National Institute of Justice

February is National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month.

Teen dating violence has only recently been recognized as a significant public health problem. It is a complex phenomenon that is not fully understood. It involves both physical and emotional abuse. Emotional abuse is far more common: between two and three in 10 adolescents report being verbally or psychologically abused by their partner.

• Read an article in the NIJ Journal
• Read about a workshop to set a research agenda

Attending AAFS in Seattle?

Make sure you include NIJ's General Forensics Research and Development Grantees Meeting in your agenda!

Researchers will present on their current NIJ-funded projects, including research in fire and arson investigation, fundamental forensic research, forensic chemistry and forensic anthropology.

Learn more about the meeting.

January through May is solicitation season at NIJ.

New solicitations are now being released regularly. (Funding is subject to Congressional appropriations.)

Get an e-mail alert when one is released.

• View NIJ's funding page for current and forthcoming solicitations.
• View a list of OJP’s forthcoming solicitations, called the OJP Program Plan.

Law enforcement officers who are the first to arrive at a crime scene increasingly come across electronic devices ranging from computers to cell phones. Making the wrong move could destroy valuable electronic evidence. If a computer is running, is it better to turn it off or leave it on? The frustrating answer is: It depends.

NIJ has published a pocketsize book that serves as a quick guide to electronic devices: Electronic Crime Scene Investigation: An On-the-Scene Reference for First Responders.

Law enforcement agencies can order hard copies or simply download it immediately.

NIJ develops standards for the ballistic and stab resistance of body armor and sponsors testing against those standards.

Ballistic Resistance

• Review the ballistic resistance standard
• Find models complying with NIJ Standard-0101.06 for Ballistic-Resistance of Body Armor Exit Notice
• Find models complying with the NIJ 2005 Interim Requirements for Bullet-Resistant Armor Exit Notice

Stab Resistance

• Review the stab resistance standard
• 2005 Standard-0115.00, Stab Resistance of Personal Body Armor Exit Notice

Learn more about NIJ and body armor.

NIJ's Mapping and Analysis for Public Safety (MAPS) program supports research that helps agencies use GIS to enhance public safety.

Visit the MAPS program or learn about mapping and analysis by registering for a free course or reading these seminal NIJ works:

• Take a Free Course
• Mapping Crime: Principles and Practice
• Mapping Crime: Understanding Hot Spots

Learn more about the NIJ MAPS Program.