As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to support communities seeking to implement or expand community violence intervention efforts, the Bureau of Justice Assistance, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Education, and the White House Domestic Policy Council, has hosted a webinar series on Community Violence Intervention (CVI).
The recently published third edition of Law Enforcement Intelligence – A Guide for State, Local, and Tribal Law Enforcement Agencies (Law Enforcement Intelligence Guide) aims to spark a policy-oriented discussion of current initiatives, national standards, and best practices for law enforcement agencies aiming to enhance intelligence capabilities. The guide builds upon the previous two editions by describing changes in intelligence practices in the context emerging threats and criminal extremism beyond international terrorism.
The Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS) Program, with support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, supports local, state, federal, and tribal criminal justice entities by offering various resources to enhance law enforcement efforts. For example, RISS helps facilitate cross-agency collaboration through the RISSLeads Investigative website. Through this platform, law enforcement officers can interact with one another across jurisdictions to share investigative leads, information, or other issues.
The National Center for School Safety (NCSS) is a Bureau of Justice Assistance Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Program national training and technical assistance provider focused on improving school safety and preventing violence. NCSS aims to support STOP grantees and the nationwide school safety community as they work to address school safety challenges.
The National Police Foundation, in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance, recently published a guidebook on Staying Healthy in the Fray: The Impact of Crowd Management on Officers in the Context of Civil Unrest. The guidebook aims to provide law enforcement personnel—frontline officers, mid-level supervisors, and law enforcement executives—a resource to use as law enforcement officers respond to mass demonstrations.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police created the Home Safe Library of Resources as part of their work supporting Kevin and Avonte Program grant sites through the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Reducing Injury and Death of Missing Individuals with Dementia and Developmental Disabilities program. This library is a free, publicly available, searchable online catalog that includes articles, webinars, tools, and other resources on wandering, elopement, missing persons, and law enforcement response to individuals with dementia and other developmental disabilities.
The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) administers the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Program. The Medal of Valor is the highest honor for public safety officers, and it was created when Congress passed The Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act of 2001. The President or Vice President award the medals annually to public safety officers who have exhibited exceptional courage, regardless of personal safety, in the attempt to save or protect human life.
The National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA) recently released a how to guide for state administering agencies (SAAs) titled “How and Why to Engage with Local Criminal Justice Planning Boards.” This guide provides case studies for four states on effective approaches to include diverse stakeholder groups in planning processes by engaging their Local Criminal Justice Planning Boards, often referred to as Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils.
With support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice operates the Conviction Review/Integrity Units Resource Center. “This Resource Center aggregates and organizes resources, best practices, and materials that Conviction Integrity Units and Conviction Review Units across the country have found valuable.