Office of
                        Justice Programs
                                
                   Annual Report to Congress
                                
                        Fiscal Year 2000
                                
                                
                                













     The Office of Justice Programs is pleased to present its Annual Report for the Fiscal Year
2000.  During FY 2000, OJP continued its established programs, but also expanded into new
areas relevant to criminal justice policy. 

     OJP developed several new initiatives in FY 2000.  The Department's National Institute
of Justice, along with the Office of National Drug Control Policy, presented the
Methamphetamine Interagency Task Force Final Report, whose findings will further enable local
communities to curb methamphetamine use and its effects.  Moreover, OJP improved its use of
technology designed to assist local law enforcement and corrections personnel.  FY 2000 was the
first year the Department was able to implement the Crime Identification Technology Act, which
funds information systems and identification technologies that enhance local authorities' ability
to reduce and prevent crime.  OJP also awarded grants to combat Internet crimes against children
under its Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program.  OJP continued to make more
applications for its grant programs available on-line, including the Bulletproof Vest Program,
Local Law Enforcement Block Grant Program, Executive Office of Weed and Seed grants, Drug
Courts Implementation grants, equipment grants to support first responders in preparation of a
domestic terrorism event, Residential Substance Abuse and Treatment Program, and violence
against women grant programs, among others.

     This Annual Report provides an array of information about OJP's programs to the
Congress and the public, however, additional resources are also available.  Throughout this
report, you will find lists of publications to refer to for further information on specific issues. 
Other resources also include OJP's Website (www.ojp.usdoj.gov) and the Department's
clearinghouses and offices, whose contact information is provided at the end of this report.

     OJP looks forward to cooperating with the Congress, along with other federal agencies at
all levels of government and within the community, in our ongoing effort to ensure that
American communities remain safe.





                                   
                       Table of Contents
                                


Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

1: THE OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

2: Empowering Communities to Address Crime . . . . . . . . . . 11

3: Breaking the Cycle of Substance Abuse and Crime . . . . . . 23

4: Combating Family Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

5: Addressing Youth Crime. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

6: Managing Offenders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

7: Protecting and Supporting Victims of Crime. . . . . . . . . 68

8: Enhancing Technology's Use in Addressing Crime. . . . . . . 75

9: Enhancing Law Enforcement Initiatives . . . . . . . . . . . 90

10: Countering Terrorism & Ensuring
     Domestic Preparedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100

For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107




1
                 The Office of Justice Programs
                                
                                
                                
                                
                          OJP'S MISSION

To provide federal leadership in
developing the nation's capacity to
prevent and control crime,
administer justice, and assist crime
victims.


                            OJP GOALS

         To identify, define, and
     promote the understanding
     of critical crime,
     delinquency, and justice
     issues.

         To develop, support, and
     evaluate promising and
     innovative strategies for
     ensuring safe and just
     communities and assisting
     victims of crime.

         To build partnerships that
     strengthen federal, state,
     and local government and
     community capacities.

         To ensure a fair workplace
     that maximizes each
     employee's contribution to
     the overall mission and
     goals of OJP.  


     Since 1984, the Office of Justice
Programs (OJP) has provided federal
leadership in developing the nation's
capacity to prevent and control crime,
improve the criminal and juvenile justice
systems, increase knowledge about crime
and related issues, aid crime victims, and
assist state and local jurisdictions to better
ensure public safety.  

     OJP is led by an Assistant
Attorney General (AAG), who is
responsible for the overall management
and oversight of OJP.  The AAG sets
policy and ensures that OJP policies and
programs reflect the priorities of the
President, the Attorney General, and the
Congress.  

     The AAG promotes coordination
among the bureaus and offices within
OJP.  Five bureaus   the Bureau of Justice
Assistance, the Bureau of Justice
Statistics, the National Institute of Justice,
the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention, and the Office
for Victims of Crime   administer federal
grant, training and technical assistance,
technology development and introduction,
research, and statistics programs.

     OJP also includes a number of
program offices.  These offices include the
Violence Against Women Office, the
Executive Office for Weed and Seed, the
Corrections Program Office, the Drug
Courts Program Office, the Office for
State and Local Domestic Preparedness
Support, the Office of the Police Corps and Law Enforcement Education, and the
American Indian and Alaska Native Affairs Desk.  Many of these offices were first
authorized under the 1994 Crime Act.

THE OJP BUREAUS

     The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) provides funding, training, and technical
assistance to state and local governments to combat violent and drug-related crime and to
help improve the criminal justice system.  It administers the Edward Byrne Memorial State
and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program, the Local Law Enforcement Block
Grants Program, the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, Public Safety Officers'
Benefits, the Regional Information Sharing Systems Program, the  Bulletproof Vest
Partnership Program, community prosecution grants, and other grant programs and
initiatives. 

     The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is the principal criminal justice statistical
agency in the nation.  BJS collects and analyzes statistical data on crime, criminal
offenders, crime victims, and the operations of justice systems at all levels of government. 
BJS provides financial and technical support to state governments in developing
capabilities in criminal justice statistics, as well as improving the accuracy, utility, and
interstate accessibility of criminal history records.  BJS supports the enhancement of
records of protective orders involving domestic violence and stalking, sex offender
records, automated identification systems, and other state systems supporting national
records systems and their use for background checks.

     The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the principal research and evaluation
agency in the Department of Justice.  NIJ supports research and development programs,
conducts demonstrations of innovative approaches to improve criminal justice, tests new
criminal justice technologies, provides technology assistance, evaluates the effectiveness of
justice, and disseminates research findings to practitioners and policymakers.  NIJ also
provides primary support for the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, a
clearinghouse of criminal justice-related publications, articles, videotapes, and online
information.

     The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) provides
federal leadership in preventing and controlling juvenile crime and improving the juvenile
justice system at the state and local levels.  OJJDP provides financial assistance to states,
local communities, Indian tribes, and the juvenile justice community to help improve the
nation's juvenile justice system and sponsors innovative research, demonstration,
evaluation, statistics, and technical assistance and training programs to improve the
nation's understanding of and response to juvenile violence and delinquency.  OJJDP also
administers the Missing and Exploited Children's program, funded under the Victims of
Child Abuse Act, and the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention.
  
     The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) works to enhance the nation's capacity
to assist crime victims and to provide leadership in changing attitudes, policies, and
practices to promote justice and healing for all victims of crime.  OVC provides federal
funds to support victim assistance and compensation programs nationwide, and advocates
for the fair treatment of crime victims and the recognition of the crime victim within the
justice system.  OVC administers grants for programs designed to benefit victims,
provides training for diverse professionals who work with victims, develops projects to
enhance victims' rights and services, and undertakes public education and awareness
activities on behalf of crime victims.  

THE PROGRAM OFFICES

OJP has three offices that administer major programs first authorized by the 1994 Crime
Act:

         The Corrections Program Office (CPO) administers two major formula grant
     programs and provides technical assistance to state and local governments to help
     them with the implementation of the Crime Act's corrections-related programs.

         The Drug Courts Program Office (DCPO) administers the Crime Act's
     discretionary drug courts grant program.  This program provides support for the
     development of drug courts through planning workshops, and implementation and
     improvement of drug courts through grants to local and state governments, courts,
     and tribal governments, and through technical assistance and training.

         The Violence Against Women Office (VAWO) administers programs designed to
     help prevent and respond to violence against women, including domestic violence,
     sexual assault, and stalking.  VAWO administers formula and discretionary grant
     programs authorized by the Violence Against Women Act and subsequent
     legislation.  VAWO also coordinates other Justice Department initiatives relating
     to violence against women, responds to requests for information, and collaborates
     with other federal agencies.

The following offices are also located within OJP:

         The Office for State and Local Domestic Preparedness Support (OSLDPS) is
     responsible for enhancing the capability of state and local jurisdictions to prepare
     for and respond to incidents of domestic terrorism involving chemical and
     biological agents, radiological and explosive devices, and other weapons of mass
     destruction.  It awards grants for equipment and provides training and technical
     assistance for state and emergency response agencies.  OSLDPS operates the
     Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Alabama, a facility to train
     emergency response personnel to respond to incidents involving chemical and
     other weapons.  The National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NDPC) is a
     partnership of several nationally recognized public universities and the U.S.
     Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Energy.  The NDPC supports the
     efforts of OSLDPS by providing expertise and training to the state and local
     emergency management response community. 

         The Office of the Police Corps and Law Enforcement Education (OPCLEE)
     provides college educational assistance to students who commit to public service
     in law enforcement, and scholarships to students with no service commitment, who
     are dependents of law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty. 

         The Executive Office for Weed and Seed (EOWS) coordinates the Weed and
     Seed strategy, a community-based, multi-disciplinary approach to combating
     crime.  EOWS works closely with United States Attorneys to implement Operation
     Weed and Seed in communities throughout the country.

     Six offices within OJP provide agency-wide support.  They are the Office of
Congressional and Public Affairs (OCPA), the Office of General Counsel (OGC), the
Office of Administration (OA), the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the Office of Budget
and Management Services (OBMS), and the Office of the Comptroller (OC).  OJP also
includes an American Indian and Alaskan Native Affairs Desk (AI/AN), which improves
outreach to federally recognized Indian tribes.

ENSURING COMPLIANCE WITH CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS

     OJP's Office for Civil Rights actively enforces civil rights laws prohibiting
discrimination by agencies that receive federal funding.  OCR has initiated a number of
investigations into complaints against various police departments alleging discriminatory
traffic stops and searches, or other forms of racial profiling.  When complaints are
sustained, OJP takes administrative action to remedy civil rights violations, from requiring
changes in policy to suspending funding.  Even when no violations are found, OJP often
recommends changes in policies and practices to help law enforcement alleviate
perceptions of bias and to build community trust.  OJP also works with agencies to
promote the full and equal participation of women and minority individuals in employment
opportunities, and investigates complaints of employment discrimination.

OJP'S FY 2000 BUDGET

     Since enactment of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994,
OJP's annual budget, which includes funding for the Public Safety Officers' Death Benefits
and the Crime Victims Fund (CVF), has grown from $1.1 billion in 1995 to $4.4 billion in
2000.  The FY 2000 budget included $3.4 billion in direct appropriations and $985 million
from the Crime Victims Fund, which is financed by collections of fines, penalty
assessments, and bond forfeitures from defendants convicted of federal crimes.    Congress
placed a cap on this fund and limited the FY 2000 CVF obligations to $500 million.  In
addition, OJP administered $389 million in reimbursable agreements from DOJ and non-
DOJ agencies.  Overall, in FY 2000, OJP managed nearly $4.8 billion.  The chart on page
8 provides details on OJP's FY 2000 appropriations. 
     
THE OJP REORGANIZATION

     In FY 1999, Congress directed OJP and the Justice Department to develop a plan
for a new organizational structure for OJP that would explore the consolidation and
streamlining of agency programs and activities.  During FY 2000, much progress was
made as OJP continued to refine the reorganization plan and begin preparing for its
implementation.

     In November 1999, in the conference report accompanying the FY 2000 Justice
Department appropriations bill, Congress directed OJP to prepare and submit to Congress
a formal proposal for implementing selected components of the plan submitted to
Congress in FY 1999.  Specifically, these components included the creation of a "one-
stop" OJP information center; the establishment of "state desks" for geographically-based
grants administration; and the consolidation and streamlining of OJP program and policy
functions by subject area.  In January 2000, the Attorney General approved OJP's
proposal for implementing the new structure and it was forwarded to Congress for review. 
In April 2000, with Congress' concurrence, OJP began work on tasks preparatory to
implementation of the new OJP organizational structure.  It is expected that the
reorganization of OJP will be implemented in phases in FY 2001.
                     FY 2000 Appropriations
                     in millions of dollars

OJP PROGRAMS
  Violence Against Women
     Law Enforcement and Prosecution Grants                 206.8
     Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies                       34
     Rural Domestic Violence Grants                            25
  Drug Courts                                                  40
  Prison Construction Grants                                488.5
  State Prison Drug Treatment                                  63
SCAAP (BJA) 1                                               585.0
  Other Violent Crime Reduction Programs                     28.6

BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE
  Local Law Enforcement Block Grants                        497.9
  Byrne Formula Grants                                        500
  Byrne Discretionary Grants                                   52
  Regional Information Sharing System                          20
  National White Collar Crime Center                          9.3
 
EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR WEED AND SEED                           33.5
BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS                                 25.5
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE                                43.4
                                                            COUNTER TERRORISM PROGRAMS                                  152.0
                                                            
OFFICE OF JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION
  Formula and Discretionary Grants                          280.1
  Missing Children's Program                                   20
  Victims of Child Abuse Act                                    7
  Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grants              238

OJP MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION                            37.5
                                                                                                              ___________
                                                            
                                                            TOTAL 2000 OJP Appropriations                                         3,387.1
                                                                      OFFICE FOR VICTIMS OF CRIME 2                                              
                                                                      500
                                                                 PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS' DEATH BENEFITS                            
                                                                 32.5
                                                                                                    ___________

                                                       TOTAL                                                            3,919.6

1/ Includes $165 million earmarked from the prison construction grant program.
2/ Program funds are not appropriated.  OVC is funded by collections of fines, penalty assessments, and bond forfeitures from defendants convicted of federal
crimes.











































SHARING INFORMATION WITH THE FIELD

     The resources and national perspective of the federal government give it a unique
role in sharing knowledge about crime, justice, public safety issues, and victims.  An
important part of OJP's mission is providing state and local justice officials, practitioners,
researchers, and the public with information.

     To make its resources more understandable and accessible to the public, OJP
revamped its previously bureau/office-organized Website.  In FY 2000, OJP launched a
new Website that was redesigned so that important information could be found by topics
and issues relating to all public safety fields.  As a result of the new design, inquiries to
OJP's public e-mail address increased significantly.  On the average, the e-mail box
receives over 700 inquiries per month.  In 2000 alone, OJP received a total of 7,645
inquiries from law enforcement officials, federal, state and local officials, researchers, non-
profit and for-profit organizations, universities, congressional staff members, the media,
and the public. 

     In FY 2000, OJP continued to support the operation of the National Criminal
Justice Reference Service (NCJRS), which supports the information dissemination efforts
of all OJP bureaus and offices, as well as the Office of National Drug Control Policy. 
NCJRS maintains a library of more than 145,000 documents, available in print and
through the Web at www.ncjrs.org.  The NCJRS toll-free number at 1-800/688-4252
provides access to reference specialists who conduct individualized research and provide
copies of publications.  For criminal justice technology development and standards
publications, NIJ manages "JUSTNET" on the Web at www.nlectc.org.  Criminal justice
practitioners and other interested persons can also request these publications by calling  1-
800/248-2742.  JUSTNET serves as a gateway to the products and services of NIJ's
National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC) system, as
well as other technology information and services of interest to the law enforcement and
corrections communities.
     
     OJP also continued to support the Department of Justice Response Center in FY
2000.  The Response Center is staffed by specialists who answer questions and provide
information about Justice Department funding programs, including all OJP and
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office funding programs.  Center staff
also can provide copies of program solicitations, guidelines, and other documents.

     OJP's Office of the Comptroller (OC) answers over 33,000 calls a year at its
Customer Service Center.  Staff provide prompt answers to funding recipients' financial
questions via toll-free telephone (1-800/458-0786) and e-mail (askoc@ojp.usdoj.gov). 
Ninety-seven percent of questions are answered immediately or within 24 hours.

     In addition to the $4.4 billion in payments made to OJP and COPS grantees during
FY 2000, OC provides formal financial technical assistance to recipients through its
nationwide Regional Financial Management Training Seminars.  These two-day training
seminars are conducted throughout the year, both in Washington, DC and at various
locations across the country, at no cost to recipients.  OC trained over 3,000 recipient and
program staff during FY 2000.

     To ensure that OJP's recipients understand and carry out the financial
requirements attendant to their awards, OC implemented a risk-based financial monitoring
program that examined 1,800 grants in FY 2000, representing over $1.2 billion awarded
by OJP.  Recipients are either visited or called by OC staff, who provide financial technical
assistance, advice, and guidance in support of OJP's programs.  
 
REACHING OUT TO A LOCAL DISTRICT SCHOOL 
     
     OJP employees "practice what they preach" and take pride in working with the
Washington, DC community.  In 2000, OJP marked the 10th anniversary of its partnership
with the Benjamin Orr Elementary School.  On June 12, 2000, OJJDP and OJP volunteers
joined fourth-grade students and teachers from the Orr School for lunch at the District
ChopHouse & Brewery.  The lunch culminated the 3-week Manners and Dining Out
Program, through which students learned some key elements of fine dining.  The students
each ordered for themselves and calculated the total cost, including tax and tip, for the
meal.  The students were each given $20 in "Orr School Money," which they used to
"pay" their bill.  The District ChopHouse & Brewery covered the cost of the meals.  A
local anchorman interviewed participants for a segment that aired on the 6:00 p.m. news. 
Over the course of the year, OJP volunteers participated in Orr School reading programs,
accompanied Orr students on field trips, and provided holiday gifts for students and their
families.  Orr students also participated in DOJ events, such as holiday programs.

