This month, the Vera Institute of Justice (Vera) released its annual report celebrating their 60-year anniversary and library of work to transform justice systems, end overcriminalization, and reduce mass incarceration of people of color, immigrants, and people experiencing poverty. Supported by the U.S.
To help law enforcement officers, criminal justice practitioners, and their families stay abreast of increasing cyber threats to national security, the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), with support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, recently released two online modules on ransomware and deepfakes.
The Bureau of Justice Assistance released a "Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program (PIECP) Compliance Guide" this month to offer support to PIECP certification holders. First instituted in 1979, the PIECP encourages state and local governments to create work opportunities in prisons that aim to place justice-involved individuals in real-world environments that encourage meaningful employment opportunities upon release.
In October, the Council of State Governments Justice Center released “Action Points: Four Steps to Expand Access to Housing for People in the Justice System with Behavioral Health Needs.” According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, affordable housing is scarce nationwide and especially among people who have been involved in the justice system or disproportionately face additional societal or systemic barriers including Black and Latinx communities.
Last month, the Bureau of Justice Assistance released the “Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Auditors: Information and Resources” factsheet. The National Standards to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Prison Rape (Standards) established a PREA audit that is designed to assess compliance through written policies and procedures followed by institutionalization into day-to-day practices at all levels. PREA auditors are responsible for conducting high quality, reliable, objective, and comprehensive audits that hold agencies accountable.
This past November, the Council of State Governments Justice Center in collaboration with the National Police Foundation published “Creating Buy-In: Best Practices for Collaborating with Referral Sources for Crisis Stabilization Units.” Crisis stabilization units (CSU) provide law enforcement officers and mobile crisis teams a safe space to bring individuals during a behavioral health crisis.Buy-in from referral sources, particularly law enforcement agencies, is crucial to ensuring that people are suitably connected to the appropriate CSU.
Last month, the National Institute of Justice released a knowledge-sharing brief by the Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on the use of rapid toxicology screening tools in lieu of comprehensive, confirmatory investigations. According to the U.S. Drug Administration, the average turnaround time for traditional toxicology testing can last up to 31 days. However, contingent on case complexities, systemic issues, rising caseloads, and other unforeseen circumstances, delays often occur.
In September, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention released an analysis conducted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) Infant Abductions Program. Often, the most challenging task at hand upon the receipt of a missing child report is identifying the key factors surrounding the case. This crucial assessment of the initial facts will determine what actions the responding law enforcement agency will perform.
This month, the National Institute of Justice released a study conducted by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) using the first-ever national sample of bias crime perpetrators collected from the Bias Incidents and Actors Study (BIAS) database.
In October, the Office for Victims of Crime and the Office on Violence Against Women hosted the webinar, “Understanding the Effects of the Pandemic for Domestic Violence Victims.” This webinar shares the investigations, data analysis, and accounts of researchers, victim-service professionals, and federal government representatives working with domestic violence survivors through the COVID-19 pandemic.