In July 2020, RTI International released the report “Enacting an Improved Response to Sexual Assault: A Criminal Justice Practitioner’s Guide” by Patricia A. Melton. Outlining various studies, Melton writes that improving criminal justice agencies’ responses to sexual assault strengthens community safety and builds better relationships between community members and criminal justice agencies.
Every year, thousands of people die from drug overdose. According to data collected from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Vital Statistics System, there were over 67,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2018. Part of combatting this issue involves studying the factors that go into opioid-related deaths.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, through its technical assistance provider Advocates for Human Potential (AHP), is seeking applications from organizations, including, but not limited to, nonprofits and universities, to develop evidence-based clinical guidelines and protocols to help jail administrators, correctional officers, and jail-based clinicians identify and safely manage substance withdrawal management in a jail-based setting. One applicant will be selected to undertake this effort.
Due to the complexity of prosecuting sexual violence, a startlingly low number of cases ever make it to court let alone result in conviction. This disappointing reality can be self-perpetuating—victims do not bring charges, and law enforcement and prosecution do not pursue cases, especially if they do not seem winnable.