2
                     Empowering Communities
                        To Address Crime
                                
     
     Federal and state agencies, along with urban, rural, and tribal communities, have learned
that no one program or organization alone can effectively promote safer neighborhoods. 
Improving the quality of housing, education, employment, economic opportunities, environment,
and health care resources available to all families and communities   especially in neighborhoods
where high rates of crime and poverty co-exist   is difficult.  Research and experience have
demonstrated that the principle behind building safe and healthy communities is in the shared
understanding of local needs and issues and the flexibility to address these local needs and issues. 
This approach involves a number of building blocks leading to positive change in our
communities, which include: 

                    applying comprehensive approaches; 
                    building communities and justice system institutions; 
                    working with community leadership; 
                    strengthening local organizational capacity; 
                    promoting multi-disciplinary partnerships; 
                    applying technology and the strategic planning process; and 
                    giving residents a real opportunity to solve problems with justice system
          institutions.

     OJP has worked to build on community partnerships and expand them throughout the
justice system as a whole.  During FY 2000, OJP continued to encourage the development of
systemwide strategies such as the Weed and Seed program, in which federal and local prosecutors
and law enforcement work together to "weed" violence and drug dealing from a specific
geographic area, and work with government and private housing, employment, and social service
agencies to "seed" an area with jobs, livable housing, and opportunities for youth.  
BUILDING KNOWLEDGE ABOUT CRIMINAL JUSTICE

     In FY 2000, statistical data provided OJP insight into how these systemwide strategies
have affected our nation's communities.  According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
report, Criminal Victimization 1999-Changes 1998-99 with Trends 1993-99, released in August
2000, the nation's violent crime rate fell by more than 10 percent during 1999, reaching the
lowest level since BJS started measuring it in 1973.  There were an estimated 28.8 million violent
and property crimes during 1999, compared to 44 million such incidents counted in the first year
of BJS' National Crime Victimization Survey.  The report stated that every major type of personal
and property crime measured decreased between 1993 and 1999.


     The 1999 data indicated:

                   54 percent of all violent crime victims in 1999 knew their attackers;
                   almost 70 percent of the rape and sexual assault victims knew the offender as an
          acquaintance, friend, relative or intimate, compared to just under 50 percent of the
          aggravated assault victims;
                   44 percent of violent victimizations in 1999 were reported to police, compared to
          34 percent of property crime victimizations;
                   the most frequently reported crime was motor vehicle theft, while the least
          frequently reported was personal theft;
                   little more than 28 percent of the rape and sexual assault victimizations were
          reported to the police;
                   persons 16-19 and 35-49 years old experienced violent crimes at rates lower than
          they did in 1998; and
                   last year's violent crime rates fell for a third of the demographic categories
          examined, including males, whites, urbanites, and those earning $75,000 or more
          annually.

     According to preliminary Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) data, homicides declined
about 8 percent last year.  Historically, males accounted for about three-quarters of the murder
victims, and about one in eight of the murder victims was less than 18 years old.  Property crime
rates continued a 25-year downward trend, dropping 9 percent from 1998 to 1999   from 217 per
1,000 U.S. households to 198 per 1,000 households.

     In October 2000, BJS released the report, Firearm Injury and Death from Crime, 1993-
97.  The number of gunshot wounds from any type of crime fell nearly 40 percent during the 5
year period from 1993 through 1997, according to the comprehensive report.  BJS cites data from
multiple sources, including its National Criminal Victimization Survey (NCVS), as well as hospital
emergency department intake information and death certificates from the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC), and law enforcement homicide reports from the FBI.  Twenty-eight percent of
the serious, non-fatal violent victimizations that occurred from 1993 through 1997 were
committed with a firearm.  According to BJS' household survey of crime victims, 4 percent of the
serious victimizations were committed with a firearm and resulted in injuries, and less than 1
percent resulted in gunshot wounds.  About 80 percent of gunshot wound victims sought medical
treatment in a hospital.

     The CDC data showed that  gunshot wounds from any type of crime fell 39 percent  
from 64,100 to 39,400   during the 5 year period.  Firearm-related homicides fell 27 percent  
from 18,300 to 13,300   during the same period.  The BJS report said the CDC's Firearm Injury


Surveillance Study showed that 62 percent of non-fatal firearm injuries treated in U.S. hospital
emergency rooms were assaults, 17 percent were accidents, 6 percent were suicide attempts, 1
percent were from law enforcement activity, and 13 percent were from unknown causes.

     The CDC's Vital Statistics data indicated that 44 percent of firearm deaths were
homicides.  CDC's data further showed that, during the 5 year period from 1993 through 1997,
there were an estimated 3.3 non-fatal gunshot injuries from assaults treated in emergency rooms
for every single firearm-related homicide.  According to CDC and FBI data, four out of five
victims of both fatal and non-fatal gunshot injuries from assaults were male and nearly half of all
victims were black males.  Black males ages 15-24 made up 26 percent of all the non-fatal
gunshot victims and 22 percent of all homicides, according to data from the FBI. 

     The BJS report also indicates that 38 percent of the gunshot assault victims and 31
percent of the homicide victims were ages 18 to 24, while juveniles under 18 years old accounted
for 16 percent of non-fatal firearm assault victims and 10 percent of firearm homicides. 

     FBI statistics indicated that from 1993 to 1997, 60 percent of offenders who used a
firearm to commit murder were younger than 25: 17 percent were juveniles (younger than 18
years old) and 24 percent were between 18 and 20 years old.  The FBI's Uniform Crime Reports
indicated that 1 percent of serious violent crimes reported to police from 1993 to 1997 were
homicides, 69 percent of which were committed with firearms. 

     For 56 percent of the non-fatal firearm assault victims the relationship to the offenders was
unknown.  Approximately 11 percent were injured by someone known to them.  According to
firearm homicide data in the FBI's Supplemental Homicide Reports, the victim's relationship to the
offender was unknown in 41 percent of cases, while in 44 percent of the cases, the 
killer was someone the victim knew and in 15 percent the killer was a stranger.  Among gunshot
assault cases where the firearm type was provided, 82 percent of non-fatal victims were shot with
a handgun. In firearm homicide cases, 81 percent of victims were killed with a handgun, 6 percent
with shotguns, 5 percent with rifles, and 7 percent with unspecified firearms. 

     Data reported to the FBI indicated that in 1998 more than 400 police officers were injured
in firearm assaults, and 58 police officers were killed by a firearm while responding to a crime.
The firearm injury rate for police officers declined in the early 1980s and began climbing again
after 1987.  In the late 1990s, however, firearm injury rates fell to their lowest level in the
1978-1998 period.

     Additional reports released by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) regarding
community-based programs also provided valuable information.  In April 2000, BJA issued
Keeping Illegal Activity Out of Rental Property: A Police Guide for Establishing Landlord
Training Programs.  This report focused on a Landlord Training Program in Portland, Oregon,
and described how property owners, tenants, and law enforcement agencies cooperated to combat
drug-related crime, particularly through effective property management and techniques that
discouraged drug activity on rental property.  The report also served as a training manual for
communities that wished to start a Landlord Training Program.  Such programs exist in 22 states.

     Kids' Korner Program: City of Reno, Nevada Police Department, a BJA publication
issued in June 2000, described an initiative that teams law enforcement, public health, social
service agencies, and public and private organizations in assisting low-income families who live in
local motels due to high housing costs.  Under Kids' Korner, which began in 1996, police officers
routinely visit motels to check on the status of children and refer families to appropriate
community resources.  On May 23, 2000, Kids' Korner received the National Council on Crime
and Delinquency's New American Community Award.   

     In July 2000, BJA released Memphis, Tennessee Police Department's Crisis Intervention
Team, a bulletin focusing on the efforts of specially trained law enforcement and medical
personnel who respond to 911 emergency calls involving the mentally ill.  Originally conceived as
a response to the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill in the 1960s, the Memphis Crisis
Intervention Team (CIT) is now a success, with over 200 of the 900 patrol officers as members. 
The Memphis CIT works in conjunction with the University of Tennessee Medical Center,
families of the mentally ill, and emergency medical and psychiatric services.  It has inspired other
cities around the country, including Albuquerque, New Mexico and San Jose, California to
implement similar programs.  

PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACHES TO COMMUNITY SAFETY

     The Strategic Approaches to Community Safety Initiative (SACSI), which began in five
cities nationwide in 1998, takes a problem-solving approach to a specific, local crime problem and
increases the capacity of U.S. Attorneys to work in collaboration with federal, state and local law
enforcement and community partners in reducing local crime.

     SACSI tests the assumption that crime is most effectively reduced by:

                    bringing together the various perspectives and capacities of community groups and
          agencies to address a major crime problem;
                    gleaning knowledge from street-level practitioners and working hand-in-hand with
          researchers to determine the exact nature and scope of a targeted crime problem;
          and
                    designing interventions based on the opportunities the analysis reveals.
     
     SACSI is operating in Indianapolis, Indiana; Memphis, Tennessee; New Haven,
Connecticut; Portland, Oregon; and Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with each city focusing on a
crime problem of significance within its community. 

     The initiative has five distinct steps, or stages:

               1.   Form an interagency partnership
               2.   Gather information and data about a targeted crime problem
               3.   Design a strategic intervention to tackle the problem
               4.   Implement the intervention
               5.   Assess and modify the strategy as ongoing analysis reveals effects
     
     Though direct federal funding for the first five sites has ended, all are continuing their
efforts, some in significant new ways.  In Winston-Salem, widespread community support for this
work has resulted in nearly $2 million in foundation funding to establish the Center for
Community Safety at Winston-Salem State University.  The Center will expand the strategic
approaches work in Winston-Salem and also serve as a training center for other communities in
the problem-solving approach.  The University of Memphis is developing a Center for Community
Criminology and Research to help prepare researchers to work directly with communities. 
Portland, Indianapolis, and New Haven are beginning to apply this approach to problems such as
offender reentry and domestic violence. 

     In FY 2000, five new sites were designated as strategic approaches sites to reduce violent
firearms-related crime.  They are St. Louis, Missouri; Detroit, Michigan; Atlanta, Georgia;
Rochester, New York; and Albuquerque, New Mexico. A training curriculum has been developed
by the Justice Department to transfer lessons learned to these new sites and to others interested in
adopting the SACSI approach.  Key players from the first five sites will administer the training in
the new sites, and to other interested districts.  This curriculum will also soon be offered at the
National Advocacy Center, as part of core training for incoming U.S. Attorneys and Assistant
U.S. Attorneys.

ADDRESSING HATE CRIME

     In 2000, the Department of Justice supported police and prosecutorial agencies in
responding to hate crimes.  The Office of Justice Programs' (OJP) Bureau of Justice Assistance
(BJA) convened a policy briefing on hate crimes in January 2000.  In conjunction with the two-
day policy meeting, where federal, state, and local officials shared information about effective
strategies employed across the nation to respond to hate crimes, BJA presented a 15-minute video
and accompanying brochure to assist law enforcement officers in preventing and investigating hate
crimes.  

     The video, "Responding to Hate Crimes," was a collaborative effort between BJA and the
International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).  The materials were the result of the 1997
White House Conference on Hate Crimes and the later IACP Summit on Hate Crimes in America. 
The video was sent to approximately 16,000 police and sheriffs' departments across the country. 
These materials were also presented at BJA's policy briefing for State Administrative Agency
Directors, who collectively administer over $600 million annually in BJA funding through the
Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance  Program and the Local
Law Enforcement Block Grants (LLEBG) Program, as well as other federal and state funds.

     In March 2000, OJP's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) released the first two reports in
a series of hate crime bulletins, Addressing Hate Crimes; Six Initiatives That Are Enhancing the
Efforts of Criminal Justice, and Promising Practices Against Hate Crimes: Five State and Local
Demonstration Projects.

     The first bulletin focused on the following innovative efforts by police and prosecutors to
improve systems for responding to hate crimes.

                    The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Summit: Hate
          Crime in America.  Convened in collaboration with OJP and the Office of
          Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), law enforcement, civil rights, and
          other leaders developed a broad range of recommendations for addressing hate
          crimes in communities across the country;
     
                    DOJ's National Hate Crimes Training Initiative.  This initiative involved the
          development of multi-level hate crime training curricula and the creation of a
          nationwide training program for local law enforcement agencies to implement the
          curricula;
     
                    BJA's Roll Call Video: Responding to Hate Crimes.  BJA produced a 20-
          minute video covering the initial response to and investigation of possible hate
          crimes;
     
                    IACP's Responding to Hate Crimes: A Police Officer's Guide to Investigation
          and Prevention.  This compact guide was published as a quick reference to
          address hate incidents, hate crimes, and how best to assist victims;

                    The American Prosecutors Research Institute's (APRI) Resource Guide,
          Prosecutors Respond to Hate Crimes Project.  APRI released this resource guide
          on hate crimes for local prosecutors; and
                                
                    The Maine Department of the Attorney General's Designated Civil Rights
          Officers Project.  This project called for the development of a coordinated
          statewide system for hate crime investigation and prosecution.
          
     Promising Practices Against Hate Crimes: Five State and Local Demonstration Projects 
discusses five BJA-funded demonstration programs   located in Los Angeles, California,  San
Diego, California, Maine, and Massachusetts   that are among the nation's most promising
models for confronting and reducing bias-motivated acts.  These programs demonstrate that the
most effective approaches include coordination among all components of the criminal justice
system, focused efforts to address the needs of the victims of hate crimes, diversion programs for
youth, and activities encouraging tolerance in our schools.
     
     In addition, BJA funded Combating Prejudice and Hate on Campus, the first national
student symposium on preventing and reducing hate crime and bias incidents on American college
campuses.  More than 300 students, faculty, and administrators from 70 educational institutions
attended the event, held March 23-24, 2000 in Boston, Massachusetts.

ADDRESSING CRIME IN NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES

     A critical DOJ priority is to help tribal governments build comprehensive and effective law
enforcement and public safety systems that will provide a foundation for safe communities.  As
part of this important initiative, several OJP bureaus and offices provide funding and support to
tribal communities.  The goal of the Comprehensive Indian Resources for Community and Law
Enforcement (CIRCLE) Project is to enhance tribal governments' response to public safety and to
improve the quality of life in tribal communities.  The CIRCLE Project promotes the intertribal
exchange of ideas and experiences.  It also fosters coordination within the three participating
Indian tribes   the Northern Cheyenne, the Oglala Sioux, and the Pueblo of Zuni    for more
efficient and effective use of resources.  It combines comprehensive problem-solving   planning,
implementation, and evaluation   with traditional tribal justice practices and support from a broad
range of federal partners.  

     On December 5, 2000, OJP participated in the second cluster meeting of the CIRCLE
Project held in Zuni, New Mexico.  Other participants included representatives from DOJ
agencies such as the Office Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), U.S. Attorneys, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Office of Tribal Justice, as well as other federal
agencies such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and the Departments of Labor and Health
and Human Services.  These federal agencies and tribes are working together to channel technical
assistance and resources to the CIRCLE sites.   

     Major FY 2000 BJA-funded initiatives for American Indian and Alaska Native
communities included the Tribal Court Assistance Program, Crime Analysis and Planning
Strategies for American Indian and Alaska Native Communities, and the Alaska Native Technical
Assistance and Resource Center.

     As part of the Department of Justice's FY 2000 Indian Country Law Enforcement
Initiative, BJA helped American Indian and Alaska Native communities to develop, enhance, and
operate tribal courts.  This funding, administered under the Tribal Court Assistance Program,
recognizes that tribal courts are the most important vehicle for maintaining security and restoring
the community in Indian Country.  They give Native American communities a forum to address
specific issues such as substance abuse and domestic violence, and promote tribal sovereignty and
self-government.  Awards under the first component of this initiative funded either new 
tribal courts or improvements to existing courts in areas such as case management, court
personnel training, equipment acquisition, indigent defense services, and diversion programs.

     The second component of the initiative provided training and technical assistance for tribal
court grant recipients and created a National Tribal Court Resource Center.  The Center's initial
goals are to create a clearinghouse of existing tribal judicial resources, establish a toll-free help
line for tribal justice systems, develop a free searchable database of tribal justice system opinions,
provide online reference and research assistance services through the Center's Website
(www.tribalresourcecenter.org), and establish a mentor system for tribal justice systems.

     In 1998, BJA began regional Community Analysis and Regional Planning Strategies
training for tribal leadership and communities with large portions of diverse Native American
populations.  Managed by Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, Wisconsin, these 4-day
executive-level training sessions assist tribal jurisdictions as they develop a comprehensive model
for identifying crime risk and assessing its impact.

THWARTING ECONOMIC CRIME

     On May 8, 2000, OJP's Bureau of Justice Assistance and Office for Victims of Crime
(OVC) co-sponsored a week-long economic crime summit in Austin, Texas.  More than 1,000
public and private sector economic crime security professionals from around the world attended
the conference to learn about the latest crime trends and strategies to thwart economic crime. 
Plenary sessions and workshops focused on e-commerce crime, health care fraud, identity fraud
prevention, telemarketing offenders and victims, fraud prevention for the elderly, and national
programs and federal offices that offer support to fraud victims. 

SUPPORTING COMMUNITY JUSTICE PROGRAMS

Weed and Seed

     The Weed and Seed approach is a coordinated strategy that works to make a wide range
of public and private sector resources more accessible to communities.  Under the leadership of
U.S. Attorneys, the strategy brings together federal, state, and local crime-fighting agencies,
social service providers, representatives of public and private sectors, business owners, and
neighborhood residents and links them in a shared goal of weeding out violent crime and gang
activity while seeding the community with social services and economic revitalization.  The Weed
and Seed approach emphasizes four principles   aggressive law enforcement strategies,
community policing, the provision of crime prevention, intervention, and treatment services, and
neighborhood restoration and revitalization activities.  

