The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) announced the launch of the Human Trafficking Capacity Building Center website as part of the commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.  Operated by OVC, the center seeks to strengthen human trafficking victim services in the United States by delivering free coaching, mentoring, and a resource library for organizations and federally recognized tribes looking to start, sustain, or grow their anti-trafficking work.  The center offers help in several other areas, including financial management, community partnerships, delivery of victim services, and more.

This webinar, hosted by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), is the first in a two-part series summarizing the newest findings of one of the NIJ-funded research projects, titled “The Nature, Trends, Correlates, and Prevention of Mass Public Shootings in America, 1976–2019.”  The panel of renowned experts will discuss the nature and contagion of mass public shootings and what to anticipate in the future based on an innovative forecasting technique.  The panel will also address what researchers have learned about the mass public shootings that have occurred and those that have been averted, as well as the effect of state gun laws on mass public shootings.  A follow-up discussion will center around implications the findings have for the criminal justice system and on prevention.

When: Tuesday, November 17, 2020 
Time:  2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m., ET

This webinar, hosted by the Justice Clearinghouse, discusses strategies to identify and remove the most violent offenders from the public that are perpetrating gun violence.  Concentrated efforts in smaller jurisdictions can make a measurable difference in violent crime rates.  Partnerships with federal and state agencies are a great benefit to making these strategies work.  Communicating the results of your efforts to the community is vital both through meetings and the media.  Conviction statistics with prison time is much more powerful than reporting arrests. 

When:  Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Time:  1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m., ET

For agencies looking for additional resources, the National Public Safety Partnership (PSP) has a toolkit available on violence reduction that could benefit all agencies, including smaller departments. The Local Crime Gun Intelligence Center Integration Initiative, administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance and in partnership with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, can also be helpful for agencies dealing with violent crime related to firearms. 

With the guidance and support of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Institute for Intergovernmental Research is seeking to support state, local, and tribal governments in purchasing drug take-back equipment, enabling law enforcement agencies, first responders, and/or citizens to destroy and/or return unused medicine.  The program complements existing federal take-back efforts, such as National Take Back Day, and expands this important component in a community’s fight against substance abuse into a year-round opportunity.  The Comprehensive Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Program will fund selected sites for the sole purpose of purchasing storage and disposal equipment (including traditional boxes, disposal pouches, and other innovative approaches) for drug take-back and disposal projects. State, local, and tribal governments selected through the program will be expected to coordinate their activities with multidisciplinary teams drawn from their communities in order to maximize the awareness and effectiveness of their projects.

Closing Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, and published by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Education Development Center, and the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, this report outlines recommendations developed by experts in law enforcement, suicide prevention, mental health, and more to advance the profession’s suicide prevention efforts and support a culture of safety and wellness.  These recommendations pull from evidence-based research to provide the most robust and timely information available to address the mental wellness needs of our nation’s officers.