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  1. OJP National Institute of Justice shared a link.
    November 30
    Over Thirty Percent of San Diego’s Undocumented Workers Report Being Victims of Human Trafficking
    Human trafficking is a grim reality, and with so many of the victims hidden, the actual numbers can be difficult to estimate. But researcher...s at San Diego State University used advanced sampling methods and unique access to make a reliable estimate.

    Sheldon Zhang and his team interviewed 826 unauthorized, Spanish-speaking immigrant workers in San Diego County. They concluded that of the estimated 174,240 undocumented workers in San Diego County, as many as 31% have experienced an incident that meets the official definition of human trafficking.
    Learn more about human trafficking (http://go.usa.gov/gDg5)    See More
    Labor Trafficking | National Institute of Justice
    go.usa.gov
    According to a report from researchers at San Diego State University, approximately 38,000 unauthorized Spanish-speaking victims of human trafficking work in San Diego County, California. These workers, who represent 31 percent of unauthorized Spanish-speaking workers in the county, have experienced...
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  3. OJP National Institute of Justice shared a link.
    Yesterday
    A study in California found high-risk sex offenders monitored by global positioning systems (GPS) technology demonstrated significantly better outcomes than offenders who were monitored in traditional ways. The study found that GPS monitoring costs approximately $8.51 more per day than traditional supervision. The outcomes of GPS monitoring, however, were significantly better. Read the press release
    http://go.usa.gov/g9xm
    go.usa.gov
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  5. OJP National Institute of Justice shared a link.
    Wednesday
    Nationwide, mistaken eyewitness identifications have played a role in 75 percent of convictions later overturned because of DNA evidence, and criminal justice practitioners and researchers have a pervasive interest in finding ways to improve the methods used for eyewitness identifications.
    A study from the American Judicature Society investigated two lineup methods: Sequential, in which the witness views lineup members one at a time and makes a decision on each individual m...ember; and Simultaneous, in which the witness views the entire lineup at once.
    Past research using controlled laboratory experiments consistently showed that sequential methods yielded fewer mistaken identification. This study supports past research. The study found that sequential lineups significantly reduce the number of filler identifications without significantly reducing the number of accurate positive identifications. http://go.usa.gov/g9Tk    See More
    To Err is Human: Using Science to Reduce Mistaken Eyewitness Identifications Through Police Lineups.
    go.usa.gov
    Researchers take police lineup studies from the laboratory to the field.
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  8. OJP National Institute of Justice shared a link.
    Tuesday
    DNA for the Defense Bar is the newest addition to a series of NIJ guides that aims to improve the use of forensic DNA in the criminal justice system. Designed specifically for criminal defense lawyers, it:
    • Offers a primer on the science of DNA, from collection at a crime scene to laboratory analysis and findings.
    • Provides general discussions on working with a criminal defense client and preparing a defense, including the testimony of a DNA expert witness and cross-examining prosecution DNA witnesses.
    • Offers guidance regarding trial issues (for example, jury selection and opening and closing statements) and includes an in-depth discussion of the statistics with respect to CODIS match probabilities.
    • Includes a discussion of post-conviction DNA testing.
    http://go.usa.gov/g9rz
    DNA for the Defense Bar | National Institute of Justice
    go.usa.gov
    DNA for the Defense Bar is the newest addition to a series of NIJ guides that aims to improve the use of forensic DNA in the criminal justice system. Designed specifically for criminal defense lawyers, it:
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  9. OJP National Institute of Justice shared a link.
    December 17
    Prosecuting attorneys enjoy broad discretion in screening cases, charging offenders, plea bargaining, recommending sentences and dismissing cases. With NIJ grant funding, researchers at the Vera Institute of Justice collected information in two county prosecutor offices to study the influence of case characteristics and contextual constraints on prosecutorial decision-making.
    Information was collected through prosecutor case records, opinion and factorial surveys, interviews..., and focus groups. The participants included managers and prosecutors with different levels of experience to interpret findings on how factors are evaluated, and how formal and informal mechanisms regulate decisions.

