This report presents findings from an expert panel that explored ways to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the handling of technical violations of probation and parole — violations that, while not criminal, can be a driver of incarceration.
Gainful employment is a key factor in reducing recidivism, but individuals released from federal prisons face significant barriers to employment. This report presents findings from a workshop held to explore related challenges and opportunities.
As cryptocurrency is increasingly used for both legitimate business transactions and illegal activities, law enforcement must adapt. In this report, researchers describe cryptocurrency-related research and development needs for law enforcement.
On behalf of the National Institute of Justice, RTI International and the RAND Corporation convened a panel of experts to discuss challenges and potential solutions to developing and using a national data collection of law enforcement–related deaths.
Law enforcement communications staff are crucial to meeting public expectations for transparency and responsiveness to concerns, but little is known about their needs. Researchers held a workshop to identify priorities for improving the profession.
Despite widespread use of intimate partner abuse solution programs by court systems and communities, there remains limited information on their effectiveness. The authors convened a panel of experts to better understand the needs of these programs.
The corrections sector increasingly uses technology to provide supervision services and programs for individuals reentering the community after incarceration. Experts identified strategies for employing technology to improve reentry outcomes.
In this report, RAND researchers investigate the intersections between substance use disorder and sex trafficking and discuss how these issues complicate victims' identification and screening and their ability to access treatment and legal remedies.
Increased access to technology and corresponding increases in computer-facilitated crime have resulted in a greater number of tech-savvy individuals under supervision. Experts identified strategies to help officers manage their online activity.
This brief highlights the challenges that the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic posed for law enforcement agencies, how they adapted to those challenges, and a discussion of which adaptations might hold promise after the pandemic.
This brief highlights the challenges that the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic posed for the court system, how courts adapted to those challenges, and a discussion of which adaptations might hold promise after the pandemic.
This brief highlights the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic created, shows how corrections agencies adapted to the challenges, describes which adaptations may hold promise, and provides evaluations to demonstrate the efficacy of such adaptations.
This brief highlights the challenges that the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic posed for community supervision organizations, how they adapted to those challenges, and a discussion of which adaptations might hold promise after the pandemic.
This brief highlights the challenges that the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic posed for victims services providers, describes how they adapted to those challenges, and discusses which adaptations might hold promise after the pandemic.
As the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, stakeholders have an opportunity to reimagine the justice system. This brief presents key lessons learned and recommendations from participants in workshops related to different aspects of the justice system.
Online dispute resolution provides a forum for the resolution of court matters that was especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic. A panel of experts identified strategies to improve access to justice using these platforms.
The Priority Criminal Justice Needs Initiative convened a set of workshops with justice practitioners to take stock of responses to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. They identified key challenges, system innovations, and lessons for the future.
Data from wearable sensor technologies (WSTs) could be used to assess and improve police officer health and well-being. A panel of experts identified ways to implement WSTs in law enforcement settings, evaluate them, and obtain buy-in from officers.
Prison systems are underresourced and might lack the capacity to implement risk and needs assessments that reduce recidivism. A panel of experts identified ways to address and improve the use of these tools in prisons.
Police often are the first (and sometimes the only) point of government contact for persons experiencing homelessness. A panel of experts identified ways to address and improve their response to homelessness.
Autonomous vehicles promise many benefits, but questions remain about how law enforcement officers will interact with them. A panel of experts identified ways to address this challenge.
Online platforms that enable users to interact virtually have given rise to new methods of perpetrating harassment and other criminal behaviors that compromise victims' privacy and safety. A panel of experts identified ways to address this challenge.
Driving under the influence of drugs is a serious and growing threat to public safety. Addressing these cases involves identifying impairment and presenting complex evidence in court. A panel of experts identified ways to address this challenge.
Jails produce vast amounts of data because of the expanding scope of services they are expected to provide. However, most jails are not using these data to improve operations or outcomes. A panel of experts identified ways to address this challenge.
In this report, the authors draw on panel discussions from the five-year Priority Criminal Justice Needs Initiative and focus on needs that apply to law enforcement, the courts, and corrections agencies.
Since 2015, the Priority Criminal Justice Needs Initiative has published more than 20 reports identifying and prioritizing criminal justice needs for innovation. This product provides a database of all of the needs generated during the Initiative.