     

     Initiated in 1991 in three pilot sites, the Weed and Seed approach is currently operational
in over 250 sites around the nation.  During FY 2000, over 250 communities used funding from
Executive Office for Weed and Seed (EOWS).  Since Weed and Seed is primarily a strategy, all
Weed and Seed sites must show their capacity to obtain financial and in-kind resources from a
variety of public and private sources.   Many Weed and Seed sites receive support from federal,
state, and local agencies, and the private sector (non-profit and for-profit).

     Technical assistance plays an integral role in the success of the Weed and Seed strategy
and is available to all Officially Recognized Weed and Seed sites.  Therefore, the Executive Office
for Weed and Seed encourages Officially Recognized sites to develop written technical assistance
(TA) work plans, which are based on ongoing local needs assessments.  To facilitate technical
assistance for sites, EOWS works with over 100 TA providers or consultants who carry out TA
and have years of advanced, professional experience in areas including:  strategic planning,
evaluations, grants and funding review, team building, computer systems, funding and marketing,
job training, asset mapping, and community policing.  Technical assistance usually involves an
EOWS consultant traveling to a specific Weed and Seed site.  There are many other forms of TA
that EOWS can provide, including: electronic (e-mail broadcasts and EOWS Web page), multi-
site technical assistance, and telephone consultation.

     EOWS also sponsors several training workshops and conferences, as well as live,
interactive satellite broadcast series that cover Weed and Seed topic areas.  In February 2000,
EOWS held its annual application kit workshop for Officially Recognized sites.  In 2000, EOWS
sponsored several conferences, including one held in New Orleans, Louisiana in May on law
enforcement and community and one held in Miami, Florida in September on creating healthy
communities.

     In January 2000, EOWS published a report, Weed and Seed Best Practices, which focused
on four cities   Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Salt Lake City, Utah; San Jose, California; and
Syracuse, New York   that implemented successful crime reduction activities, community
policing, crime prevention initiatives, and neighborhood restoration.  The initiatives being
undertaken in these cities represent approaches that communities across the country may wish to
consider when crafting a comprehensive, community-based response to crime and community
well-being.  Specifically, the publication highlighted community activity in the following areas:

                   Pittsburgh's efforts to promote neighborhood revitalization through techniques
          such as developing community technology centers and building the capacity of
          community-based organizations;

                   Salt Lake City's undercover law enforcement initiative to disrupt illegal drug and
          gang activities in targeted areas;



                   San Jose's community policing approach, which dedicates local-level community
          coordinators to assist in fostering community involvement and improving
          community safety and well-being; and

                   Syracuse's collaborative prevention program which  emphasizes involvement with
          the arts as a vehicle to counteract youth crime, truancy, ethnic intolerance, and
          substance abuse.  
     
Community Oriented Policing

     EOWS hosted a teleconference, along with the Office of Community Oriented Policing
Services (COPS), to spotlight best practices in community policing in April 2000.  The
teleconference brought together police chiefs and criminal justice researchers from around the
country to present model community policing approaches.  The discussion also encompassed the
community's perspective on community policing.  This teleconference followed a Community
Oriented Policing Summit live satellite broadcast, also hosted by EOWS, at which these officials
discussed promising approaches to and key components of successful community policing
programs.  The live satellite broadcast was the fourth in the EOWS Community Training
Broadcast Series, a series of five one-hour satellite broadcasts on topics of interest to Weed and
Seed sites and communities across the country.
     
     To assess COPS effectiveness in promoting community policing in communities, OJP's
independent research and evaluation arm, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), supported an
independent, national evaluation of the COPS program.  Findings released in September 2000,
showed that COPS has increased the number of officers deployed in America's communities,
advanced the utilization of problem-solving policing, helped police departments provide their
officers with new technology, and made it easier and quicker for police departments to apply for
and receive COPS grants.  The evaluation was conducted by the Urban Institute with NIJ funding.
     

     The study reported that:

                   By May 1999, 100,500 officers and equivalents had been funded.  Preliminary
          estimates indicate that between 84,700 and 89,400 officers will have been
          deployed by 2003.    
     
                   Because some officers will have departed before others begin service, the Urban
          Institute estimated that the federally funded increase (based on awards through
          May 1999) in policing levels will peak in 2001 between 69,000 and 84,600 before
          falling to between 62,700 and 83,900 in 2003.
     


                   The COPS program accelerated the transition to of community policing in those
          agencies that were already advancing their own local programs, rather than causing
          the acceleration.
     
                   Building partnerships with communities was commonplace for COPS grantees;
          however, in a number of instances these partnerships were short-term working
          arrangements.
     
                   Many police departments and communities engaged in local problem solving,
          though the form and visibility of problem solving varied widely throughout
          communities.

     The evaluation covered the first four years of the COPS program, with specific focus on
how COPS grants enabled law enforcement agencies to put more officers on the street to engage
in community policing and redeploy existing officers to community policing by increasing officer
productivity through the use of technology or by hiring civilians.  


           
     

     
                      FOR MORE INFORMATION
                                
Visit the OJP Website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov, which includes general information
about OJP and its bureaus and program offices, e-mail addresses, downloadable
versions of application kits, and links to selected criminal justice Websites.  The
National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Website at www.ncjrs.org
offers online versions of most OJP publications.  OJP publications can also be
ordered by calling the NCJRS toll-free number at 1-800/851-3420.  The following
publications are available from NCJRS:

Criminal Victimization 1999-Changes with Trends 1993-99 (BJS) NCJ 182734

Firearm Injury and Death from Crime (BJS) NCJ 182993

Homicide Trends in the United States (BJS)
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/homtrnd.htm   

Keeping Illegal Activity Out of Rental Property: A Police Guide for Establishing
Landlord Training Programs (BJA) NCJ 148656

Kid's Korner Program: City of Reno, Nevada, Police Department (BJA) NCJ
181718

Memphis, Tennessee Police Department's Crisis Intervention Team (BJA) NCJ
182501

Addressing Hate Crimes: Six Initiatives That Are Enhancing the Efforts of Criminal
Justice Practitioners (BJA) NCJ 179559

Weed and Seed Best Practices (EOWS) NCJ 181507

The COPS Program After 4 Years: National Evaluation (NIJ) NCJ 183644

Promising Practices Against Hate Crimes: Five State and Local Demonstration
Projects (BJA) NCJ 181425






















3
                       Breaking the Cycle
                  of Substance Abuse and Crime
                                
       
     There is a close relationship between substance abuse and crime.  The majority of persons
who come into contact with the criminal justice system, regardless of the offense, are substance
abusers.      

     Approximately 73 percent of the 106,139 federal arrests made during fiscal year 1998
were made by Department of Justice law enforcement agencies   the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration
and the Marshals Service   according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics' (BJS) report, 1998
Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics, released in May 2000. Almost half of these arrests
made during 1998 were for drug or immigration offenses.  Treasury Department agencies made
11 percent of the arrests, while other federal agencies, such as the Postal Service and the Defense,
Interior, and Agriculture Departments, accounted for the remainder.  

     Highlights from the 1998 Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics include:

                   The number of defendants prosecuted in federal courts rose 12.7 percent   from
          69,351 in 1997 to 78,172 in 1998, principally because of increases in drug law
          prosecutions (38 percent of the increase) and immigration law violations (29
          percent of the increase).  Most (83 percent) were charged with felony offenses. 

                   Eighty-seven percent of those charged were convicted.  Of those convicted, 94
          percent plead guilty.

                   Seventy-one percent of those convicted were sentenced to prison, up from 60
          percent of those convicted in 1990.

                   The average prison sentence imposed on the 43,041 persons sentenced to prison
          during 1998 was 58.8 months, down from the high of 62.6 months in 1992. 
          However, the length of time likely to be served in prison is increasing.  Since 1990
          the time actually served rose from 65 percent to 87 percent of the sentence
          imposed. 

                   Forty-three percent of those charged with federal offenses were freed while
          awaiting trial, down from 62 percent during 1990.  Violent, drug, weapons, and
          immigration offenders were among those least likely to be released.  About 43
          percent of weapons, 35 percent of drug, 32 percent of violent, and 8 percent of
          immigration offenders were released while awaiting trial in 1998.
                   About 84 percent of those released while awaiting trial completed their release
          without incident, while most (14.5 percent) of those who violated the conditions of
          their release committed only technical violations of their release, such as a failure
          to participate in a substance abuse treatment program or any other court-imposed
          condition.  Three percent committed new crimes and 2 percent failed to make
          scheduled court appearances.  (Offenders may have had more than one type of
          violation, so percentages add to more than 100 percent.)

     According to another BJS publication, Drug Use, Testing, and Treatment in Jails,
released in May 2000, an estimated 10 percent of the inmates tested for drugs in local jails during
June 1998 tested positive for one or more illegal drugs.  More than two-thirds of the 712 jails that
tested inmates had at least one inmate who tested positive.  The findings in this report are based
on data collected in June 1996 from a representative sample of the nation's jail inmates.

     About 54 percent of all inmates were held in jails that tested for illegal drug use.  It was
found that different jails tested inmates at various times during their incarceration, and they used a
variety of criteria to select inmates for testing.  Among those facilities that tested, fewer than 5
percent tested all inmates upon admission to jail.  About 49 percent of those jails that tested,
selected inmates at random, and 69 percent selected inmates for testing upon an indication of drug
use.  Some jurisdictions also tested all inmates upon entry into a facility after an absence for
activities such as work release, furlough, or court visit.

     The report also found that among the sanctions that jails impose on inmates who tested
positive, 70 percent usually took away inmate privileges, such as visitation rights, recreational
activities, and freedom to move about the facility, and about half took away good time or
reclassified the offender to a higher security level.

     Other findings in the report include:

                   Drug testing policies to detect and control drug use in jails often also included jail
          employees.
 
                   49 percent of the jails reported testing staff members, compared to 47 percent of
          the jurisdictions that test inmates.

                   Of the 1,418 jail jurisdictions that tested employees, 70 percent said all staff
          members were subject to testing, including supervisors, administrative staff, and
          corrections officers, as well as programs and treatment personnel.

                   One-fifth of these jurisdictions tested only prospective employees, and one percent
          tested only corrections officers.  Dismissal was the usual sanction against staff
          members.

                   Almost 73 percent of jail authorities provided substance abuse treatment or
          programs for jail inmates.  

                   Self-help programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous,
          were common, with about 68 percent of jurisdictions having such groups or
          providing peer group counseling or education and awareness programs.

                   About 43 percent provided detoxification, sent inmates to a special residential
          treatment facility, or provided professional counseling.

     Among those inmates surveyed who had pled guilty or had been convicted of an offense,
36 percent were under the influence of drugs at the time of the offense.  In 1998 almost 72,000 
were under the influence of marijuana or hashish and 59,000 were under the influence of powder
or crack cocaine.  BJS reported that, in interviews with convicted jail inmates, 16 percent said
they committed their offenses to get money for drugs.  Two-thirds of all convicted jail inmates
were actively involved with drugs prior to their admission to jail.  Among convicted jail inmates
who were actively involved with drugs prior to their going to jail, 20 percent said they had
received treatment or participated in a substance abuse program since their admission.

COMBATING THE METHAMPHETAMINE PROBLEM

     Collaboration among agencies responsible for education, public health, law enforcement,
and public safety is critical to implementing effective responses to the growing meth-amphetamine
problem, according to the findings of the final report of the Methamphetamine Interagency Task
Force. 

     The National Institute of Justice (NIJ), along with the Office of National Drug Control
Policy, released the report, Methamphetamine Interagency Task Force Final Report, in
Washington, DC at the 68th Winter Meeting of the U. S. Conference of Mayors.  The report
describes the methamphetamine problem; needs and recommendations in the areas of law
enforcement, prevention and education, and treatment; and research priorities to advance the
understanding of the nature and effects of the methamphetamine problem and to measure the
effectiveness of prevention, enforcement, and treatment interventions.  A final section discusses
promising strategies and recommendations for the federal government to assist communities in
combating methamphetamine. 

     In FY 2000, Congress appropriated $35,675,000 to the Office of Community Oriented
Policing Services (COPS) to help state and local law enforcement in combating meth-
amphetamine production, distribution, and use.  These funds can also be used to reimburse the
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for properly removing and disposing of hazardous
materials found at clandestine methamphetamine laboratories.  BJA, in cooperation with the
COPS Office and the DEA, administered $16,275,000 for the FY 2000 Methamphetamine/Drug
Hot Spots Program.  Between August 2000 and February 2001,  BJA awarded 18 grants totaling
$12,214,837.  Awards were delayed because of the grantees' need to address environmental
considerations and assurances of their ability to comply with the laws and regulations.  BJA also
provided $150,000 in funding to support nationwide training in multi-agency responses to
methamphetamine laboratories.  Additionally BJA funded Circle Solutions to update training on
clandestine lab enforcement and cleanup issues, with special emphasis on the needs of agencies in
high intensity drug trafficking areas.  The COPS Office retained two earmarks, $18.2 million for
the California Department of Justice and $1.2 million for a Tri-State Methamphetamine Training
Program, based in Iowa, which addresses a broad array of law enforcement initiatives pertaining
to the investigation of methamphetamine trafficking in many heavily impacted areas of the
country.
                    
     To ensure that the investigation and cleanup of methamphetamine labs does not violate
federal environmental and occupational safety laws, BJA, in cooperation with DEA and the COPS
Office, devoted substantial effort in explaining to law enforcement agencies the requirements for
compliance and providing guidance for programmatic remedies.  On April 26, 2000, BJA
sponsored such a conference for the Methamphetamine/Drug Hot Spots Program grantees. 
Further, BJA, in consultation with DEA, developed and published in the Federal Register a
program-level environmental assessment with mitigation measures that can be used by any agency
undertaking similar investigative programs to ensure compliance with current environmental laws.

     In addition, the use of multi-jurisdictional task forces has produced a variety of benefits
for law enforcement and adjudication committees,  including unprecedented interagency
coordination and pooling of resources, the establishment of new systems to facilitate information
sharing and intelligence gathering, and improved access to specialized resources.  States spent
$186 million in FY 2000 on 829 multi-jurisdictional task forces.  One of the nation's most
effective users of such task forces is the State of Wyoming.  The State's Regional Enforcement
Teams (RETs) have made investigating and prosecuting the trafficking of methamphetamine a
priority.  As a result, the number of cases involving methamphetamine has increased 350 percent
since 1990.  In one case, two RETs worked with the Internal Revenue Service, the Drug
Enforcement Administration, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to shut down a cartel
distributing methamphetamine in several counties.  This complex investigation, which involved
gathering information on a kidnaping, an attempted murder, and multiple co-conspiracies,
produced numerous convictions and sentences in federal and state courts.






FIGHTING SUBSTANCE ABUSE  AT THE LOCAL LEVEL

     Over half of adult male arrestees in 34 reporting American cities tested positive for drug
use according to data released by NIJ.  The report, Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM)
Program: 1999 Annual Report on Drug Use Among Adult and Juvenile Arrestees, found
significant differences in the patterns of arrestee drug use by city.  For example, the percentage of 
male arrestees who tested positive for any drug ranged from 50 percent in San Antonio to 77
percent in Atlanta.  The range among female arrestees was even more pronounced, from a low of
22 percent in Laredo, Texas, to 81 percent in New York City.  These findings emphasize the need
for local, comprehensive approaches to address drug use among at-risk individuals.  ADAM
assists both law enforcement officials and drug treatment providers as they work together to
break the cycle of drug use and crime.  

     The ADAM study found:

                   cocaine remains the drug of choice among many arrestees: more than one-third of
          adult male arrestees in a majority of sites tested positive for cocaine;
                   the proportion of male adult arrestees testing positive for marijuana was greater
          than the rate of female adult arrestees in all sites;
                   among juvenile detainees, marijuana was the most commonly used drug   more
          than six times higher than cocaine use for both juvenile males and females;
                   opiate use, such as heroin and opium, remained relatively low in 1999 compared to
          the prevalence of cocaine and marijuana among adult arrestees; and
                   the proportion of female adult arrestees testing positive for opiates was greater
          than that for male adult arrestees in many sites.

     Consistently high percentages of overall use among arrestees, however, mask differences
in trends for specific drugs and in specific segments of the arrestee population.  For example,
methamphetamine use among ADAM arrestees is a phenomenon that appears to be concentrated
mainly in the Western part of the United States, particularly in Portland, Sacramento, Salt Lake
City, San Diego, San Jose, and Spokane, where more than 20 percent of both the male and female
arrestee populations tested positive for the drug.  Methamphetamine use among juvenile arrestees
followed a pattern similar to that of adult arrestees: methamphetamine was more commonly used
by females and was most often detected at sites in the West/Southwest.

     Data collected under the ADAM program highlight the complex nature of the drug abuse
problem and the need for communities to tailor law enforcement, prevention, and treatment
efforts to meet local drug problems.

     Local efforts to prevent substance abuse by young people were enhanced through nearly
$9 million in federal grants awarded to 94 sites, including Boston, Chicago, Detroit and
Washington, DC, through the Drug-Free Communities Support Program in September 2000. 
     
     The Drug-Free Communities Support Program was created under the Drug-Free
Communities Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-20) to strengthen local antidrug coalitions, which include
businesses; youth service organizations; health care professionals; and state, local, or tribal
government agencies.  Each of the coalitions receiving grants has worked together for a minimum
of six months on substance abuse reduction initiatives before applying for the grants.

