GENERAL PROVISIONS (CJS)
B. Research, Evaluation, and Statistics (Dollars in Thousands)
1. Account Description
OJP requests $151.9 million for the Research, Evaluation, and Statistics appropriation account, which is $40.9 million above the FY 2015 Enacted funding level. This account includes
programs that provide grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements for research, development, and evaluation; development and dissemination of quality statistical and scientific information;
and nationwide support for law enforcement agencies.
Through leadership, funding, and technical support, OJP plays a significant role in the research and evaluation of new technologies to assist law enforcement, corrections personnel, and courts in protecting the public. OJP also guides the development of new techniques and technologies in the areas of crime prevention, forensic science, and violence and victimization research. The research and statistical data compiled by OJP are used at all levels of government to guide decision-making and planning efforts related to law enforcement, courts, corrections and other criminal justice issues.
Some key programs funded under this appropriation account include:
• The Research, Development, and Evaluation program supports the core mission of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), which serves as the research and development arm of the Department of Justice, as authorized by 42 U.S.C. 3721-3723. With this funding, NIJ enhances the administration of justice and public safety by providing objective, Research, Evaluation, and Statistics-Information
Technology Breakout (of Decision Unit Total) Direct
Pos. Estimate
FTE Amount
2014 Enacted 2,734
2015 Enacted 1,840
Adjustments to Base and Technical Adjustments 0
2016 Current Services 1,840
2016 Program Increases 2,266
2016 Request $4,106
Total Change 2015-2016 2,266
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independent, evidence-based knowledge and tools to meet the modern challenges of crime and justice at the state, local and tribal levels. NIJ products support practitioners and policy makers across the country, enabling the use of approaches supporting the goals of the Department’s Smart on Crime Initiative.
In FY 2016, NIJ will maintain its commitment to informing criminal justice practice and policy by supporting high-quality research, development, and evaluation in the forensic, social, and physical sciences. NIJ’s program plan for FY 2016 embraces five important goals:
o Continue to research and evaluate innovative programs, tools, and strategies that provide effective ways to prevent crime and to deliver justice.
o Develop, refine, and test innovative technology to protect law enforcement officers.
o Support basic and applied research to strengthen the science of forensics.
o Build on the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences report to
“Strengthen the National Institute of Justice.”
o Develop and support strong partnerships to leverage federal research resources.
• The Criminal Justice Statistics Program is the base program of the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), one of 13 federal statistical agencies and the principal federal statistical agency of the Department of Justice as authorized by 42 U.S.C. 3731-3735. Data provided by federal statistical agencies allows the Administration to govern effectively, make policy, manage programs, and evaluate progress toward goals. The
Administration has placed evidence-driven decisions at the heart of its agenda, and refocused a spotlight on the federal statistical system and the role that federal statistics play in the policymaking process. BJS’ national statistical collections provide the data infrastructure, supporting the Administration’s commitment to focus on data-driven approaches to reduce crime consistent with the goals of the Department’s Smart on Crime Initiative.
In FY 2016, BJS funding will support ongoing activities and programs focused on key aspects of the nation’s criminal justice system, including:
o Recidivism, reentry and other special projects;
o Prosecution and adjudication;
o Criminal justice data improvement programs;
o Victimization statistics;
o Law Enforcement statistics;
o Corrections statistics;
o Publication and dissemination of statistical information;
o Federal statistical programs and initiatives.
Additionally, OJP expects to support ongoing projects as well as efforts described below via a three percent set-aside for research, evaluation, or statistical purposes:
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o Multi-year Evaluation Plan for BJA Programs: NIJ and BJS will provide technical leadership and BJA will provide subject matter and stakeholder perspectives
support evaluation efforts designed to demonstrate the efficacy of various OJP grant programs. The evaluation plan will identify major research questions, opportunities to leverage existing data collections and preliminary designs for later phases of evaluation beyond year one. The evaluation effort would consist of a combination of field demonstrations, evaluations of projects, and analysis of statistical data to build knowledge about BJA program outcomes.