In 2018, the Priority Criminal Justice Needs Initiative convened a workshop to explore the use of telepresence technology in the courtroom. Participants expressed the need for research-driven utilization to ensure that its full potential is realized.
An expert workshop of federal, state, and local law enforcement practitioners and researchers explored how law enforcement agencies should conduct criminal investigations while dealing with evidence on the dark web.
An expert workshop of correctional administrators and researchers explored how technology can be used to address key challenges faced by community corrections agencies.
An expert panel of law enforcement leaders identified promising efforts to combat the opioid crisis, including connecting people to needed medications, effectively collaborating to achieve community buy-in, and protecting officers on the front lines.
This report presents challenges and needs associated with threats to correctional institution safety and security. The authors sought to identify the key needs associated with mitigating the risks of these threats.
An expert panel of law enforcement leaders identified challenges facing law enforcement today, and their priorities are presented in this report. Panel members discussed needs for innovation that, if pursued, might help resolve those challenges.
In March 2018, the Priority Criminal Justice Needs Initiative convened an expert panel to identify priority needs and solutions for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the prosecutorial component of the criminal justice system.
This report presents the challenges and needs associated with how individuals with serious mental illness become justice-involved and how to achieve better outcomes before and after these individuals come under correctional control.
Video technology is changing the ways that law enforcement works and interacts with the public. In this report, the authors explore some of the challenges posed and innovation needs in this emerging area.
This report, informed by a panel of experts, focuses on the challenges and opportunities related to building and maintaining a high-quality correctional workforce and provides a list of needs to inform concerned communities and stakeholders.
This report describes the proceedings of an April 2017 expert workshop on the use of social media and social network analysis in law enforcement.
Researchers discuss the challenge of accessing data in remote data centers, summarize the discussion of an expert panel, and provide a list of needs identified and prioritized by the panel to inform concerned communities and stakeholders.
In this report, an expert panel identifies ways that electronic communication can impact the right to a fair trial and recommends strategies to protect witnesses from intimidation and jurors from compromising their independence.
This report reviews the current and projected status of wearable technologies with potential for use by law enforcement and describes three conceptual integrated vest systems that incorporate these technologies.
Presents the results of an expert panel focused on identifying and prioritizing ways to reduce mortality occurring in correctional facilities.
To contribute to the policy debate on corrections, RAND interviewed a group of prominent correctional practitioners, consultants, and academics. This report outlines their perspectives on the state of corrections and their vision for the future.
Presents the results a 2016 workshop in which a panel of law enforcement experts identifies high-priority needs for innovation in law enforcement, covering advances in technology, policy, and practice.
In this report, RAND researchers, with the help of an advisory panel, craft a research agenda to prepare the U.S. legal system to address the effects of emerging technologies on individuals' constitutional rights, especially to due process.
This report describes the finding of an expert panel convened in September 2015 to discuss how law enforcement can best leverage future communications capabilities anticipated to be fielded over the next 10 to 15 years.
The report categorizes school safety technologies, summarizes research on school violence, presents six case studies of innovative technologies, and summarizes experts' views of technologies and safety problems and their rankings of technology needs.
The U.S. courts sector is challenged by high caseloads, resource constraints, and other trends, and this report seeks to frame an innovation agenda by identifying and prioritizing potential improvements in technology, policy, and practice.
This report addresses ways to increase information-sharing among law enforcement's records management systems, computer-aided dispatch systems, and other key regional, state, and federal information repositories.
This report discusses the technologies, needs, and overarching themes that were discussed during a RAND-conducted expert panel on the criminal justice community's need to take advantage of (and mitigate threats from) emerging web technologies.
This report describes results of a research effort to identify and prioritize criminal justice needs related to digital evidence collection, management, analysis, and use.
Describes the results of a July 2014 workshop in which a diverse group of law enforcement practitioners explored future visions of law enforcement and identified and prioritized needs in technology, policy, and practice based on those visions.
This study reports on strategic planning activities undertaken to support the National Institute of Justice in the area of information technology, collecting and analyzing data on law enforcement needs, and identifying potential solutions.
The U.S. corrections enterprise is challenged by a variety of demographic, societal, and fiscal trends, and this report seeks to frame an innovation agenda by identifying and prioritizing potential improvements in technology, policy, and practice.