     The program, now in its third year of funding, is overseen by the White House Office of
National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in partnership with the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), the Justice Department agency that administers the grant.
ONDCP and OJJDP selected the new sites through a competitive review process from more than
200 applications.  In Fiscal Year 1998, ONDCP and OJJDP awarded grants to 93 sites. An
additional 124 sites received grants in Fiscal Year 1999.  Awards range up to $100,000 for use
over a one-year period.  The coalitions, which have developed a long-range plan to reduce
substance abuse, are required to match grant awards with funding from non-federal sources.

      The new program sites represent a cross-section of projects from every region in the
nation.  Fifty-four are predominantly rural, 24 are predominantly urban, and 13 are predominantly
suburban.  Further, 10 of these sites include tribal communities.  OJJDP is conducting a national
evaluation of the Drug-Free Communities Support Program.  One of the Centers for the
Application of Prevention Technologies, through funding from OJJDP and the federal Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention
(CSAP), will also provide the grantees technical assistance to help implement effective community
prevention programs.  In addition, the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA)
provides support to these grassroots organizations.

      With the addition of the sites, the grants are funding more than 300 community coalitions
of youth, parents, media, law enforcement, school officials, religious organizations, and other
community representatives in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S.
Virgin Islands.  The program, which will allow the coalitions to strengthen their coordination
efforts to prevent and reduce young people's illegal use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, also
encourages citizen participation in substance abuse reduction efforts and disseminates information
about effective programs.

     The Enforcing the Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) Program is helping all 50 states and
the District of Columbia develop comprehensive and coordinated initiatives to enforce state laws
that prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors and prevent the purchase or consumption of
alcoholic beverages by minors.  OJJDP awarded FY 2000 block grants of $360,000 each to all
states and the District of Columbia.  Recipients use these funds to support activities in one or
more of three areas: enforcement, public education activities, and innovative programs.  OJJDP


selected 11 states and 1 territory to receive FY 2000 discretionary grants: Connecticut, Hawaii,
Kansas, Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico,
and Wisconsin. 

     OJJDP also funds an extensive training and technical assistance program through the
Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) of Calverton, Maryland and its partners,
including Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) of Dallas, Texas; American Indian
Development Associates of Albuquerque, New Mexico; the National Crime Prevention Council of
Washington, DC; the Police Executive Research Forum of Washington, DC; and the National
Liquor Law Enforcement Association of Raleigh, North Carolina.  During FY 2000, PIRE
provided training and technical assistance to more than 4,000 individuals through a variety of
activities.  PIRE also continued to operate the Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center
which helps states receiving EUDL funds to focus their efforts on prevention, intervention, and
enforcement issues.  In addition, OJJDP continues to support a national evaluation of the EUDL
program by Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

     OJJDP also supports the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV) at the
University of Colorado, Boulder in helping communities replicate the Life Skills Training (LST)
and Technical Assistance Program, a school-based drug prevention initiative to reduce the risks
associated with substance abuse.  The program motivates youth to make healthy lifestyle decisions
by training them to resist peer and media pressures, develop a positive self-image, manage
anxiety, communicate effectively, build healthy relationships, and handle social situations with
confidence.  CPSV works in conjunction with LST and the National Health Promotion
Associates, which provides three years of training workshops for all LST instructors (a 2-day,
initial training in the first year, and 1 day workshops in the second and third years to train teachers
in the booster sessions) and curriculum materials for all LST instructors and students.
     
     In FY 2000, OJJDP awarded $4,964,110 to CSPV to expand its efforts.  With this
funding, CSPV provided training and technical assistance to an additional 35 sites, bringing the
total to 70.  The program now serves approximately 280 schools and more than 110,000 students. 

ADDRESSING SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN INDIAN COUNTRY

     In September 2000, the Attorney General addressed the "Indian Self-Determination:
Summit on Tribal Strategies to Reduce Alcohol, Substance Abuse and Violence."  The summit
provided tribal leaders with an opportunity to develop a national agenda on alcohol, substance
abuse, and violence for Indian Country.  The summit also highlighted promising practices
developed by tribal governments and programs.  



     OJP released the report, Promising Practices and Strategies to Reduce Alcohol and
Substance Abuse Among American Indians and Alaska Natives, at the summit, which highlights
promising programs and initiatives that have proven effective for addressing substance and
alcohol abuse problems among American Indians and Alaska Natives.  The report is part of an
overall effort to develop a comprehensive approach to reduce substance abuse and violence in
Indian country.

     The programs highlighted represent three types of policy initiatives designed to reduce
substance abuse: efforts that control the availability of drugs and alcohol within a tribal
jurisdiction; educational and treatment efforts; and efforts that reduce the social and
environmental factors that increase the risk of harm to the individual and the community. 
Programs described in the report include, the Poarch Creek Indian Nation Drug Court Program,
the Pueblo of Zuni Recovery Center, and the Southern Ute Peaceful Spirit Youth Services
Program.  
     
     In addition to program descriptions, the report also contains a literature review, a selected
bibliography, and a listing of resources for further information.
          
DRUG COURTS
     
     OJP's Drug Courts Program Office (DCPO) awarded more than $25 million to 102
communities to plan, implement, or enhance drug courts in June 2000.  Drug courts integrate
substance abuse treatment, drug testing, sanctions, and incentives with case processing to place
nonviolent drug-involved defendants in judicially supervised rehabilitation programs.

     Thirty-eight of the grants   totaling more than $5 million   were made to Native American
tribal governments to plan or implement drug courts.  These grants help respond to the higher
alcohol dependency rates and need for treatment among Native Americans, which was reported in
a 1997 study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

     Since the drug court grant program was authorized in the 1994 Crime Act, OJP has made
approximately 650 grants totaling over $125 million to plan, implement, or enhance drug courts
throughout the country.  More than 650 drug courts are operating in the United States and more
than 425 are being planned.  All 50 states have drug courts in operation or in the planning stages. 
Once limited only to adult offenders, specialized drug courts have been developed for juveniles,
families, and persons charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI) or Driving While
Intoxicated (DWI), as well as for tribal court operations.

     In addition to the drug courts supported through Drug Court Grant Program funding, all
states and communities use their own funds   or a combination of state and local, private, and
federal funding   to support drug court programs.  Some localities use funding from OJP's Byrne
Formula Grant Program, the Local Law Enforcement Block Grants, or the Juvenile
Accountability Incentive Block Grants Program, all of which include drug court funding as an
allowable purpose area.  All drug courts use multiple funding sources, even those that have
received Drug Court Grant Program funding.

     The Drug Courts Program Office greatly expanded its training efforts in FY 2000 in
response to the needs expressed by drug court practitioners.  Under the Drug Court Planning
Initiative (DCPI), a series of three workshops on planning a drug court is now available directly to
interested communities, which no longer need to submit a funding application or provide a 25
percent local match.  Communities must assemble a complete drug court team of up to 10
individuals for adult, juvenile, or family drug courts, and team members must attend all training
sessions in order to qualify for payment of workshop and travel expenses by DCPO.  As a result
of this improved access, DCPO was able to train more than 200 communities in planning a drug
court in FY 2000   nearly a 300 percent increase from its previous training capacity.  DCPO
expects to train an additional 200 communities in FY 2001.

     During the past two years alone, DCPO has funded and directed more than 50 training
workshops and provided more than 3,500 incidences of technical support and assistance to
practitioners in the field.  In addition to the drug court planning workshops, training is being
developed to serve operational drug courts through a series of single-subject training programs on
topics such as team building, management, cultural competency, and technology.  Also, the
Mentor Drug Court Network is a cadre of 25 experienced drug courts providing referrals that link
interested communities with operational drug courts that have agreed to serve as mentors.  Over
2,500 persons visited a mentor drug court in the past year; 1,900 of those visits were in
conjunction with DCPO training programs.

     The Drug Court Clearinghouse, funded by DCPO and operated by American University,
supports training and technical assistance efforts, and serves as a repository of statistics and
research findings on drug courts.  A sampling of the statistics and research findings released by
the Clearinghouse in June 2000 indicate continued positive outcomes for drug court graduates
and participants:

                    Over 57,000 individuals have graduated from a drug court.
                    More than 1,000 drug-free babies have been reported born to drug court 
          participants. 
                    Over 90 percent of graduates retained or obtained employment.
                    Over 4,500 parents with previous child support orders were reported to be current
          in their child support, and 3,500 parents were reported to have regained custody of
          their children, as a result of drug court participation.

     

     Determining the effectiveness of drug court programs is an integral part of DCPO's
efforts.  With DCPO funding, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is overseeing a national
evaluation program examining the impact of 25 drug courts.  The first phase of a retrospective
evaluation of the Pensacola, Florida and Kansas City, Missouri drug courts was released in March
2000 and a similar evaluation of the Las Vegas, Nevada and Portland, Oregon drug courts was
released the following month.  
     
     Findings from these studies include:

                    Participation in the Pensacola Drug Court reduced recidivism for new felonies
          from roughly 40 percent to nearly 12 percent within a 2-year follow-up period.
                    Participation in the Kansas City Drug Court reduced recidivism for new felonies
          from approximately 50 percent to 35 percent within a 2-year follow-up period.
                    27 percent of Portland drug court clients were arrested for a new offense as
          compared to 46 percent for the comparison group.
                    39 percent of Las Vegas drug court clients were arrested for a new offense as
          compared to 66 percent for the comparison group.

     DCPO is also committed to helping state and local drug courts obtain outcome
information such as recidivism, retention, and relapse, and to evaluate their drug court systems. 
Through state evaluation and management information systems grant awards, DCPO is currently
funding 14 statewide evaluations totaling $3.5 million.  DCPO will review and disseminate
evaluation findings to the drug court field when the evaluations are completed.  In addition, FY
2001 implementation grantees will be required to conduct an outcome evaluation, as well as
process evaluation, of their drug court operations.

     The combination of funding, training, technical assistance, and evaluation now being
implemented by the DCPO will help to maintain strong, effective drug courts throughout the
country.  Those drug courts can become major assets to public safety,  improved operation of the
nation's justice systems, and to achieving the goal of breaking the cycle of substance abuse and
crime.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT FOR OFFENDERS

     OJP awarded grants totaling more than $57 million to all 50 states and eligible territories
to continue providing substance abuse treatment for offenders at state and local correctional
facilities.  The grants were made under the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) for
State Prisoners program, which was originally authorized in he Crime Act of 1994, and has
allowed OJP to provide more than $230 million to the states and territories since 1996. 



     


                      FOR MORE INFORMATION
                                
Visit the OJP Website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov, which includes general information
about OJP and its bureaus and program offices, e-mail addresses, downloadable
versions of application kits, and links to selected criminal justice Websites.  The
National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Website at www.ncjrs.org
offers online versions of most OJP publications.  OJP publications can also be
ordered by calling the NCJRS toll-free number at 1-800/851-3420.  The following
publications are available from NCJRS:

Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics, 1998 (BJS) NCJ 180258

Drug Use, Testing, and Treatment in Jails (BJS) NCJ 179999

Methamphetamine Interagency Task Force Final Report (NIJ) NCJ 180155

Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) Program: 1999 Annual Report on Drug
Use Among Adult and Juvenile Arrestees (NIJ) NCJ 181426

Promising Practices and Strategies to Reduce Alcohol and Substance Abuse Among
American Indians and Alaska Natives (OJP) NCJ 183930

The Interrelationship Between the Use of Alcohol and Other Drugs  (DCPO) NCJ
178940

Drug Testing in a Drug Court Environment: Common Issues to Address (DCPO)
NCJ 181103

4                   
                   Combating Family Violence
                                
                                
     
     The nature and extent of violence within the family is tragic and alarming.  Family violence
  intimate partner violence, child maltreatment, and elder abuse   is still a significant problem that
often results in an increase in the use of criminal and civil justice processes.  However, progress is
being made in addressing this problem.

BUILDING KNOWLEDGE ABOUT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

     Violence against women by intimate partners fell by 21 percent from 1993 through 1998,
according to the Intimate Partner Violence report released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics
(BJS) in May 2000.  The data are from BJS's National Crime Victimization Survey, in which a
nationally representative sample of men and women age 12 years old and older are interviewed
twice a year.  The report provides information on violence by intimates (current or former
spouses, girlfriends, or boyfriends) and covers trends in intimate violence, characteristics of
victims (race, sex, age, income, ethnicity, and whether the victims live in urban, suburban, or rural
areas), type of crime (physical assault, verbal threats), and trends for reporting to police.  Intimate
victimizations measured include rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple
assault.  Data on murder by intimates are also given.

     According to the report, an estimated 876,340 violent victimizations against women by
intimate partners occurred during 1998 down from 1.1 million in 1993.  In both 1993 and 1998
men were the victims of about 160,000 violent crimes by an intimate partner.  On average each
year from 1993-1998, 22 percent of all female victims of violence in the United States were
attacked by an intimate partner, compared to 3 percent of all male violence victims. 

     Other highlights from the Intimate Partner Violence report include:

                   Intimate partners committed fewer murders in 1996, 1997, or 1998 than in any
          other year since 1976;  
                   Between 1976 and 1998 the number of male victims of intimate partner murder fell
          an average 4 percent per year, and the number of female victims fell an average 1
          percent;  
                   During 1998 women were the victims of intimate partner violence about five times
          more often than males, and;   
                   There were 767  female victims of intimate partner violence per 100,000 women in
          1998, compared to 146 male victims.  
     

     According to data contained in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Supplementary
Homicide Reports: 

                   about 11 percent of all murders in 1998 (1,830 homicides) were the result of
          intimate partner violence, compared to about 3,000 such homicides in 1976;
                   in 72 percent of the intimate partner homicides, the victim was female (1,320
          incidents) compared to 50 percent in 1976;
                   the number of white female intimate partner homicide victims rose 3 percent
          between 1976 and 1998;
                   the number of black females killed by intimates fell 45 percent, black males fell 74
          percent, and white males fell 44 percent;
                   between 1997 and 1998, the number of white females murdered by an intimate
          partner increased 15 percent;
                   between 1993 and 1998, women from 16 to 24 years old experienced the highest
          per capita rates of intimate victimization   19.6 per 1,000 women;  
                   about half of the intimate partner violence against women was reported to police
          during the 6-year period; black women were more likely than other women to
          report such violence;
                   among victims of violence by a domestic partner, the percentage of women who
          reported the violence to police was higher in 1998 (59 percent) than in 1993 (48
          percent);
                   half of the female intimate violence victims told the survey they were physically
          injured, and 37 percent of these victims sought professional medical treatment;
                   about 45 percent of the female intimate violence victims lived in households with
          children younger than 12 years old; and
                   among all U.S. households, 27 percent were homes of children younger than 12
          years.  However, it is not known to what extent young children in households with
          intimate violence witnessed that violence. 

     Although the incidence of family violence has shown a decline, family violence continues
to occur across the country.  In July 2000, OJP's National Institute of Justice and the Department
of Health and Human Service's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) released the
report, Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence: Findings from the
National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS).  This study, which followed the release of
the BJS Intimate Partner Violence report containing NCVS data, used a different method to
collect the data.  The NCVS asked respondents specifically about their experiences with crime,
whereas the NVAWS was administered in the context of a personal safety survey.  As a result, the
surveys showed both similarities and differences in their findings.  For example, both surveys
indicate that women are much more likely to be victimized than men and are more likely to suffer
injuries as a result of victimization.  However, the surveys differ in the number of victimizations
reported by survey respondents and the proportions of those reporting their victimization to the
police.  Both surveys are part of the Justice Department's efforts to develop multiple measures to
improve understanding of violence between intimates and formulate more effective policy,
including prevention and intervention tools.  

     According to the NVAWS report, nearly 25 percent of surveyed women and about 7
percent of surveyed men said they have been raped and/or physically assaulted by a current or
former spouse or partner at some time in their lives.  The NVAWS compared victimization rates
among women and men, specific racial and ethnic groups, and same-sex and opposite-sex
couples.  

     The NVAWS  found the following:

                   violence perpetrated against women by intimates is often accompanied by
          emotionally abusive and controlling behavior;
                   women whose partners were jealous, controlling, or verbally abusive were
          significantly more likely to report being victimized;
                   verbal abuse was found to be the behavior most likely to predict intimate partner
          victimization;
                   rates of reported intimate partner violence varied significantly among women of
          different racial backgrounds;
                   African-American and American Indian/Alaska Native women and men tended to
          report higher rates of intimate partner violence than women and men from other
          backgrounds;
                   Asian/Pacific Islander women and men tended to report lower rates;
                   women experience more chronic and injurious physical assaults in intimate partner
          relationships than do men;
                   women who were physically assaulted by an intimate partner averaged 6.9 physical
          assaults by the same partner and men averaged 4.4 assaults; and
                   more than 40 percent of women who were assaulted experienced an injury during
          their most recent assault, compared to 20 percent of the men.


ADDRESSING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

     In October 2000, OJP's Violence Against Women Office (VAWO) awarded $131.6
million under the STOP (Services, Training, Officers, Prosecutors) Violence Against Women
Formula Grant program to improve law enforcement, prosecution, and victim services responses
to domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and
five territories.  Since the first grants were awarded in 1995, VAWO has awarded over $681
million in STOP funds and over $1.6 billion in overall VAWA grant programs since its legislative
enactment in 1994.  STOP funds are used for the training of law enforcement officers


 and prosecutors to more effectively identify and respond to domestic violence, sexual assault, and
stalking; to develop domestic violence units in police departments and prosecutors' offices; to
enhance victim services; and to improve court responses to these crimes. 
     
