second was identifying areas of potential funding for the project. Captain Jay Draisin quickly took the strategy and vision of the Crime Center. He began to realign crime analysis, forensic, and crime scene personnel, and synthesize the technology available to the department for intelligence-led efforts. Funding—another stumbling block for the department seeking to update technology and add personnel—was found using grants and reallocation of previously approved funds.
Bringing Analysts Together to Improve Results
Before the changes were implemented, an OPD stakeholder noted, “There was not a lot of structure and we didn’t have intended goals of where we were going as a unit. It didn’t seem like there was a need or want for analysts. We didn’t really have a lot of defined responsibilities and there was no accountability.”
Like many police departments across the nation, OPD had its analysts spread across various teams and divisions. Leadership often questioned the benefits of the analysts to the department, which led to analysts feeling frustrated and underutilized.
With OPD analysts sitting in assigned units or divisions, their tasks typically focused on case development and officer needs rather than supporting strategic responses to assist in addressing persistent crime concerns. This decentralized structure prevented analysts from collaborating on work, which thwarted the communication of timely and relevant information.
To improve this situation, analysts were moved under one supervisor into a single location, which led to improved standards of operations and better interactions among analysts. This, in turn, offered improved analysis, better communication among each other and with officers, and in-depth generation of data that could be used for problem-solving and crime reduction.
Increasing Personnel and Creating Clear Structures
To support the launch of the Crime Center, both external professional analysts and internal sworn OPD officers were recruited to support tactical and strategic information sharing and data-driven efforts. For professional analysts, the alignment of their analytical strengths with data processes and knowledge of the criminal activities enabled them to ensure the Crime Center developed meaningful, actionable data for officers and detectives. Crime Center leadership held a selection process to identify officers that embrace the direction of policing with technology and data. Combining these officers with professional analysts in the Crime Center created a clear balance of data development and information sharing. With patrol officers routinely asking, “Is the Crime Center on the line?” during active calls, there is a clear purpose and direction for staff today.
After the changes were implemented, an OPD stakeholder stated, “We learned very quickly that the number one priority is personnel. You can have every technology, toy, all the bells and whistles, but without enough people to manage all the information, centers can’t be utilized correctly.”
Putting It All Together
Once completed, the Crime Center reorganization helped analysts and leadership focus on intelligence and data-led policing strategies. The fully-staffed department enabled analysts to produce timely and actionable reports for operations, which continue to help reduce crime rates and increase community safety.
Today, the OPD Crime Center includes sworn OPD officers, civilian analytical staff, and crime scene and forensic technology staff.
OPD’s journey to generating a centralized Crime Center to support intelligence-led policing strategies has led to many improvements in evidence-based policing for the department. With all analysts sitting in one collective area with access to the various technologies OPD has to offer, information can now be accessed faster and disseminated directly to the people who need it. Analyst job satisfaction has also improved dramatically as clear strategies for using data and appropriate staff training plans have been implemented. Intelligence sharing among analysts and the data provided to officers and leadership have resulted in quick responses to active crimes, application of strategic data to patrol and investigative strategies, and in-depth analysis on guns, persons, and places contributing to persistent organized group violence. These elements make the Crime Center a success for OPD and will support their continued efforts of public safety.
If your jurisdiction is in need of training or technical assistance related to pretrial assessment tools, or if you know of a community that would benefit from this type of assistance, please contact BJA NTTAC at BJANTTAC@ojp.usdoj.gov and we can connect you to the appropriate training, assistance, TTA partner, and/or resources.
If you are interested in submitting the work of your organization or jurisdiction for consideration in a future TTA Today blog post or in obtaining information related to a particular topic area, please email us at BJANTTAC@ojp.usdoj.gov.
Points of view or opinions on BJA NTTAC’s TTA Today blog is those of IDEA Analytics and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice, BJA, or BJA NTTAC.
Supported by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center recently published an article describing the significance of increasing public safety answering point (PSAP) personnel preparedness for crisis team expansions. Crisis teams, such as co-responder teams, homeless outreach teams, mobile crisis units, and opioid response teams, can help jurisdictions better respond to community needs. For PSAP personnel, matching the most appropriate group to the needs of the caller can be critical for the safest outcome. This brief aims to provide PSAP administrators with key elements to expand their first response options, training ideas, and examples of how other jurisdictions have enacted new dispatch and call triaging protocols.
To read more about PSAP team expansions, check out Preparing 911 Dispatch Personnel for Incorporating New First Responder Teams.
This month, the National Institute of Justice published a report based on a review and rating by CrimeSolutions of multiple meta-analyses. Substance use disorders, which include substance dependence and abuse, have a tremendous impact on individuals, families, and communities. For patients, trauma-informed care offers the opportunity to engage more fully in their health care, develop a trusting relationship with their provider, and improve long-term health outcomes. This report highlights five guiding statements using trauma-informed best practices for effective substance use intervention on topics such as medicated-assisted treatment, cannabis use disorder, short-term interventions, juvenile drug courts, and strategies for rewarding positive behavior.
To learn more about substance use intervention programs, access Five Things About Substance Use Interventions.
This month, the National Institute of Justice issued an evaluation of a limited study on ten state-based task forces using the Enhanced Collaborative Model (ECM) to Combat Human Trafficking launched in 2010. Due to its complex nature, human trafficking crimes are difficult to detect thereby creating significant barriers for disruption. Many jurisdictions also struggle to identify crimes for both sex and labor trafficking because of varied understandings or limited knowledge of the root causes. As a result, those offenses are often not prosecuted under available trafficking statutes, denying survivors the full protection of the law. In recognition of Human Trafficking Prevention Month, this brief summarizes the trafficking task force study, with a focus on major findings and conclusions, and recommendations for policy and practice.
The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) recently developed a comprehensive fact sheet on BJA grant funding resources that address hate crimes, crimes that impact civil rights, and other bias-motivated and hate incidents. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is committed to advancing work that promotes civil rights, increasing access to justice, supporting crime victims, protecting the public from crime and evolving threats, and building trust between law enforcement and the community. Hate crimes can be more violent and involve greater victim injury as compared to other crimes, yet they are substantially underreported. To counter this, prosecution agencies are looking for ways to engage with local communities to build more collaborative solutions and increase support to victims and their families. This fact sheet provides a complete list of BJA-funded hate crime resources, a brief description of each program, and links to find additional information.
The National Institute of Justice recently released a research brief authored by Katherine Scafide, Ph.D. and other colleagues investigating alternate and more suitable light sources to traditional options for bruise detection in violent crime cases such as domestic violence and sexual assault. Inaccurate documentation of injuries can be detrimental to the victim’s legal case against their attacker as well as to the victim’s medical treatment. Due to its indisputable and powerful nature, bruises often become key foundations of evidence but are also incredibly difficult for forensic nurse examiners to detect. This research brief defines bruise injuries, describes the study conducted on white light vs. alternate light sources, and shares concluding results.