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.
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.
The Police Executive Research Forum, with support from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, has released a new report entitled Promising Strategies for Strengthening Police Department Wellness Programs: Findings and Recommendations from the Officer Safety and Wellness Technical Assistance Project. While research data continues to evidence the benefits of comprehensive officer safety and wellness initiatives, many police departments continue to remain unsure of where to begin to establish such a program.
The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) has developed a comprehensive toolkit to support professionals in the field of trauma services who are consistently exposed to the traumatic experiences of others – known as vicarious trauma. The Vicarious Trauma Toolkit includes tools and resources to support organizations in addressing vicarious trauma within their organizations and occupations.
In 2019, the Orlando (FL) Police Department (OPD) engaged in a three-year process to realign, redesign, and launch a centralized Crime Center to support intelligence-led policing strategies. Through support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC) Crime Analysis on Demand Initiative, OPD worked with IDEA Analytics’ CEO, Dr. Jessica Herbert, to implement evidence-based practices and build OPD’s analytical capabilities.
The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) has developed a toolkit to help tribal justice system practitioners create or enhance reentry programs for American Indians and Alaska Natives returning from jail or prison. The Planning a Reentry program: A Toolkit for Tribal Communities offers resources and insights on forming a planning team and navigating through all the key steps of developing a reentry program, including developing partnerships, refining your reentry program, measuring program impact, and planning for sustainability.