     Ninety-four jurisdictions across the country received a total of $28.9 million to continue
their efforts in implementing policies that encourage or mandate the arrest of batterers and
enforce protection orders.  The VAWO Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies Program fosters
collaboration among law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, and victim advocates to treat
domestic violence as a serious crime.  With the help of the Arrest Program, communities are
sending a strong message to batterers that domestic violence will not be tolerated.  In FY 2000,
this program was reauthorized by the enactment of the Violence Against Women Act of 2000,
further improving the enforcement of protection orders.

     VAWO awarded funds to 94 communities in 41 states and the District of Columbia to
continue Arrest Program projects that began with FY 1998 and FY 1999 funds.  In FY 2000,
there were 176 jurisdictions participating in the Arrest Program, with at least one jurisdiction in
almost every state receiving funding.  In order to receive this funding, states, local jurisdictions,
and Indian tribal governments have to certify that their laws or official policies encourage or
mandate the arrest of domestic violence offenders when there is probable cause or when a
protection order has been violated.  Applicants also have to demonstrate that their laws and
policies discourage the arrests of both offender and victim.
      
     Police officers, prosecutors, and victim advocates have been using Arrest Program funds
to build on their efforts to hold offenders accountable and to improve victims' safety.  While there
is not yet an official evaluation of the program, communities have reported that the Arrest
Program has made a real difference in their fight to eliminate violence against women.  

     FY 2000 Arrest Program funds are being used to:

                   establish specialized units in police departments or prosecutors' offices that focus
          solely on domestic violence; 
                   centralize responsibility for domestic violence cases in groups or units of probation
          and parole officers or judges;
                   educate criminal justice personnel about domestic violence and how to improve the
          handling of domestic violence cases; 
                   develop, improve, and coordinate domestic violence computer tracking systems to
          ensure communication among police, prosecutors, and criminal and family courts;
          and
                   strengthen services for victims.
       


FIGHTING FAMILY VIOLENCE IN TRIBAL AND RURAL COMMUNITIES

     Delivery of domestic violence services in rural areas can be difficult.  Rural battered
women and children face challenges, such as geographic isolation, not encountered by victims
living in urban areas.  The  unique circumstances of rural communities also complicate the ability
of the criminal justice system to investigate and prosecute domestic violence and child
victimization cases, and they present barriers for victim service providers in identifying and
assisting abused women and children.

     In FY 2000, VAWO awarded $23.9 million in funding under the Rural Domestic Violence
and Child Victimization Enforcement Grant Program to continue projects begun with FY 1998
grant funds.  As a result, victims of domestic violence and their children living in 63 rural areas in
41 states will receive improved services.  These grants will help improve the investigation and
prosecution of domestic violence and child abuse cases and increase victims' access to advocacy
and counseling in rural areas.  This program assists criminal justice and social service staff to find
creative solutions to some of the problems they face in rural communities.

     The Rural Program provides a unique opportunity for rural jurisdictions to address the
needs of law enforcement, prosecution agencies, the courts, and nonprofit nongovernmental
victim services agencies responding to domestic violence and child abuse cases.  Rural
jurisdictions are encouraged to create or enhance partnerships among criminal justice agencies,
community organizations, health and social service providers, and child welfare agencies to
implement prevention and education programs, as well as to develop innovative strategies to
address the unique challenges of preventing and responding to domestic violence and child
victimization in rural areas.

     States, Indian tribal governments, local governments in rural states, and other public and
private entities in rural areas are eligible to apply.  According to the VAWA statute.  There are 19
states classified as rural.  In non-rural states, the state may apply on behalf of one or more of its
rural jurisdictions.     

     The STOP Violence Against Women Program, authorized under VAWA, has allowed
OJP to assist tribal justice agencies to partner with service providers that assist Indian victims of
domestic violence and sexual assault.  This collaboration promotes the safety and sovereignty of
Native American women and also emphasizes holding offenders accountable.

     At a December 1999 domestic violence conference convened in Flagstaff, Arizona, over
100 tribal governments and Native American organizations from 25 states met to learn about the
promising practices and programs addressing violence against Native American women.  Two
nonprofit Native American organizations, Mending the Sacred Hoop and Sacred Circle National
Resource Center to End Violence Against Native Women, spearheaded the program as part of a
VAWO technical assistance grant.
               
     Conference attendees, which included tribal grantees from VAWO's STOP Violence
Against Indian Women program, discussed promising efforts within the areas of law enforcement,
prosecution, tribal courts, tribal leadership, victim's advocacy, and coordination with county,
state, and federal agencies, including United States Attorney's Offices.  Tribal grantees also had
the opportunity to visit the Hopi Tribe to see its community response to domestic violence. 
Assistant United States Attorneys from various districts, along with the Northwest Tribal Court
Judges Association and the American Indian Law Center, assisted with training and presentations.

     Since the inception of the STOP Violence Against Indian Women Discretionary Grant 
program in 1995, VAWO has awarded over $36 million to tribal governments to strengthen the
tribal justice system's response to violent crimes against Indian women.  In FY 2000, VAWO
awarded 82 Indian tribal governments $6.35 million in 23 states to continue projects begun in
previous fiscal years that help Indian women who are victims of domestic and sexual abuse. 
These funds also assist law enforcement officers and prosecutors who investigate and prosecute
cases involving violence against Indian women.  In FY 2000, total funding for the STOP Violence
Against Indian Women Discretionary Grant Program was $8.27 million.  

COMBATING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES

     Sexual assault and other violent crimes against women often go unreported on college
campuses because appropriate services are not available to victims or there is a lack of
coordination with the local criminal justice system.  For the second year, VAWO awarded $6.8
million to higher education institutions under its FY 2000 Grants to Combat Violent Crimes
Against Women on Campuses program.  

     In order to receive funding, colleges and universities must:  

                   develop partnerships with nonprofit victim advocacy organizations and local
          criminal justice or civil legal agencies;
                   train campus police to respond to sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking;
          and
                   establish a mandatory prevention and education program on violence against
          women for incoming students.

     Congress appropriated $10 million for the FY 2000 Grants to Combat Violent Crimes
Against Women on Campuses program, which is authorized by the Higher Education
Amendments of 1998.  VAWA received 120 applications requesting $40.1 million and awarded
20 grants.  The remaining funds were used for a national evaluation of the program and technical
assistance.  The Grants to Combat Violent Crimes Against Women on Campuses program was
reauthorized as part of VAWA 2000.
          
HELPING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS

     Many domestic violence victims do not have access to civil legal services, which can
provide important avenues for victims to escape from circumstances that lead to domestic
violence .  Under the Legal Assistance to Victims Grant Program, in FY 2000 VAWO awarded
30 new grants totaling $7.7 million to law school legal clinics, victims and legal services
organizations, domestic violence programs, and bar associations so that victims of domestic
violence in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and three territories can receive legal assistance
with matters related to the abuse.  

     These funds provide legal assistance to victims of domestic violence to address their
immediate concerns about physical safety and financial security, and enable them to escape the
violence.  Grantees are using the civil legal assistance funds to:

                   establish legal advocacy programs to represent victims in protection order, divorce
          or separation, spousal and child support, and custody matters;
                   help victims access benefits, health care, and housing; and
                   recruit and train attorneys who provide pro bono civil legal assistance to domestic
          violence victims.

     VAWO also awarded 56 grants totaling $15.9 million to continue projects begun with FY
1998 Legal Assistance grant funds.  

EFFORTS TO HELP CHILDREN EXPOSED TO VIOLENCE

     OJP also is working to assist children exposed to violence.  Nine sites are sharing more
than $6 million in grants during the first year of a five and a half year Safe Start Initiative to
develop comprehensive efforts to help children exposed to violence.  The sites are San Francisco,
California; Bridgeport, Connecticut; Pinellas County, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; Washington
County, Maine; Baltimore, Maryland; Rochester, New York; Chatham County, North Carolina;
and Spokane, Washington.  Each grantee  receives approximately $670,000 per year from OJP's
Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention.
     
     The Safe Start Initiative is part of the Children Exposed to Violence Initiative (CEVI),
which was launched in December 1998.  CEVI is a nationwide effort to seek new and effective
means to prevent children's exposure to violence, to adopt innovative intervention efforts, and to
find better ways to hold perpetrators accountable.
     
     The Safe Start Initiative is based in part on the Child Development Community Policing
(CD-CP) pilot program developed by Yale University and the New Haven (Connecticut) Police
Department with OJJDP support.  The CD-CP program brings police officers and mental health
professionals together through training, consultation, and support to provide constructive
intervention for children who are victims and witnesses of violent crime.
     
     OJJDP, which administers the Safe Start Initiative, selected the 9 grantees after a review
of the 208 applications.  First-year funding is dedicated  to a thorough review of existing
community services and gaps that need to be filled.  Based on this review, the grantees will plan a
5-year comprehensive response.  The sites' plans will be based on coordination among law
enforcement, mental health and medical professionals, and child protective service providers.  The
plans will include efforts such as child advocacy centers, home visitation programs, and domestic
violence services for battered mothers whose children are at a high risk of exposure to violence.  
                                 
     In addition to the nine Safe Start sites, OJJDP also awarded $670,000 to each of three
sites   Miami, Florida; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Newark, New Jersey   for a 2-year period. 
These sites are focusing on specific improvements to services for children exposed to violence. 
The National Center for Children Exposed to Violence in New Haven is working with OJJDP to
provide training and technical support to the Safe Start sites.
     
     As part of CEVI, the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) released a video series and
companion resource guide, Responding to Child Victims and Witnesses: Innovative Practices
that Work.  The Responding to Child Victims series includes three individualized videos, which
highlight innovative practices for specific groups that work with child victims and witnesses   law
enforcement, prosecution, and the courts.  A fourth video stresses the importance of partnerships
among these groups, mental health providers, and community organizations to effectively respond
to children who are exposed to violence.  The companion resource guide offers discussion
questions on how to address child victims.  OVC also produced a video, Through My Eyes, which
features the voices and artwork of children who have experienced or witnessed violence and
comments from mental health and treatment providers on the effects of violence on children. 

     BJA-funded Closed-Circuit Televising of Child Victims of Abuse (CCTV) grants were
instrumental in securing portable videotape and closed-circuit television equipment that allowed
the testimony of child victims at Children's Advocacy Centers to be televised and linked to
courtrooms.  CCTV grants purchased document cameras and electronic whiteboards that clarify
the testimony of child victims through physical evidence such as drawings. The grants also funded
the creation of forensic interview rooms in Children's Advocacy Centers and training for criminal
justice professionals in interviewing child victims that examined legal requirements, minimizing
trauma, and a range of issues related to children's memory.

                      FOR MORE INFORMATION
                                
Visit the OJP Website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov, which includes general information
about OJP and its bureaus and program offices, e-mail addresses, downloadable
versions of application kits, and links to selected criminal justice Websites.  The
National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Website at www.ncjrs.org
offers online versions of most OJP publications.  OJP publications can also be
ordered by calling the NCJRS toll-free number at 1-800/851-3420.  The following
publications are available from NCJRS:


Intimate Partner Violence (BJS) NCJ 178247

Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence: Findings from the
National Violence Against Women Survey (NIJ/CDC) NCJ 181867

Child-Development Community Policing: Partnership in a Climate of Violence
(OJJDP) NCJ 164380

Evaluation of the STOP Formula Grants to Combat Violence Against Women - The
Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (NIJ/Urban Institute)  

Responding to Child Victims and Witnesses Series (Videotapes and Resource
Guide) (OVC) NCJ 181501, 181504, 181505, 181500, 181506

Through My Eyes (Videotape) (OVC) NCJ 178229


































                                   5
                     Addressing Youth Crime
                                

                    
     
     Through comprehensive and coordinated efforts at the federal, state, and local levels, the
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) contributes to the reduction of
youth violence.  OJJDP continues to strengthen the nation's juvenile justice system and supports
prevention and early intervention programs that are making a difference for young people and
their communities.

     Juvenile violent crime is at its lowest level since 1987 and fell 30 percent from 1994 to
1998, according to the OJJDP bulletin, Juvenile Arrests 1998, which reports significant decreases
for every violent crime, including a nearly 50 percent drop in the juvenile murder arrest rate from
1993 to 1998.

      The bulletin presents an analysis of the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports data, including
arrest rates, which are the numbers of arrests for a specific crime per 100,000 youth ages 10 to
17.  In addition to the sharp declines in violent crime committed by juveniles, there was also a 33
percent drop in the arrest rate for weapons law violations by youth between 1993 and 1998.

      Juvenile Arrests 1998 also showed drops in other juvenile arrest rates:
     
                    Forcible rape   down 25 percent from 1991 to 1998.
                    Aggravated assault   down 20 percent from 1994 to 1998.
                    Robbery   down 45 percent from 1995 to 1998 and now at its lowest level since
          1980.
                    Burglary   down 22 percent from 1989 to 1998 and 50 percent from 1980 to
          1998.
                    Larceny-theft   down 4 percent from 1989 to 1998.
                    Motor vehicle theft   down 39 percent from 1989 to 1998.
                    Arson   down 23 percent from 1994 to 1998 and now at its lowest level since
          1990.
          
     In addition to the juvenile arrest data, the bulletin also presents an analysis of a new FBI
study of 1998 data on family violence and the relationship between offenders and victims.  Young
people were victims in 58 percent of forcible rapes, with 15 percent of the victims under age 12. 
When rapes occurred between family members, juveniles were victims 73 percent of the time and
39 percent of the victims were under age 12.




ENSURING SCHOOL SAFETY                            

     The majority of schools are very safe, and even those with higher levels of crime than the
typical school may be safer generally than the communities in which they are located.  However,
no level of school violence is acceptable and reducing violence in schools and assuring that
students can learn in a safe and nonthreatening environment is a national priority.  Many programs
have been implemented in the nation's schools in recent years to promote safe and healthy learning
environments. 

     While many schools also have incorporated school safety technologies within their overall
school safety plans, little focused national attention has been given to the possible role of
technology as an effective aid in creating safer and more secure schools.  The NIJ-coordinated
Safe Schools Technology Initiative encourages technology developers to work with schools,
school administrators, and law enforcement agencies that serve schools to propose new or
improved safety technologies that have promise for wide implementation.  Under this initiative,
NIJ sponsors technology research and development in the following areas: concealed weapons/
contraband detection, information technology, less-than-lethal, surveillance, training, and
simulation.

     Technology assistance is the final piece of the Safe Schools Technology Initiative.  NIJ
invites practitioner participation in policy and liability assessment forums that bring together law
enforcement and school safety officials wherever appropriate.  NIJ also utilizes the resources of
its National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center system to provide technology
information, assistance, demonstrations, and other support to community law enforcement
agencies and school security personnel. 

     Research validates that a comprehensive community-wide and school-wide approach
works best to promote healthy child development and to reduce school violence and drug use. 
The safety and well-being of our nation's children can be enhanced through the work of
partnerships that bring together schools, families, and community organizations and offer a
broad-based preventive approach to violence and drug use.  The Safe Schools/Healthy Students
Initiative (SSHS) supports urban, rural, suburban, and tribal school district efforts to link
prevention activities and community-based services and to provide community-wide approaches
to violence prevention and healthy child development.  This collaboration among the U.S.
Departments of Education, Justice, and Health and Human Services helps communities design and
put into place comprehensive educational, mental health, social service, law enforcement, and
juvenile justice services for youth.  

     In April 2000, more than $41 million in SSHS grants were awarded to 23 communities to
make schools safer, to foster children's healthy development, and to prevent aggressive and
violent behavior and drug and alcohol use among the nation's youth.  These grants funded 23 new
3-year projects, adding to the 54 SSHS projects funded last year. 
     
     Research shows that preventing violence by building on children's strengths and promoting
healthy development produces more positive results and is more cost-effective than strictly
punitive measures.  Grantees were urged to intervene with children early and to use programs that
have been proven effective, such as life skills development, mentoring, conflict resolution, support
for families, professional development for staff, truancy prevention,
after-school activities, teen courts, and alternative education.

            Continuation grants for the initial 54 three-year projects funded in FY 1999 were 
awarded in summer 2000 with nearly $100 million from the three federal agencies.  Projects had
to demonstrate substantial progress to receive continued funding.

REDUCING YOUTH VIOLENCE

     Most OJJDP funding is awarded directly to state governments to support local juvenile
justice and delinquency prevention projects.  In FY 2000, OJJDP awarded more than $70 million
to all 50 states, territories, and the District of Columbia under the Juvenile Justice Delinquency
Program formula grant program to support a variety of juvenile justice activities, from prevention
to incarceration.  Two states are not participating in the Formula Grants Program (Wyoming and
South Dakota) due to non-compliance with the core protections of the OJJDP Act.  In these
states, funds were awarded to non-profit agencies working to help the state attain compliance and
regain eligibility.  OJJDP also awarded more than $38 million under the Title V program, which
provides funds to states to implement comprehensive plans for delinquency prevention, and more
than $8 million under the State Challenge Grants program, which provides funds to improve
juvenile justice systems, including juvenile courts, juvenile corrections, and juvenile probation and
aftercare programs. 

     The Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grants (JAIBG) program is helping to
strengthen the juvenile justice system by encouraging states and local jurisdictions to implement
accountability-based reforms.  Under the program, OJJDP awards block grants to states, which in
turn are passed through to local jurisdictions.  JAIBG also supports program-related research,
demonstration, evaluation, training, and technical assistance activities. 

