NIJ: Research and Evaluation of Policing Practices

Topics

• Topic 1: Police Conduct and Police-Community Interactions
  • NIJ invites proposals that examine the impact of training, policies, practices, and strategies designed to improve police conduct, reduce use of force, and/or improve the frequency of respectful interactions between police and community members. Proposals that examine the impact of more robust and quantifiable community engagement efforts (both agency-wide and officer-specific) are of particular interest. Successful proposals should explore multiple outcomes including public safety, community perceptions, and officer behaviors.
• Topic 2: Officer Safety, Health, and Wellness
  • NIJ seeks proposals that examine the impact of health and wellness programs (e.g., resiliency training, stress management, and chronic disease management or reduction through diet and physical activity) in reducing officer levels of stress; physical inactivity and obesity; mental health disorders, substance use, burnout, and suicide; and promoting overall health, wellbeing, and performance. NIJ is particularly interested in developing knowledge on the impact of wellness programs and revisions to workplace culture and policies and practices related to recruitment and retention.
• Topic 3: Criminal Investigations
  • NIJ invites proposals to develop a more current and robust knowledge base on the effectiveness of specific strategies and policies designed to improve clearance rates for both property and violence crime. Although evaluations of interventions that measure outcomes such as increases in investigative efficiencies or collection of evidence are welcomed, priority will be given to proposals that examine both intervening variables and case clearances. Possible topics include strategies to triage evidence collection and analysis; changes in organizational hierarchical structures or uses of detectives, civilian investigators and/or analysts, and/or support personnel; strategies for major crime investigations among small and/or rural agencies; agency partnerships (e.g., intra-, or cross-jurisdictional task forces) to improve information sharing and intelligence generation; and technologies to enhance crime scene evidence collection.
• Topic 4: Alternative Traffic Enforcement Models
  • NIJ seeks proposals that explore the impacts of alternative traffic enforcement models, including those that shift enforcement responsibilities for some traffic violations to non-sworn officers or other departments, guide sworn officers in restricting the types of violations that merit a vehicle stop, and/or focus on a less punitive response to traffic violations, such as voucher programs to fix broken vehicle equipment in lieu of a citation. Successful proposals should measure impacts on law enforcement, the public, and traffic safety.

Funding Information

Estimated Total Program Funding: $5,000,000.

Grant Period

60 months.

Eligibility Criteria 

• Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
• For profit organizations other than small businesses
• Independent school districts
• Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
• Private institutions of higher education
• Special district governments
• Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
• County governments
• Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
• Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
• Small businesses
• State governments
• City or township governments
• Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
• For the purposes of this NOFO, “state” means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.