Advancing Science: News from the NIJ Director

I'm looking forward to the International Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Conference in San Diego from October 14-17, where I’ll be presenting key NIJ research updates to the IACP Research Advisory Committee. Several NIJ staff members will participate in panel presentations, at which I will also be present, including:

• Sunday, October 15, 8:00 – 9:15 a.m. PST | What Do We Know About Policing in Schools?
• Sunday, October 15, 3:00 – 3:50 p.m. PST | Lessons Learned from Promoting Officer Health and Wellness
• Monday, October 16, 12:15 – 1:30 p.m. PST | From Evidence to Action: How Science Can Improve Police Effectiveness
• Tuesday, October 17, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. PST | Using Forensic Evidence to Guide Serial Violent Crime Investigation and Prevention

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I’m honored to join in the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month in recognition of the cultures and contributions of our Hispanic and Latino communities. At NIJ, we stand committed to ensuring an equitable criminal justice system through inclusive research, and there is much work to be done.

For example, a recent NIJ-supported study found that immigrant bias is a substantial driver of increased Latino victimization. The study offers key insights that can help reduce these negative sentiments.

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I’m pleased to share that a new NIJ podcast episode, “Cold Cases and Serial Killers,” has been released! Mark Greene, director of NIJ’s Office of Technology and Standards, hosts a conversation about NIJ’s key role in helping to solve cold cases, from DNA analysis research support to investments in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs).

Mark is joined by Lucas Zarwell, director of NIJ’s Office of Investigative and Forensic Sciences, and Eric Martin, a social science analyst in our Justice Systems Research Division.

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It was great to present on the international stage for the presidential plenary on crime indicators at the Eurocrim 2023 conference in Florence, Italy. Former BJS director Alex Piquero, Adrián Franco from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography in Mexico, and Marcelo Aebi from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland presented with me.

I spoke on the flaws in the data we use to identify crime indicators and what we can do to remedy them through NIJ’s five priority areas.