     During FY 2000, 56 eligible jurisdictions, which includes the 50 states, territories, and the
District of Columbia, received JAIBG awards totaling $224 million.  The awards can be used to
fund programs in 12 purpose areas, including construction of juvenile detention and corrections
facilities; development of accountability-based sanctions programs for juvenile offenders; hiring of
prosecutors, public defenders, and judges to address drug, gang, and youth violence more
effectively; and the establishment and maintenance of interagency information-sharing programs
to promote more informed decision-making in the control, supervision, and treatment of juvenile
offenders.

     To help states and local jurisdictions implement JAIBG programs, OJJDP provides
training and technical assistance through Development Services Group, Inc. (DSG), of Bethesda,
Maryland and 16 other training and technical assistance providers.  During FY 2000, the training
program featured six regional training sessions for state and local JAIBG grantees and included a
3-day program of 20 workshops and presentations customized to the needs of each region. 
OJJDP and BJS also established the JAIBG Technical Support Center to help states calculate the
amount of JAIBG funds to be allocated to local jurisdictions.  ABT Associates Inc., of
Cambridge, Massachusetts, is conducting a 48-month national evaluation of the JAIBG program. 
In addition, OJJDP continued to publish a series of JAIBG Bulletins, which present up-to-date
information about each of the JAIBG program purpose areas.

     DSG coordinates a JAIBG Training and Technical Assistance Alliance that is composed of
19 providers (members include the American Correctional Association, the National Council of
Juvenile and Family Court Judges, American Probation and Parole Association, and the National
Institute of Corrections) that give various types of services to states and localities implementing
JAIBG programs.  Since its inception in 1998, the Alliance has provided technical assistance (TA)
in response to more than 2,510 requests.  The TA has focused primarily on operating juvenile
detention facilities, developing accountability-based programs, providing training for prosecutors,
improving juvenile courts and probation, and implementing drug testing programs.  In support of
the JAIBG program, the Alliance has conducted 365 training events, workshops, presentations,
and videoconferences reaching more than 16,000 practitioners, including juvenile justice
specialists, judges, probation officers, law enforcement officers, court and school personnel,
prosecutors, and detention staff.  Local needs assessments have led to effective training
approaches, which are crucial to increasing accountability in juvenile justice systems nationwide. 
By directly training state and local practitioners on best practices in juvenile accountability and
graduated sanctions, OJJDP is supporting state and local governments in increasing their juvenile
justice systems' capacity to address accountability. 

     While juvenile crime rates have dropped throughout the nation, they continue to rise in
Indian country.  In December 1999, 34 American Indian and Alaska Native tribal communities
were awarded nearly $8 million in Tribal Youth Program grants to prevent and control juvenile
delinquency and substance abuse.  The Tribal Youth Program, new in FY 1999, is administered by
OJJDP.  Funds are being used to support accountability-based sanctions, training for juvenile
court judges, strengthening family bonds, substance abuse counseling, and other programs.  The
Tribal Youth Program was created through the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act for
1999 (P.L. 105-277) and is part of a joint Justice Department and Interior Department Indian
Country Law Enforcement Improvement Initiative to address the need for improved law
enforcement and administration of criminal and juvenile justice in Indian country.

PREVENTING YOUTH CRIME

     As part of another federal interagency collaboration to prevent youth crime, the Attorney
General led a discussion on preventing and controlling juvenile crime by girls as part of the
quarterly meeting of the Federal Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention.  The Federal Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is
chaired by the Attorney General and includes the Secretaries of Education, Health and Human
Services, and Housing and Urban Development and juvenile justice practitioners appointed by
Congress and the President.  Its primary function is to coordinate all federal juvenile delinquency
prevention programs, all federal programs and activities that detain or care for unaccompanied
juveniles, and all federal programs related to missing and exploited children.  It also examines how
programs can be better coordinated at different levels of government to serve at-risk youth, makes
recommendations to Congress, and reviews the programs and practices of federal agencies to
assess their compliance with the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.  The focus of
the quarterly meeting on March 29, 2001 centered around the latest research on gender trends in
juvenile crime, effective prevention programs for troubled girls, and promising intervention
programs for girls in the juvenile justice system.  

     In July 2000, the Deputy Attorney General met with youth from across the country to hear
their ideas about the causes of juvenile violence and promising solutions.  The youth were part of
the National Campaign to Stop Violence "Do the Write Thing Program," through which
seventh/eighth grade students and National Guard Unit high school students write essays and
poems about delinquency, crime, and victimization.  OJJDP has supported this program since
1997.

     For millions of children, Boys & Girls Clubs are a safe haven from drugs and violence. 
Established in 1906, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America has grown from 53 clubs to a national
network of more than 2,800 clubs, many in public housing, schools, churches, shopping malls,
homeless shelters, orphanages, Native American reservations, and U.S. military bases around the
world.  Today, Boys & Girls Clubs serve more than 3.3 million youth, employ more that 10,000
full-time and 40,000 part-time youth professionals, and organize the efforts of more than 200,000
volunteers.

     Over the 8-year history of its partnership with Boys and Girls Clubs of America, BJA
funds have directly assisted over 600,000 youth and helped to start at least 850 new clubs.  BJA
has also funded nearly 2,200 special awards to help local clubs enhance their curricula and provide
outreach in their communities.  In 2000, BJA funds helped to establish new clubs and expand the
outreach of existing clubs in severely distressed communities, in Indian country, and in small, rural
communities.  BJA funds also supported a pilot initiative to help bridge the technology divide
between affluent and disadvantaged youth through youth technology centers.

     Under another long-standing program, the award-winning public service ads of the BJA-
funded National Citizen's Crime Prevention Campaign challenged Americans to invest in youth
and do something about violence, crime, and illegal drug use.  Campaign advertising appears on
television, radio, billboards, and posters; in newspapers and magazines; and now through Website
banners.  In 1998, the Campaign reached more than 155 million households and raised an
unprecedented $128 million in donated broadcast and print media support.  These media
campaigns generate approximately 25,000 calls per year to the Campaign's toll-free number and
22,000 per year to a toll-free number for teens.  The Campaign is a cooperative effort of the
National Crime Prevention Council, BJA, the Crime Prevention Coalition of America, and the Ad
Council, Inc.

RESPONDING TO YOUTH CRIME
     
     America is demanding solutions to increases in violent crime committed by its youth.  The
emerging consensus is that communities need to adopt comprehensive approaches to combat
juvenile crime.  In response, OJJDP developed the Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent,
and Chronic Juvenile Offenders to provide a framework of strategic responses at the community,
city, state, and national levels.  OJJDP's Guide for Implementing the Comprehensive Strategy for
Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders provides the necessary tools and program
information to systematically and comprehensively address rising violent juvenile crime.
Implementing the Comprehensive Strategy, however, requires a commitment to improving the
juvenile justice system; providing appropriate prevention methods to children, families, and
communities; and intervening in the lives of first-time offenders with structured programs and
services.  The Comprehensive Strategy and the Guide are important resources for communities
interested in identifying and implementing solutions to growing juvenile violence through a more
effective juvenile justice system.  States using the Comprehensive Strategy include: Florida, Iowa,
Maryland, Rhode Island, and Texas.  The Children's Initiative in San Diego, California, is also
participating as a pilot site.

     Another OJJDP bulletin, The Comprehensive Strategy: Lessons Learned From the Pilot
Sites, released in March 2000, found that leadership, engaging the media, and training a broad
range of community participants are critical elements in establishing comprehensive, community-
wide efforts to combat juvenile violence.  Community support and the ability to maximize existing
resources are other critical factors to ensure a successful youth crime-fighting strategy.  The
bulletin describes the efforts of three sites   Lee County, Florida; Duval County, Florida; and San
Diego, California   that applied the principles of OJJDP's Comprehensive Strategy for Serious,
Violent and Chronic Juvenile Offenders.      

     The strategy, which OJJDP initially published in 1993, is based on six key principles:

                    Strengthening families. 
                    Supporting core social institutions such as schools, churches, and other youth-
          serving organizations.
                    Providing prevention programs that offer positive opportunities for troubled youth.
                    Intervening early at the first signs of trouble to keep youth from moving toward
          more serious and violent crimes.
                    Establishing accountability-based sanctions that provide for public safety while also
          providing treatment for young people in the juvenile justice system.  
                    Identifying and controlling the small group of serious, violent, and chronic
          offenders who account for most violent juvenile crime. 

     OJJDP selected the three strategy pilot sites in 1993 and provided training and technical
assistance to help them develop strategic plans to meet their needs. 

     The bulletin describes some unique features of the three sites' efforts:

                    Lee County implemented the Parenting Project, which provided counseling,
          training, and support for parents of children with attention deficit disorders and
          other behavioral problems.  
                    Duval County established a Family Visitation Center, which offered a safe and
          supervised environment for abused and neglected youth to visit their biological
          parents. 
                    San Diego implemented the Critical Hours program, which provided positive after-
          school activities for more than 14,000 young people in its first year.   

     The bulletin also outlines the challenges of implementing a comprehensive strategic
approach, such as difficulties in collecting needed data.  Other obstacles included "turf" issues that
developed between agencies that were not used to working together and the time demands on key
community and agency leaders. 

     In FY 2000, OJJDP provided training and technical assistance funding for five
communities in two states that wanted to develop and implement the strategic planning
framework as an approach to serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders.  The model
includes:

                    Identifying programs that address prevention services for at-risk youth and their
          families, and
                    Developing a system of graduated sanctions for juvenile offenders.

     Program development is guided by risk and needs assessment instruments at each level of
the juvenile justice process.

     OJJDP is also providing training, technical assistance, and funding to eight states  
Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, and Wisconsin   to develop and
implement a comprehensive strategy in selected communities. 

ADDRESSING YOUTH GANG CRIME

     OJJDP also is helping communities to address problems related to crime by youth gangs.
In FY 2000, OJJDP launched a new demonstration and replication effort to allow more
communities across the country to use a promising approach to reducing and preventing youth
gang crime and, especially, violence.  The FY 2000 Gang-Free Schools and Communities
Initiative included three new programs: 1) Comprehensive Gang Model: An Enhanced School/
Community Approach to Reducing Youth Gang Crime, 2) Gang-Free Communities, and 3)
National Evaluation of the Comprehensive Gang Model: An Enhanced School/Community
Approach to Reducing Youth Gang Crime.  This initiative will provide support for up to 16
communities to use the OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model to address local youth gang problems
through intervention and suppression while building on and enhancing local youth gang
prevention activities.  The programs implemented under this initiative are strategic in nature and
will be guided by comprehensive assessments of the local youth gang problems in each
community.  OJJDP's National Youth Gang Center (NYGC) will provide training and technical
assistance to these communities. 

     In FY 2000, the Boys & Girls Clubs added 30 new gang prevention sites, five new gang
intervention sites, and two "Targeted Reintegration" sites where clubs provide services to youth
returning to the community from juvenile correctional facilities to prevent them from returning to
gangs and violence.  

     In FY 2000, OJJDP also provided continuation support for its Rural Gang Initiative in
four communities across the nation; its ongoing Comprehensive Gang Sites; the National Youth
Gang Center in Tallahassee, Florida; and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
in Alexandria, Virginia. The National Youth Gang Center and the IACP each provide training and
technical assistance to communities across the country experiencing youth gang problems.  

DEVELOPING NEW INTERNET RESOURCES  

     A new Website   www.parentingresources.ncjrs.org   was launched in June 2000 to
offer parents information on such topics as child care, education, health, and safety.  The site,
"Parenting Resources for the 21st Century," is part of a joint effort by several federal agencies to
promote a national agenda for children and foster positive youth development.  The site was
unveiled at a quarterly meeting of the federal Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention.  

     This Website, which includes information on advocacy, education, employment, mental
health, substance abuse, nutrition, learning disabilities, and volunteer activities, is divided into
eight categories:

                    Child and Youth Development - presents information about common behaviors,
          developmental milestones, and emotional and physiological changes that typically
          occur during different stages of a young person's life.
                    Child Care and Education - provides information on what skills children are
          expected to master at each grade level, how to support children's learning
          processes, and how to ease children's transitions between schools.  Also offers
          guidance on home schooling, alternative schools, and standardized tests.
                    Family Concerns -  presents information about topics including gangs, hate
          crimes, school safety, domestic violence, child abuse, substance abuse, tobacco,
          mental health, and suicide.
                    Family Dynamics - provides information on matters pertaining to different types
          of family relationships, such as single, two-parent, and multi-generational families;
          special circumstances, such as the incarceration of a family member; and work and
          family issues, such as alternative work schedules and daycare.
                    Health and Safety - includes exercise and nutrition guidelines, recommendations
          for a preventive approach to health, and strategies for dealing with chronic
          ailments.  Links also deal with topics such as Internet safety and caring for aging
          parents.
                    Out-of-School Activities - provides links to information about a wide range of
          activities to do at home and in the community, including sports, arts, volunteering,
          and employment.
                    Resources - offers information about financial assistance and publications of
          interest to parents and youth-serving organizations.
                    What's New - provides up-to-date information about new parenting-related
          developments, research, publications, and events.
     
     In another joint effort by several federal agencies to promote a national agenda for
children and foster positive youth development, a new Website was posted in February 2000 to
aid children with disabilities.  The Website   www.childrenwithdisabilities.ncjrs.org   provides
quick and easy access to a broad array of information, ranging from the latest research to
programs and events designed specifically for young people with disabilities.  Studies have found
that disabilities are one of the many risks associated with juvenile crime and drug abuse.  The
Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention developed both of these
Websites.

BUILDING KNOWLEDGE ABOUT YOUTH CRIME

     As part of OJJDP's Program of Research on the Causes and Correlates of Delinquency, 
OJJDP released the bulletin, Teenage Fatherhood and Delinquent Behavior, in February 2000. 
Teenage fathers are more likely than other youths to commit delinquent acts, be involved in drug
dealing, use alcohol, and drop out of school.  This bulletin includes an analysis of studies of urban
males in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Rochester, New York.  The Pittsburgh study found that:

                    62 teenagers, 12 percent of the sample, became fathers before their 19th birthday,
                    these 62 youth fathered a total of 82 children, and
                    fatherhood occurred as early as age 14, with the rate rising steadily to age 18.

     The study then compared these youth with 62 other similar youth who were not fathers:

                    72 percent of the fathers had a court petition alleging delinquency compared to 41
          percent of the other youth;
                    39 percent of the fathers were involved in frequent alcohol use compared to 19
          percent for the other youth;
     
                    41 percent of the fathers were involved in drug dealing compared to 21 percent of
          the other youth; and
                    60 percent of the fathers dropped out of school compared to 37 percent of the
          other youth.

     The Rochester study also found a correlation among teenage fatherhood, delinquency, and
drug use.  Its findings:
                    
                    70 percent of the young people examined who were classified as high-frequency
          drug users became fathers, compared to 24 percent of the low-frequency users and
          non-users, and
                    47 percent of the young people who were classified as high-rate delinquents
          became fathers, compared to 23 percent of the low-rate delinquents and the non-
          delinquents.
     
     Since 1986, OJJDP has issued bulletins on different risks that can lead to delinquency,
including family disruption, child maltreatment, and gang involvement.  More recent releases
continue to explore these themes.   

     OJJDP released the bulletin Youth Gang Drug Trafficking in December 1999.  Serious
drug trafficking by youth gangs is concentrated in a small number of areas.   Forty-seven percent
of law enforcement agencies responding to the survey reported that youth gangs controlled less
than a quarter of the drug distribution in their jurisdictions, while an additional 23 percent
reported that youth gangs controlled less than half of the drug distribution.  The bulletin was
based on data from the 1996 National Youth Gang Survey, which collected information from
2,630 law enforcement agencies nationwide and was the first report on the extent and nature of
youth gang drug trafficking based on nationwide law enforcement reports.  Highlights from the
study include:

                    Jurisdictions that began to experience youth gang-related problems before 1991
          reported far more youth gang control of drug distribution than jurisdictions that
          initially experienced youth gang-related problems in 1991 or later. 

                    Youth gang involvement in drug sales was more widespread than youth gang
          control of drug distribution.  

                    46 percent of law enforcement agencies reported that youth gang members were
          involved in at least half of the drug sales in their jurisdiction, while 23 percent of
          the agencies reported that youth gang members were involved in at least three-
          quarters of the drug sales.  However, a youth gang member's involvement in drug
          sales may not necessarily have been motivated by gang membership.  Youth gang
          members' drug sales could have been motivated solely by personal gain, while
          youth gang-related drug distribution would mean that the youth gang itself served
          as a mechanism to control the buying and selling of the drugs.

     OJJDP also looked at new approaches to providing youth services.  An OJJDP bulletin
released in April 2000 described how the Community Assessment Center (CAC) concept can
improve the cost efficiency, timeliness, and comprehensiveness of services to youth in the juvenile
justice system.  CAC's provide a round-the-clock, centralized point of intake and assessment for
juveniles who have come into or are likely to come into contact with the juvenile justice system. 
The multi-disciplinary, single-stop centers are usually staffed by a team of law enforcement, social
service, and mental health professionals who assess the young person's needs and make
immediate, appropriate referrals.  The CAC model has four key elements that, when properly
implemented, have a positive impact on the lives of youth and can divert them from delinquent
behavior:

                    A 24-hour centralized point of intake and assessment for juveniles who have come
          or are likely to come into contact with the juvenile justice system.
                    Immediate and comprehensive assessments (both broad-based and in-depth).
                    A management information system (MIS) to manage and ensure the provision of
          appropriate treatment and rehabilitation services.
                    Integrated case management to develop recommendations, facilitate access to
          services, conduct follow-ups, and periodically reassess youth.

