The National Public Safety Partnership (PSP) provides an innovative framework to enhance federal support of state, local, and tribal law enforcement and prosecution authorities in aggressively investigating and prosecuting violent criminals. PSP’s strategic focus emphasizes the U.S. Department of Justice’s priority to reduce violent crime by providing critical capacity-building resources to law enforcement and prosecutors to increase public safety in local communities. PSP has proven to be a successful model for enhancing participating sites’ crime-fighting capacity. The PSP program is part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods suite of programs, which is focused on reducing violent crime. 

If interested in applying to participate in this opportunity, complete the Statement of Interest and submit to BJA NTTAC at BJANTTAC@ojp.usdoj.gov by 11:59 p.m., ET, on Friday, June 1, 2018. 

The Justice Clearinghouse is hosting a no-cost social media bootcamp webinar, during which participants will get a tour of the major platforms, including Twitter, Instagram, Nextdoor, Snapchat, and Facebook.  The webinar will provide a helpful list of best practices for each platform that government agencies can use to improve engagement within their respective communities. 

The Justice Clearinghouse is a community of justice and public safety professionals.  The organization advocates an interdisciplinary approach to understanding and resolving the challenges affecting the justice arena.

Date:  May 29, 2018

Time: 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m., ET

Join the Bureau of Justice Assistance National Training and Technical Assistance Center for the webinar “Enhancing Law Enforcement’s Analytical Capacity: Technology Integration in West Memphis, Arkansas” on Thursday, May 31, 2018 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., ET. During this webinar, presenters from the West Memphis, Arkansas, National Public Safety Partnership (PSP) site and the West Memphis, Arkansas, Police Department will review a recent technology integration effort undertaken by the department to enhance its data-driven policing mission.

This webinar will share how the recent technology integration effort undertaken by the West Memphis, Arkansas, Police Department, as part of the West Memphis, Arkansas, PSP, enhanced its data-driven policing mission. Participants will learn how the agency implemented an innovative software program that integrated disparate data systems into one searchable and analyzable application. Presenters will also discuss key strategies and lessons learned for law enforcement technology and data integration projects that can be applied to other jurisdictions nationwide.

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the research, development, and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice.

NIJ is dedicated to improving knowledge and understanding of crime and justice issues through science. NIJ seeks to provide objective and independent knowledge and tools to inform the decision making of the criminal justice community to reduce crime and advance justice, particularly at the state and local levels.

NIJ is seeking applicants for the 2018 class of Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS)  Scholars program. Applicants should be mid-career, in-the-ranks leaders within their agencies and have a personal dedication to advancing the policing field through research. Applicants must be sworn officers and cannot be current NIJ grantees.

The LEADS Scholars program grew out of a desire to support and develop the next generation of law enforcement leadership in America. In 2014, NIJ partnered with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) to establish an annual award of ten, three-year scholarships for research-minded law enforcement officers. The program has since grown to 40 men and women officers across the country, who have formed a strong network of individuals committed to using evidence and data to inform law enforcement policy and practice.  LEADS Scholars are pioneers in the evidence-based policing movement who present and publish frequently about their research and findings.

Policing is an occupation that's not only dangerous in the street, it's psychologically dangerous and you need to provide some services to help them deal with this.  Services like psychologists, there are plenty of police psychologists out there now in many of the departments that help.  Services like peer support groups.  Peer support works very well because it's officers talking to officers and they have a better understanding of the job, and a lot of officers like using peer support when they have a problem.

~Dr. John Violanti, University of Buffalo  

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) is the component of the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for advancing the practice of community policing by the nation’s state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement agencies through information and grant resources.

In a podcast offered by the COPS Office as part of its monthly podcast series, The Beat, Dr. John Violanti, a research professor at the University of Buffalo and retired New York State police trooper, discusses his research on police health, police stress, and suicide, as well as the need for departments to support officer mental health and wellness. In 2017, more officers committed suicide than were killed in the line of duty.

One of Dr. Violanti’s current research efforts is examining the suicide rate of police officers versus the general population as a way to determine whether and how departments can utilize the data to improve mental health services for officers.