Research at the Office of Justice Programs (OJP)

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson has placed a priority on ensuring the integrity of, and respect for, science within OJP - including a focus on evidence-based, "smart on crime" approaches.

OJP includes multiple offices and bureaus that either directly support or directly benefit from research, statistics, and evaluation. The National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) perform research and statistical functions. OJJDP, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART) all work to translate the knowledge gained from research into programs and practice, via program funding, training, technical assistance, publications, and other tools. OJP offices and bureaus also collaborate to advance knowledge and practice through demonstration programs that use program evaluation to test the effectiveness of innovative or promising approaches. Read More.

Evidence Integration

OJP’s Evidence Integration Initiative (E2I) is focused on improving the synthesis and translation of social science research findings to inform practice and policy in criminal justice, juvenile justice, and victim services. CrimeSolutions.gov accomplishes this primarily by assessing the quality and findings of program evaluation evidence to try to answer the question "does this program work?"

But evidence derived from social science research extends beyond program evaluation. For example, statistical information answers questions about prevalence and distribution that may help prioritize and target issues of importance. Other types of social science research can investigate the nature and dynamics of justice issues, and answer questions like "why does it happen?" and "how does it happen?"

To examine this broad base of research and statistical findings and seek answers to a range of practical policy questions, OJP partnered with the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services and the Office on Violence Against Women to create two internal Evidence Integration Teams, which focused on two topic areas: gangs and children exposed to violence. These topical areas were selected because they present significant challenges for the field and are priorities for OJP.

Included in the resources below are highlights of the findings from these Evidence Integration Teams. The highlights are a brief glimpse into how a broad examination of evidence may be synthesized, summarized, and ultimately integrated into practice. OJP has already begun incorporating some of the teams’ findings into its programmatic and policy decisions and will continue to develop strategies to apply and share this information. Similarly, the information posted on CrimeSolutions.gov will continue to evolve as evidence integration activities continue.