     The bulletin, The Community Assessment Center Concept, describes a number of
difficulties that communities must be careful to avoid when they implement the CAC concept: a
lack of due process for youth; "net widening," which refers to expanding the number and types of
youth brought under the supervision of the juvenile justice system; the unavailability of youth
services needed for appropriate referrals; the possibility of youth being stigmatized by the process
(affecting the way others see them and how they see themselves); and increasing over-
representation of minorities in the system.

     Another OJJDP effort encourages youth to get involved in crime prevention.  Three
OJJDP bulletins released in March 2000 are written for youth, ages 12 to 19, and outline ways
young people can enhance the use of communication tools to help prevent crime and make their
communities safer.  These bulletins are part of OJJDP's Youth in Action (YIA) series.  The series
is a product of OJJDP and its National Youth Network, a group of young people and national
youth organizations working to prevent crime and victimization and to make a difference in their
communities.  Want to Resolve a Dispute?  Try Mediation, Making the Most of Your
Presentations, and Working With the Media provide guidance for youth who want to improve
their ability to educate the community about crime prevention through public speaking, media
relations, and conflict resolution.  These reports were written in cooperation with BJA and the
National Crime Prevention Council.

     -Want to Resolve a Dispute?  Try Mediation describes how trained mediators can help
two or more people resolve a conflict or disagreement, no matter how simple or complex.  The
bulletin gives examples of two successful programs   the New Mexico Center for Dispute
Resolution Peer Mediation in Schools Program and the Mediation Center of Asheville, North
Carolina.  It also outlines a six-step plan on how to start a peer mediation program.


     -Making the Most of Your Presentations discusses planning presentations, ways to make
presentations effective, the challenges and rewards of making presentations, and ways in which
they can be self-evaluated.  Presentations include speeches, panel discussions, debates, skits,
performances, book readings, and dances.

      -Working with the Media describes media organizations and the importance of media in
publicizing messages that prevent or reduce crime.  Five critical planning steps are highlighted to
help youth get started in working with the media and developing productive partnerships to
ensure their crime prevention messages are aired.

     In March 2000, OJJDP released, From the Courthouse to the Schoolhouse:  Making
Successful Transitions.  The bulletin shows that when youth who were formerly in the juvenile
justice system participate in programs to help them return to the community, they are more likely
to go back to school, graduate from high school, and find jobs.  Improving communication and
developing partnerships among public and private youth-serving agencies is key to moving these
youth back into the education mainstream.  The bulletin also examines effective education
programs in youth correctional facilities.  

     The report features the Jackson-Hinds County (Missouri) Youth Detention School
educational program, which teaches basic academic and survival skills, vocational training,
support services, and parent training.  The program is an extension of the Jackson Public School
District, which works with community partners, including two local universities, a private agency,
and a foundation.  The bulletin covers training and technical assistance programs that stress the
importance of interagency information sharing.  One of these, Gateway, is a successful transition
program in New Jersey.  Also described are transitional educational placements, and steps that
schools can take to help students reenter the school environment immediately after being released
from juvenile correctional facilities.  

     This bulletin is one in a series related to the Youth Out of the Education Mainstream
(YOEM) initiative, a joint effort between OJJDP and the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program of
the U.S. Department of Education.  YOEM focuses on the needs of five often interrelated
categories of at-risk youth: students fearful of attending school because of violence; truants;
dropouts; suspended/expelled youth; and youth returning to school from correctional settings in
the juvenile justice system.

     Families and Schools Together: Building Relationships, an OJJDP bulletin released in
November 1999, profiles Families and Schools Together (FAST), a program that works with
teachers to identify elementary school children with behavioral or developmental problems and
organizes these families and their teachers into groups that participate in weekly meetings. 
Parents learn to monitor their children's behavior, interact through play, and communicate.  They
also become more involved with social networks of other parents, schools, and communities. 
After families graduate, they join an ongoing school-based group of families who meet monthly
for two years.  In 1998, the White House Conference on School Safety recognized FAST as an
effective approach to delinquency prevention.  The program is having a positive impact on
conduct disorders, anxiety/withdrawal, and attention span problems.  In all areas, after only 8 to
10 weeks, participants showed significant progress.  The bulletin discusses the program's
curriculum, its strategies, and the research and evaluation efforts of the program.  It includes a
summary of expenses for building a new program and a table of program activities.  One family's
experience is highlighted, outlining the family's progress through each phase of the program and
describing the long-term positive effects on the family.

     OJJDP also released the following two complementary bulletins addressing the issue of
juvenile substance abuse:

                    Developing a Policy for Controlled Substance Testing of Juveniles discusses the
          policy issues involved in testing juveniles for controlled substance use and is
          targeted toward juvenile justice decision-makers who are considering
          implementing a substance-testing program.  The bulletin outlines national
          indicators of the need for substance testing and includes data on juvenile substance
          abuse.  It also discusses the consequences of substance abuse among youth,
          analyzes the impact of substance-testing programs on the juvenile justice system,
          and gives examples of substance-testing programs in a variety of juvenile justice
          settings.

                    Ten Steps for Implementing a Program of Controlled Substance Testing of
          Juveniles is for those who have already decided to implement a program, but need
          detailed information on how to go about it.  The bulletin describes in detail a 10-
          step process for developing and implementing a substance-testing program.  It
          notes the key stakeholders who should be involved, explains how to develop a
          program purpose statement and written policies and procedures, and discusses
          legal issues, including the constitutionality of such testing and the need to protect
          juveniles' confidentiality.

     Two OJJDP bulletins released in April 2000, examine juvenile crime prevention and
intervention programs.  Prevention of Serious and Violent Juvenile Offending describes
prevention efforts targeting at-risk youth at infancy, elementary school, adolescence, and high
school.  It  offers examples of programs that target parents and families. Effective Intervention for
Serious Juvenile Offenders studies more than 200 intervention programs, which showed an
overall 12 percent decrease in the reoffending rate for the participating youth.  Both bulletins
include information from OJJDP's Study Group on Serious and Violent Juvenile Offenders, which
analyzed the risks associated with juvenile crime, the pathways youth follow to delinquency, and
effective methods of reducing youth violence.  

     A July 2000 OJJDP bulletin, Special Education and the Juvenile Justice System, describes
the special education needs of young people in the juvenile justice system.  Studies of incarcerated
youth reveal that as many as 70 percent have disabling conditions.  Other studies have shown that
as many as 20 percent of young people with emotional disabilities are arrested at least once before
they leave school.  The bulletin summarizes critical provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act and other laws relating to special education.  It also shows how the special
education process and information about disabilities can be useful in juvenile delinquency
proceedings and examines the role of special education in juvenile and adult institutions.

     Additional FY 2000 OJJDP bulletins covered topics such as school violence, youth arts
programs, conflict resolution, teen courts, and juvenile transfers to criminal court.


                           FOR MORE INFORMATION
                                
Visit the OJP Website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov, which includes general information about
OJP and its bureaus and program offices, e-mail addresses, downloadable versions of
application kits, and links to selected criminal justice Websites.  The National Criminal
Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Website at www.ncjrs.org offers online versions of
most OJP publications.  OJP publications can also be ordered by calling NCJRS toll-free at
1-800/851-3420.  The following publications are available from NCJRS:

Juvenile Arrests 1998 (OJJDP) NCJ 179064

Teenage Fatherhood and Delinquent Behavior 2000 (OJJDP) NCJ 178899 

Youth Gang Drug Trafficking (OJJDP) NCJ 178282

The Comprehensive Strategy: Lessons Learned from the Pilot Sites (OJJDP) NCJ 178258

The Community Assessment Center Concept (OJJDP) NCJ 178942

Want to Resolve a Dispute? Try Meditation (OJJDP) NCJ 178999

Making the Most of Your Presentations (OJJDP) NCJ 178997

Working with the Media (OJJDP) NCJ 178998

From the Courthouse to the Schoolhouse: Making Successful Transitions (OJJDP) NCJ 178900

Families and Schools Together: Building Relationships (OJJDP) NCJ 173423

Developing a Policy for Controlled Substance Testing of Juveniles (OJJDP) NCJ 178896

Ten Steps for Implementing a Program of Controlled Substance Testing of Juveniles (OJJDP)
 NCJ 178897

Prevention of Serious and Violent Juvenile Offending (OJJDP) NCJ178898

Effective Intervention for Serious Juvenile Offenders (OJJDP) NCJ 181201

Special Education and the Juvenile Justice System (OJJDP) NCJ 179359

6
                       Managing Offenders
                                

     There are now approximately 1.2 million people in federal and state prisons in America,
compared to 320,000 in 1980.  In 1998, 545,000 offenders came back from state and federal
prisons; in 1999, 565,000; in the year 2000, 585,000 were anticipated to return to communities,
and a slight increase is projected for each year beyond.  Offenders come to prison with significant
problems, including drug abuse and mental illness.  They also come to prison as dropouts or
illiterate, without life skills or work skills.  Upon release from prison, ex-offenders often go with
little supervision and return to the same environment from which they came.  With problems like
these, it is not surprising that, nationwide, two-thirds of the offenders are rearrested within three
years of release.  

                                                  ENSURING COMMUNITY SAFETY WHEN OFFENDERS RETURN   

     About one in five prisoners leaves prison without any post-release supervision.  This poses
a serious public safety issue for our communities   To address this problem, OJP has been
working to ensure offenders receive the supervision and services they need to successfully
transition back into the community.

     In partnership with state and local jurisdictions, OJP continues to work towards
developing a seamless system of offender accountability, supervision, and support.  This system
should begin before incarceration and continue as the offender leaves prison and re-enters the
community.  Over the past year, OJP has worked to develop several different approaches to help
communities address the re-entry problem.  

     In FY 1999, OJP invited state and local jurisdictions around the country to submit
proposals to become pilot reentry courts.  To help promote the reentry court concept, OJP has
been working with a small number of jurisdictions to explore the model, to provide technical
assistance, and to support information sharing across the sites.  In FY 2000, OJP provided
assistance to reentry courts in nine states: California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Iowa,
Kentucky, New York, and West Virginia.  Each of the nine jurisdictions participating in the OJP
reentry court initiative have a reentry court that is customized to its local needs.  

     All of the pilot programs contain certain core elements, which include:

                    Offender assessment and planning, which brings together reentry court
          personnel, such as a judge, parole or probation officer, to explain the reentry
          process to the offender and identify his/her needs upon release;
                    Active offender oversight, which includes routine judicial visits with all offenders;
                    Accountability to the community, to include the development of initiatives to
          ensure that offenders are held accountable both to victims and the community;
                    Graduated sanctions, or a predetermined range of sanctions for violations of the
          conditions of release that can be swiftly, predictably, and universally applied;
                    Access to an array of supportive services, which includes substance abuse
          treatment, job training programs, private employers, faith-based institutions,
          housing services, and community service providers; and 
                    Positive judicial reinforcement, or rewarding successful offender behavior and
          compliance with the conditions of release.

     OJP did not fund these courts in FY 2000, however, through its technical assistance, OJP
continues to work closely with each jurisdiction to explore how existing federal, state, and local
resources can be used to support these programs. 

     The reentry partnership is another approach pioneered by OJP.  This partnership initiative
seeks to:

                    Enhance public safety by reducing recidivism;
                    Build stronger police, corrections, and community partnerships and collaborations;
                    Maximize offenders' accountability and positive contributions to the community;
                    Strengthen support services for victims whose offenders are in the community; 
                    Increase the justice system's ability to identify offender needs and to match those
          needs with appropriate community resources; and
                    Minimize prison returns due to technical violations of supervised release.

     Patterned after successful police/corrections partnerships, reentry partnerships establish
new key resources through institutional corrections, community corrections, community policing,
local businesses, and faith-based institutions.  In FY 1998, OJP began working with eight pilot
sites in Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, South Carolina, Vermont, and Washington. 
Partners in these sites come together to work with offenders before and after their release.  

     In July 2000, the National Institute of Justice released four new reports describing
innovative ways for increasing an offender's chance for successfully reintegrating back into
society.  These reports, But They All Come Back: Rethinking Prisoner Reentry, The Rebirth of
Rehabilitation: Promise and Perils of Drug Courts; Correcting Corrections: Missouri's Parallel
Universe; and "Technocorrections": The Promises, the Uncertain Threats, provide insight into
the current thinking about balancing offender rehabilitation without compromising public safety.
     

     

     But They All Come Back: Rethinking Prisoner Reentry examines the concept of "prisoner
reentry."  The report discusses three aspects of reentry:

          The pursuit of social goals through reentry practices, e.g., successful ex-offender
     employment,
          The redefinition of "reentry manager," and
          The role of the judiciary in the reentry process. 

     The Rebirth of Rehabilitation: Promise and Perils of Drug Courts presents an overview
of the drug court movement and uses Delaware's experience to illustrate the development of drug
courts.  Drug courts are specialized courts that offer treatment-based alternatives to drug
offenders, combined with mandated judicially supervised sanctions. Preliminary positive
evaluation results are summarized.  The report also discusses the philosophical differences in
treatment options and the lack of resources in some localities.

     Correcting Corrections: Missouri's Parallel Universe highlights a new strategy
undertaken by the Missouri Department of Corrections to help prepare inmates for life after
release from prison.  The strategy, "parallel universe," is based on the theory that life inside prison
should resemble life outside prison and that inmates can acquire values, habits, and skills that will
help them become productive, law-abiding citizens.  The parallel universe has four distinct
expectations:

          Every offender must be engaged during work and non-work hours in productive activities
     that parallel those of free society.
          Every offender must adopt relapse prevention strategies and must not use drugs or alcohol
     or become involved in sexual misconduct.
          Most offenders are given opportunities to make choices and are held accountable for
     them.
          Most offenders are recognized for good conduct and can improve their status by obeying
     the rules and regulations.

     As a result of this program, the Missouri Department of Corrections has seen a decrease in
recidivism rates, an increase in the number of inmates earning GEDs, and an increase in the
number of inmates receiving substance abuse treatment.

     "Technocorrections": The Promises, the Uncertain Threats describes how technologies 
are converging with the forces of law and order to create "technocorrections."  The emerging
technologies that can be used in technocorrections are discussed in three areas   tracking and
location systems, pharmacological treatment, and neurobiologic risk assessment. 



BUILDING KNOWLEDGE ABOUT OFFENDERS

General Prison Population

     According to the BJS bulletin, Prisoners in 1999, released in August 2000, during 1999
the nation's prison population rose at the lowest rate since 1979 and recorded the smallest
absolute increase since 1988.  The prison population growth slowed to 3.4 percent last year   less
than the average annual amount of 6.5 percent during the 1990-1999 period.  


     At the end of the year, there were more than 2 million people held in some type of
incarceration.  The 2,026,596 people behind bars were held as follows:

                    1,284,894 in state and federal prisons (this excludes state prisoners held in local
          jails);
                    18,394 in territorial prisons;
                    605,943 in local jails;
                    7,675 in facilities operated by (or exclusively for) the U.S. Immigration and
          Naturalization Service;
                    2,279 in military facilities;
                    1,621 in American Indian country jails; and
                    105,790 in juvenile facilities (as of October 29, 1997).

     Since 1990, the prison population has increased by 77 percent, an increase of almost
600,000 inmates.  Factors contributing to the 1990-1998 growth in the state prison population
included:

                              A 54 percent increase in the number of parole violators returning to prison;
                              A 7 percent increase in new court commitments;
                              An increase in the average time served in prison by released inmates from 22
               months in 1990 to 28 months in 1998;
                              An increase in the time expected to be served by those entering prison from 38
               months to 43 months; and
                              An increase in violent offenders, who accounted for 51 percent of the state
               growth, and drug offenders, who made up 19 percent of the state growth. 
                    
Women Offenders

     The National Symposium on Women Offenders, held in December 1999, was a landmark
event for the Department of Justice   the first major discussion of women offender issues in the
Department's history.  Panelists, including representatives from state and local corrections,
pointed out that, although the number of women offenders in the United States has increased
dramatically over the past 20 years, criminal justice programming has not kept pace.  They also
emphasized that programs need to be tailored to the special needs of women offenders, needs
involving dependent children, drug use, domestic violence, and other issues.  Symposium
participants were urged to work towards developing a systemwide response and plan of action  
from arrest through adjudication through aftercare   for women offenders.

     A BJS study prepared for the symposium, Women Offenders, examined existing data on
women offenders.  

     This data points to some of the issues offenders raise for the criminal and juvenile justice
systems:

                    The number of women offenders has increased dramatically over the past several
          years.  Although their numbers are relatively small compared with men, the number
          of women coming into the criminal justice system has increased at a much higher
          rate than any other population.  About 3 million women are arrested each year, and
          there are almost one million women in custody.  Women comprise about 16
          percent of the nation's correctional population.

                    Women offenders are the mothers   and often the primary caretakers   of about
          1.3 million minor children.

                    Women offenders are often victims themselves.  Nearly 60 percent of women in
          state prisons reported being physically or sexually abused at some time in their
          lives.  About a third were abused by an intimate or family member.