    They found that objective strength of evidence was the determining factor in most screening decisions. That is, prosecutors first asked: Can I prove the case? Then contextual factors, including offense severity, criminal history and victim characteristics, were considered. In other words: Should I prove the case? All decisions were constrained by office policies, resources and working relationships with judges and other agencies — factors that should be considered in research on prosecution and case disposition. http://go.usa.gov/gphH    See More
    NCJRS Abstract - National Criminal Justice Reference Service
    go.usa.gov
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  10. OJP National Institute of Justice shared a link.
    December 17
    Watch these videos on the anatomy of prosecutorial discretion:
    - Prof. Don Stemen explains an analysis of prosecutorial decisionmaking
    - Judge Theodore McKee discusses consistency in prosecutorial decision making
    - Prosecutor Anne Swern dis...cusses how resource constraints affect prosecutor decisions
    -Prof. Thompson discusses factors other than strength of evidence on prosecutors' decisions.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVEr02Hm3iQ&feature=share&list=PLpIlUxHJ-xbr6FKxyLo42SXq8MKBX2rlz    See More
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  11. OJP National Institute of Justice
    December 15
    The horrific loss of lives in Connecticut saddens the entire country. We mourn with the families in Newtown.

    What can research tell us about such episodes? The data are clear: The percentage of children who are victims of homicide at school accounts for less than two percent of the total number of children who are killed each year, and child murder remains a rare event. Students are safer at sc...hool than they are away from school, according to survey findings. Semi-automatic handguns are the most commonly used weapon in mass shootings no matter where the shootings occurs. In the last decade, crime has declined in schools but we still face safety threats from bullying, harassment, and other types of school violence.    See More
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  12. OJP National Institute of Justice shared a link.
    December 14
    Backlogs are usually associated with cases waiting to be analyzed in crime laboratories. However, untested cases that may contain DNA evidence are also found in the evidence rooms of law enforcement agencies. Researchers who surveyed more t...han 2,000 law enforcement agencies across the country found that 14 percent of all unsolved homicides and 18 percent of unsolved rapes contained evidence that was not submitted by law enforcement agencies to crime labs for analysis.
    Investigating officers may not have sent the evidence to a crime laboratory for a number of reasons. For example, the case may have been adjudicated by plea bargain, the case may have been dismissed, the victim may have withdrawn the complaint, or the evidence collected may have been deemed nonprobative by investigators. Nevertheless, some of the untested evidence in police evidence rooms may contain probative forensic evidence and should have been submitted to a crime laboratory for analysis. http://go.usa.gov/g93z    See More
    http://go.usa.gov/g93z
    go.usa.gov
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  14. OJP National Institute of Justice shared a link.
    December 10
    Body Armor Challenge: Do you have a brilliant idea for ways that the internal integrity of body armor can be tested without destroying the vest? Then we want to hear from you! The deadline for NIJ’s $50,000 Body Armor Challenge is this Friday. Visit the Challenge website and get your idea submitted today! http://go.usa.gov/gDTT
    National Institute of Justice Body Armor Challenge: How Long Does Body Armor Really Last? | National
    go.usa.gov
    NIJ seeks viable solutions to determine whether the individual in-service body armor has maintained an acceptable level of ballistic performance to a high degree of certainty at any point during its service life and in a manner that does not render it unfit for continued use.
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  15. OJP National Institute of Justice shared a link.
    December 7
    Alfred Blumstein and colleague Kiminori Nakamura asked the question: Is it possible to determine empirically when it is no longer necessary for an employer to be concerned about a criminal record (arrest or conviction) in a prospective emp...loyee's past? If a person who’s served time stays arrest-free for some period of time, do the odds of further criminal activity go down?
    Two NIJ -funded studies now show that in most cases, if people stay clean for five years, their record is stale enough that most employers can consider it no longer useful for predicting future arrest. http://go.usa.gov/g8zH    See More
    'Redemption' in an Era of Widespread Criminal Background Checks | National Institute of Justice
    go.usa.gov
    Redemption in an Era of Widespread Criminal Background Checks
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  16. OJP National Institute of Justice shared a link.
    December 7
    Alfred Blumstein testifies about evidence on how criminal background checks affect employment: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Dec 7, 2012 at 9 a.m., 1331 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington DC. Read the press release. http://www.usccr.gov/press/2012/PR_11-29_CriminalBackgroundChecks.pdf
    http://www.usccr.gov/press/2012/PR_11-29_CriminalBackgroundChecks.pdf
    www.usccr.gov
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  17. OJP National Institute of Justice shared a link.
    December 7
    Conducted energy devices (CEDs), such as Tasers, can be an alternative to deadly force. They can help reduce injuries to officers and suspects alike. One NIJ study compared seven law enforcement agencies that use CEDs with six agencies that... do not. The researchers found a 70-percent decrease in officer injuries associated with the use of CEDs and a 40-percent decrease in suspect injuries associated with the use of CEDs.
    http://go.usa.gov/gDT3    See More
    Less-Lethal Technology: Conducted Energy Devices | National Institute of Justice
    go.usa.gov
    Law enforcement officers often use conducted energy devices (CEDs) to get noncompliant or hostile suspects to comply. CEDs, such as Tasers, induce involuntary muscle contractions, causing the suspect to be temporarily incapacitated.
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  18. OJP National Institute of Justice shared a link.
    December 6
    Adult women now make up about 7 percent of the total inmate population. Results from the evaluation of the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI) showed that women reported a significantly higher need for reentry services than men.
    There were no significant differences, however, in housing, family and peer relationships, physical and mental health, and recidivism. http://go.usa.gov/gD2F
    Improving Access to Services for Female Offenders Returning to the Community | National Institute of
    go.usa.gov
    An evaluation of re-entry services for female offenders shows that increasing access can lead to modest improvements in key areas.
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  19. OJP National Institute of Justice shared a link.
    December 6
    By addressing probation violations in a swift, certain and proportionate manner, Hawaii has reduced both violations and revocations of probation, allowing probationers to break the cycle of recidivism. NIJ's evaluation of the program found ...that it produced dramatic, positive results.
    But can Hawaii's success be duplicated? NIJ and the Bureau of Justice Assistance are collaborating to find out. The current experiment will compare and analyze how the program works in different jurisdictions and determine whether it can achieve the same success in other locations. http://go.usa.gov/gD2R    See More
    HOPE: A Swift and Certain Process for Probationers | National Institute of Justice
    go.usa.gov
    NIJ and the Bureau of Justice Assistance are collaborating to find out if a successful probation violation deterrence program from Hawaii can be implemented in other jurisdictions.
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  20. OJP National Institute of Justice shared a link.
    December 5
    "In the wake of the murder-suicide committed by Kansas City Chiefs Lineman Jovan Belcher, research can help us understand something about this extreme form of violence. Common characteristics of murder-suicide in families include prior his...tory of domestic violence, access to a gun, threats (especially increased threats with increased specificity), and prior history of poor mental health or substance abuse, especially alcohol.