o Statistical Programs and Collections: This ongoing effort will document the extent to which the statistical programs and collections of OJP are carried out in a manner that demonstrates the Attorney General’s commitment to scientific integrity. This assessment will document the existence and adequacy of the policies and practices that align with the Administration’s Scientific Integrity guidance; the National Academy of Science’s Principles and Practices of a Statistical Agency; and other applicable guidance.
o National Academy of Sciences study of current and future crime data needs: BJS, in collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Criminal Justice Services Division, National Academy of Sciences, and National Research Council, to convene an expert panel that will assess and make recommendations for the development of a modern set of crime measures in the United States.
o Continuing to build a system of incident level law enforcement administrative records: BJS is working to develop information sharing arrangements with a national sample of law enforcement agencies to provide incident-level data on offenses known to these agencies. This program will provide statistical data on crimes, victims, offenders and the social context of crime for a nationally representative sample of jurisdictions that can be used for be used for planning, evaluation, research and statistical purposes.
o Center for the Collection and Analysis of Administrative Data on Crime, Recidivism and Re-entry: BJS and NIJ will sponsor a collaborative project for developing data on recidivism and re-entry and encouraging research on recidivism using those data.
o Metropolitan Crime Consortia: Using Administrative Data to Measure, Prevent, and Reduce Crime: A major impediment to research on crime and crime prevention is the absence of incident level, geographically identified police data for a large number of jurisdictions. NIJ and BJS will work with their state, local, and tribal partners to build data centers in large jurisdictions that can develop useful information products for contributing police agencies.
o Victimization: NIJ will continue to support research on victimization and victim services. The focus for this research is broad. Particular topics of interest are the intersection of race, ethnicity and violent victimization; effectiveness of services for
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victims of violent crime; victim/offender overlap; and sexual orientation and/or gender identity and violent victimization.
o Translational Criminology: Use, Acquisition, and Interpretation of Research Evidence: NIJ plans to continue to support innovative research, which seeks to bridge the gap between research, implementation, and policy and practice.
For additional information and a complete listing of OJP programs, please visit http://www.ojp.gov.
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Performance and Resource Tables 4.
PERFORMANCE AND RESOURCES TABLE Appropriation: Research, Evaluation, and Statistics (formerly Justice Assistance)
DOJ Goal and Objective: Goal 3, Objective 3.1
WORKLOAD/RESOURCES Target Actual Projected Changes Requested (Total)
FY 2014 FY 2014 FY 2015 Current Services
Adjustments and FY
2016 Program Changes FY 2016 Request Workload
Number of solicitations released on time versus planned 31 41 TBD1 TBD1
Percent of awards made against plan 90% 101% TBD1 TBD1
Total Dollars Obligated $120,000 $136,493 $111,000 40,900 $151,900
-Grants $103,752 $91,288 $74,370 27,403 $101,773
-Non-Grants $16,248 $45,205 $36,630 13,497 $50,127
Percent of Dollars Obligated to Funds Available in the FY
-Grants 86% 67% 67% 67% 67%
-Non-Grants 14% 33% 33% 33% 33%
Total Costs and FTE
(reimbursable FTE are included, but reimbursable costs are bracketed and not included in the total)
FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000 FTE $000
$120,000 $136,493 $111,000 $40,900 $151,900
STRATEGIC
OBJECTIVE TYPE PERFORMANCE FY 2014 FY 2014 FY 2015 Current Services
Adjustments and FY
2016 Program Changes FY 2016 Request
3.1 Long
Term Outcome
Average number of user sessions per month on BJS and BJS-sponsored websites, including datasets accessed and downloaded via the Internet [BJS]2
500,000 422,519 536,0003 14,000 550,000
3.1 Annual
Outcome
Citations of BJS data in social science journals, and publications of secondary analysis using BJS data [BJS]
Number of technologies fielded as a result (in whole or in part) of work
funded under the NIJ award [NIJ] 37 31 45 -15 30
1 FY 2015 and FY 2016 targets will be established upon appropriation of FY 2015 and FY 2016 funds
2 This measure was affected by: adoption of Google analytics (instead of Webtrends); movement to a different BJS website; a more precise measure of dataset downloads; API traffic will begin to be reported; and, affiliated websites will be relaunched (i.e. Fedstats and Data.gov). BJS is examining the expansion of its outcome measures and some refinement to existing measures and is exploring a redefinition of performance measures to better align with its operational efforts.
3This measure is undergoing revalidation at this time.
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PERFORMANCE MEASURE TABLE
Appropriation: Research, Evaluation, and Statistics (formerly Justice Assistance) (Bureau of Justice Statistics – BJS) DOJ Goal and Objective: Goal 3, Objective 3.1
Strategic
objective Performance Report and Performance Plan Targets FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016
Actual Actual Actual Actual Target Actual Target Target
3.1 Outcome Average number of user sessions per month on BJS and BJS-sponsored
websites, including datasets accessed and downloaded via the Internet3 373,4132 288,7282 472,884 482,056 500,000 422,519 536,000 550,000
3.1 Output Agency-level response rate 98.3% 94.76 98% 94% 98% 91% 98% 98%
3.1 Output Citizen-level response rate 92.3% 85.20 86.4% 87% 93% 88% 93% 95%
3.1 Outcome Citations of BJS data in social science journals, and publications of
secondary analysis using BJS data1 1,514 1,795 1,121 2,255 1,600 2,480 1,700 1,700
3.1 Outcome Congressional record and testimony citing BJS data 15 9 17 13 17 13 17 18
3.1 Outcome Federal and state court opinions citing BJS data 23 8 11 26 25 43 25 25
3.1 Efficiency Index of operational efficiency 18.7 13.3 21.58 22.17 24.5 TBD4 24.0 24
3.1 Outcome Number of products that BJS makes available online 16,722 16,790 16,461 17,728 17,325 18,078 17,325 TBD
3.1 Output Number of reports issued within one month of the expected release date 7 5 16 20 7 7 7 7
3.1 Outcome Number of requests to seek correction of BJS data in accordance with
the BJS Data Quality Guidelines 4 6 0 0 0 1 0 0
3.1 Outcome Number of scheduled data collection series and special analyses to be
conducted 22 19 19 33 21 24 20 TBD
N/A = Data unavailable
1 Reflects less than full year data due to dysfunctional web analytical services provided to BJS.
2 Reflects less than full year data.
3 Beginning with FY 2014, these measures will be affected by: adoption of Google analytics (instead of Webtrends); movement to a different BJS website; a more precise measure of dataset downloads;
API traffic will begin to be reported; and, affiliated websites will be relaunched (i.e. Fedstats and Data.gov). BJS is examining the expansion of its outcome measures and some refinement to existing measures and is exploring a redefinition of performance measures to better align with its operational efforts.
4 This measure is undergoing revalidation.
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PERFORMANCE MEASURE TABLE
Appropriation: Research, Evaluation, and Statistics (formerly Justice Assistance) (National Institute of Justice – NIJ) DOJ Goal and Objective: Goal 3, Objective 3.1
Strategic
Objective Performance Report and Performance Plan Targets FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016
Actual Actual Actual Actual Target Actual Target Target
3.1 Outcome Number of citations of NIJ products in
peer reviewed journals 305 295 298 293 130 485 137 137
3.1 Outcome Number of technologies fielded as a result (in whole or in part) of work
funded under the NIJ award3 31 38 38 25 37 31 45 30
3.1 Outcome Number of scholarly products that resulted in whole or in part from work
funded under the NIJ award.1 N/A N/A N/A N/A 300 93 315 315
3.1 Outcome Number of new NIJ final grant reports, NIJ research documents, and grantee
research documents published2 173 204 273 237 300 272 N/A2 N/A2
N/A = Data unavailable
1 This measure was established in FY 2014. This measure’s revision reflects performance measure updates in the Research, Development, and Evaluation solicitations. Scholarly products refer to published, peer-reviewed, scientific journal articles, and/or (as appropriate for the funded project) law review journal articles, book chapter(s) or book(s) in the academic press, technological prototypes, patented inventions, or similar scientific products
2 This measure was discontinued in FY 20153This measure was revised to clarify the types of technologies fielded
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