    One study of 408 murder-suicides found that 91% of them were committed by men and a gun was used 88% of the time. The findings revealed that there was a history of domestic violence in more than half of the cases, although only a quarter of perpetrators had prior domestic violence arrests.

    Read NIJ Journal article, “Men Who Murder Their Families: What the Research Tells Us” for more details.

    Listen to a panel discussion by three experts. http://nij.ncjrs.gov/multimedia/video-men-who-murder.htm
    "    See More
    Men Who Murder Their Families: What the Research Tells Us | National Institute of Justice
    www.nij.gov
    NIJ hosts a forum to discuss the problem and the warning signs that foreshadow these events.
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  21. OJP National Institute of Justice shared a link.
    December 4
    "New applications for carbon dating are emerging in forensics. In recent years, forensic scientists have started to apply carbon-14 dating to cases in which they hope to find out the age of a skeleton or other unidentified human remains.
    F...orensic anthropologists at The University of Arizona wanted to find out if they could identify a person's year of birth or year of death using precise measurements of carbon-14 levels in different post-mortem tissues. They measured carbon-14 levels in various tissues from 36 humans whose birth and death dates were known. They found they could predict year of birth within 1.5 years using teeth and within 3 years using soft tissues (e.g., nails and hair). These body parts have radiocarbon levels identical to the contemporary atmosphere. http://go.usa.gov/gD2WSee More
    http://go.usa.gov/gD2W
    go.usa.gov
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  22. OJP National Institute of Justice shared a link.
    December 3
    A small study of the psychological effects of solitary confinement in Colorado prisons found that the mental health of most inmates did not decline over the course of the one-year study. Researchers were surprised to find that 20 percent of... the 247 men in the sample improved and 7 percent worsened during the study period according to their self-reports.
    Researchers wonder if the Hawthorne effect was present in the Colorado study. Did the prisoners have a more positive view of their situation by virtue of being study participants? We know that people in isolation might be more inclined to participate in a study simply because it would involve receiving attention from an interviewer. We also know that inmates can be wary of researchers. Establishing trust in order to collect accurate information is a prime concern for researchers because inmates may withhold information or tell researchers only what they think the researchers want to hear. http://go.usa.gov/gD4z    See More
    Study Raises Questions About Psychological Effects of Solitary Confinement | National Institute of J
    go.usa.gov
    A small study of administrative segregation surprised researchers with findings that were inconsistent with those from previous studies.
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