                    There is a close connection between women offenders and drugs.  About 40
          percent of female offenders were reported by their victims to be using drugs or
          alcohol   or both   at the time of the crime.  A large percentage of women in
          prison are incarcerated for drug law violations.

                    More than a quarter of women offenders (28 percent) are juveniles.  Crime by girls
          has risen substantially since the early 1980s   including violent crime.

     In addition, a BJA grant to the National Clearinghouse on Women Offenders provided
assistance on a range of complex issues surrounding incarcerated women, including detention, re -
entry into families and society, and keeping children in closer contact with their mothers.  

INCARCERATING VIOLENT CRIMINALS

     In FY 2000, OJP's Corrections Program Office awarded a total of $428,830,679 to all 50
states, the District of Columbia, and the territories under its Violent Offender Incarceration/Truth
in Sentencing (VOI/TIS) Grant Program.  All eligible applicants have received a grant award each
year since the VOI/TIS Formula Grant Program was established in FY 1996.  Funding from this
program can be used to build permanent or temporary prison facilities for offenders convicted of
Part 1 violent crimes or for juvenile offenders. 

     As of July 2000, over 15,000 adult prison beds had been completed with VOI/TIS funds. 
An additional 23,000 beds were under construction.  More than half of the states had used
VOI/TIS funds to add a total of over 6,500 juvenile corrections and detention center beds in 139
separate projects.  Several states allocated all or a large portion of their funds to juvenile projects. 
     Thirteen states had used VOI/TIS funds to add a total of approximately 9,200 beds in
local facilities; these beds represented 141 separate projects.  Eleven states had used VOI/TIS
funds to lease a total of almost 2,500 beds in private facilities. In all categories, additional projects
were planned, but not yet implemented.

     Beginning in FY 1999, up to 10 percent of VOI/TIS funds may be used for costs
associated with the state's program of substance abuse testing, sanctions, and treatment for
incarcerated inmates or offenders on post-release supervision.  Twenty-two states indicated an
intent to use funds for this purpose in FY 2000.  To ensure program fiscal integrity, OJP's Office
of the Comptroller presented a financial management training module as a part of the Correction
Program Office's workshop, which was attended by approximately 85 grant recipients.  

     Beginning March 1, 2000, states and territories were required to submit an annual report
on progress toward a drug-free prison environment along with their application for VOI/TIS
Tier 1 funds.  The report required them to provide data on all drug tests conducted in calendar
1999.  A total of 885,140 drug test specimens were reported, resulting in an average drug-free
rate of 96.4 percent.  This represents an improvement of .9 percent   or almost 10 additional
drug-free inmates per 1,000 specimens tested over the baseline statistics established in 1999.  In
addition, 18 states reported drug-free rates of over 98 percent.

     The National Institute of Justice is overseeing a  national evaluation of VOI/TIS to assess
the cumulative impacts and effectiveness of the sentencing initiatives and legislative strategies
encouraged by the program.  The RAND Corporation was selected by the National Institute of
Justice as the national evaluator and has since submitted the trial evaluation for peer review.

     The preliminary report was issued in April 2000, which showed the following key findings:

                   The VOI/TIS program has provided partial or key incentive for 15 states to pass
          Truth-in-Sentencing legislation, but other states have determined that the cost of
          such legislation would far exceed the probable grant award.

     

                   VOI/TIS funds have the biggest impact   both in terms of dollars awarded per
          violent crime and grant-funded beds as a percentage of total prison capacity   in
          smaller states.

                   While the violent crime rate has fallen since 1993, the rate of felony incarceration
          per 1,000 violent crimes has risen each year. 

INCARCERATING CRIMINAL ALIENS

     For the first time, the FY 2000 State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) was
administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) on-line via the Internet.  Nearly 100 new
jurisdictions applied for payments, representing an increase of more than 25 percent from FY
1999.  Much of the increase is attributed to the implementation of the on-line application.  Thus,
the same amount of funds were distributed among a substantially larger pool.  All 50 states, more
than 360 localities, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, received FY 2000
SCAAP funds totaling more than $573 million to assist with the costs of incarcerating criminal
illegal aliens.   

MANAGING SEX OFFENDERS

     The Center for Sex Offender Management (CSOM), is a project sponsored by the Office
of Justice Programs (OJP), the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), and the State Justice
Institute (SJI).  CSOM was created in June of 1997 as a result of recommendations that emerged
from the first OJP-sponsored summit, "Promoting Public Safety through the Effective
Management of Sex Offenders in the Community."  CSOM initially focused its efforts in four
primary areas that were identified during the first summit:

                   Delivering training to the field; 
                   Responding to a variety of technical assistance efforts from jurisdictions around
          the country; 
                   Identifying and documenting the lessons learned in a number of resource sites; and 
                   Responding to the need for easily understandable and accessible information
          through the development of a Website and the publication of several documents on
          a myriad of issues of interest to the field.  

     The project has also undertaken work with 40 grant sites that are building their capacity to
manage these offenders through strategic planning and data collection and sites that are working
to refine or enhance their existing sex offender management practices.  

     In December 2000 CSOM, on behalf of OJP, convened the Second National Summit on
Sex Offender Management in Washington, DC.  The summit brought together approximately 200
practitioners, including judges, legislators, parole and probation agencies, treatment providers,
victim advocates, and others.  Participants were drawn from nationally recognized experts,
researchers, resource site teams, training and technical assistance event participants, and other
participants recommended by federal agencies and the CSOM National Resource Group.

     This summit was designed to revisit the significant strides that have been made in sex
offender management in recent years, to examine which practices constitute the current state-of-
the-art in working with sex offenders, and to seek guidance from participants about future
directions the field should take to continue to advance its efforts. 

     As was the case during the first summit, participants spent considerable time in small,
multi-disciplinary work groups developing recommendations to OJP about how federal level
justice and health agencies could better serve the needs of the field as they work to contain   and
ultimately prevent   sexual violence.  The goals of second summit were to:

          Encourage the development of multi-disciplinary recommendations to OJP regarding
     future areas of need for the field of sex offender management;
          Recognize the significant accomplishments and the progress that have been achieved in the
     field of sex offender management to date and the challenges that lie ahead;
          Define a framework to understand and discuss a comprehensive approach to sex offender
     management, its various components and activities, and their complex inter-relationships;
          Define and recognize fundamental elements and evolving practices associated with the
     components of a comprehensive approach to sex offender management;
          Discuss the differences in the etiology, treatment, and management interventions for
     sexually abusive youth as compared to adult sex offenders; and
          Consider why and how the boundaries of the comprehensive approach to sex offender
     management might be expanded to include a public health and primary prevention
     perspective. 

     The agenda featured a mix of plenary and small work group sessions.  Plenary sessions
focused on a number of substantive areas, including:

          A discussion of the evolution of a comprehensive approach to sex offender management;
          Current best practices in the fields of sex offender supervision, treatment, and
     management; 
          Issues associated with the management and treatment of juvenile sex offenders; and 
          An exploration of the possible application of a public health model to preventing sexual
     violence.

     For the second year, OJP awarded funding to state and local jurisdictions to develop,
implement, or expand comprehensive strategies to manage sex offenders under community
supervision.  Twelve communities in nine states received a total of $1.3 million in FY 2000.

     To receive funds under the Comprehensive Approaches to Sex Offender Management
Grant program, communities must develop multidisciplinary teams, which include probation and
parole officers, other criminal justice personnel, treatment providers, and victim advocates.

     Eight of the awards are planning grants to assist jurisdictions in developing
comprehensive, collaborative approaches to managing sex offenders.  The grantees are:  

                   Alabama Board of Pardons and Parole in Montgomery, Alabama; 
                   St. Lawrence County in Canton, New York; 
                   State of Oklahoma;
                   Office of the Illinois Attorney General; 
                   Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes in Poplar, Montana; 
                   City of Santa Fe; New Mexico, 
                   Rensselaer County Executive in Troy, New York; and 
                   St. Regis Mohawk Tribe in Hogansburg, New York.
     
     The other four grantees   Minnesota Department of Corrections, Fort Belknap
Community Council in Harlem, Montana, Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Austin, Texas,
and the Department of Criminal Justice Services in Richmond, Virginia   are helping these
communities to implement these strategies or to enhance current programs.

     Grantees used OJP funds to establish teams of representatives from law enforcement,
prosecution, courts, corrections, probation, social services, and victim organizations to identify
strengths and weaknesses in sex offender management systems and assess the staff and equipment
necessary to identify, track, and treat sex offenders.  Planning funds were also used
to gauge the need for training probation officers and other criminal justice personnel, treatment
providers, and victim advocates about sex offender management.

     Congress appropriated $5 million for sex offender management initiatives in FY 2000,  $2
million of which was set aside for the grants.  Training and technical assistance was provided to
grantees and other interested jurisdictions through a grant to CSOM. 

     BJA continued to encourage compliance with the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against
Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act, which conditions 10 percent of states'
Byrne formula funding on establishing effective systems for registering and tracking convicted sex
offenders.  The Wetterling Act was amended in 1996 and 1998 to require lifetime registration for
certain offenders; heighten registration of sexually violent predators, federal and military
offenders, and nonresident workers and students; and increase jurisdictions' participation in the
National Sex Offender Registry.
          
                      FOR MORE INFORMATION
                                
Visit the OJP Website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov, which includes general information
about OJP and its bureaus and program offices, e-mail addresses, downloadable
versions of application kits, and links to selected criminal justice Websites.  The
National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Website at www.ncjrs.org
offers online versions of most OJP publications.  OJP publications can also be
ordered by calling the NCJRS toll-free number at 1-800/851-3420.  The following
publications are available from NCJRS:

The Rebirth of Rehabilitation: Promise and Perils of Drug Courts (NIJ) 
NCJ 181412

Correcting Corrections: Missouri's Parallel Universe (NIJ) NCJ 181414

"Technocorrections": The Promises, the Uncertain Threats (NIJ) NCJ 181411

But They All Come Back: Rethinking Prisoner Reentry (NIJ) NCJ 181413

Women Offenders (BJS) NCJ 175688

Prisoners in 1999 (BJS) NCJ 183476

7                                  
                   Protecting and Supporting
                        Victims of Crime
                                
     Every crime can have a significant and long-lasting impact on surviving victims and
families of victims.  Over the past few decades, great strides have been made in protecting and
supporting victims of crime.  With the help of federal funding and other assistance, a network of
service providers has been established across the country to help victims deal with the impact of
crime on their lives.  In FY 2000, OJP continued its exploration of the unmet needs of victims,
particularly the underserved populations   the disabled, the elderly, Native Americans, rural, and
immigrant victims.

ASSISTING VICTIMS

     The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) is the federal government's chief advocate for
crime victims and their families.  OVC provides funding for approximately 4,100 victim assistance
programs serving 2.5 million crime victims each year and state victim compensation programs that
serve an additional 200,000 victims.  Fines collected in one year by U.S. Attorneys, the U.S.
Courts, and the Bureau of Prisons are deposited into the Crime Victims Fund, which is supported
solely by fines paid by federal criminal offenders,  not taxpayers, and are available for grant
awards the following year.  In June 2000, OVC awarded a total of $451.5 million in FY 2000
funds to crime victim assistance and victim compensation programs in all 50 states and six
territories.  Victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking also receive assistance under
six grant programs administered by the Violence Against Women Office (see chapter 4). 

IMPROVING EMERGENCY AND LONG-TERM SERVICES TO VICTIMS OF TERRORISM

     Acts of terrorism resulting in mass casualties have a wide and traumatic impact on
communities and residents.  It has become clear that United States citizens are not immune from
these crimes, either at home or outside the borders of this country.  Each act of terrorism presents
unique challenges that are specific to the victims, the event itself, and the progress of the criminal
investigation and prosecution.  Providing services to the victims of each terrorism event teaches
additional and important lessons for responding to future events and expands our base of
knowledge for serving victims more effectively.  

     In October 2000, OVC released Responding to Terrorism Victims: Oklahoma City and
Beyond, which identifies the special measures needed to protect the rights and meet the needs of
victims of a large-scale terrorist attack involving mass casualties.  In particular, the report
emphasizes that when the federal government responds to acts of terrorism involving massive
casualties, victims' rights must be upheld, and victims' short- and long-term emotional and
psychological needs must be met.  A number of individuals involved in providing services to the
Oklahoma City bombing victims contributed their insights and experiences to this report, in
addition to OVC staff who have been directly involved in working with victims of other acts of
terrorism.  Underlying their insights and efforts have been the voices of the surviving victims and
families of the victims of Oklahoma City, Khobar Towers, the embassy bombings, and Pan Am
Flight 103.  

     In 1996, the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act became law.  The act
authorized OVC to assist victims of terrorism by using monies from the federal Crime Victims
Fund to pay for emergency medical and psychological services for victims, victim advocacy
throughout the criminal justice proceedings, and limited financial compensation for costs incurred
by victims as a result of terrorism.  

     Terrorist acts against Americans also occur beyond our nation's borders   as evidenced by
the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania and the Pam Am 103 bombing over Lockerbie,
Scotland.  The Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, signed into law in 2000, enables OVC to
provide more assistance to these victims by expanding the types of assistance for which the
Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) emergency reserve fund may be used and the range of
organizations to which assistance may be provided.  These changes do not require new or
appropriated monies; they simply allow OVC greater flexibility in using existing reserve funds to
assist victims of terrorism abroad.  The act authorizes OVC to raise the cap on the VOCA
emergency reserve fund from $50 million to $100 million, so that the fund is large enough to
cover the extraordinary costs that would be incurred if a terrorist act caused massive casualties. 
Together, the 1996 Victims of Terrorism Act and the 2000 Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act
have enhanced the federal government's capacity to respond quickly and effectively to the needs
of victims of terrorist acts, whether that act occurs within or beyond our national borders.

HELPING TO MEET THE NEEDS OF VICTIMS 

     How people cope as victims of crime depends largely on their experiences immediately
following the crime.  The way in which law enforcement officers initially respond to victims is
critical in determining how victims cope in both the short and long term.  This interaction also
strongly influences victims' participation in the investigation and prosecution of the crime, and
increases the likelihood that they will report future offenses to law enforcement.  

     In March 2000, OVC released a new handbook to help law enforcement officers better
understand and meet the needs of crime victims.  First Response to Victims of Crime provides law
enforcement officers basic guidelines when approaching and interacting with elderly victims,
victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, child victims, and survivors of homicide. 
Prepared by the National Sheriffs' Association with funding from OVC, the handbook also
addresses issues that arise during the initial contact between officers and victims.

     Other OJP efforts focus on child victims.  In May 1998, the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) published When Your Child Is Missing: A Family Survival
Guide, to provide critical information for families to use in working with law enforcement, media,
and volunteers to find a missing child.   OJJDP has provided copies of this Guide to every U.S.
law enforcement agency, every public library, the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children, each state's missing children's clearinghouse, and other nonprofit organizations.  To
date, OJJDP has distributed over 50,000 copies.  

     In response to the growing Spanish-speaking population in the United States, OJJDP
released a Spanish translation of the When Your Child Is Missing: A Family Survival Guide
entitled, Cuando su Nio Desaparece: Una Gua Para la Supervivencia de la Familia, in April
2000.  Now Spanish-speaking people who are not comfortable with English will have quick
access to this information without having to depend on someone to translate for them.  OJJDP
distributed 42,000 copies of the Spanish translation targeting law enforcement agencies and
libraries in predominantly Spanish-speaking areas, as well as national Hispanic organizations.    
     
UNDERSTANDING AND PREVENTING VICTIMIZATION OF ELDERS

     In January 2000, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) released the report, Crimes against
Persons Age 65 or Older, 1992-97.  It found that people 65 and older are substantially less likely
to be violent crime victims than are younger men and women.  Each year from 1992 through
1997, there were 5 violent crimes per 1,000 U.S. residents 65 years old or older, less than a tenth
the rate of 56 crimes per 1,000 of those age 12 through 64, according to the BJS National Crime
Victimization Survey (NCVS).  The only crime category that affected the elderly at about the
same rate as most others (except those ages 12-24) was personal theft, which includes purse
snatching and pocket picking.  Although people 65 or older made up 15 percent of the
population, they accounted for 7 percent of all victims of crimes measured in the survey.

     OJP was an active participant in the Justice Department's Elder Justice Initiative.  The
primary objective of this initiative was to enhance enforcement, training, coordination, and
awareness regarding the problems of elder abuse, fraud, and exploitation; create the infrastructure
for broad-based collaboration at the national policy level, as well as at the state and grass roots
levels; and to bridge the historical gap between those on the front lines, who see the problems first
hand, and those charged with enforcing the law.  

     Building on these efforts, on October 30-31, 2000, the Justice Department   in partnership
with the Department of Health and Human Services   convened a national symposium on
preventing and responding to the victimization of older persons.  The symposium, "Our Aging
Population: Promoting Empowerment, Preventing Victimization, and Implementing Coordinated
Interventions," showcased federal, state, and local programs designed to prevent older people
from becoming victims of abuse, exploitation, fraud, and neglect.  It also focused on improving
the response of law enforcement and social service agencies when victimization does occur. 
Financial exploitation and consumer fraud, domestic/community abuse and neglect, and
institutional abuse and neglect were the three primary issues addressed at the symposium.

     The Blackfeet Nation received OVC funding in FY 2000 to continue its development of a
coordinated response to crimes against the elderly by adapting the Triad program approach to
Indian country.  Triad is a joint effort of the American Association of Retired Persons, the
International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the National Sheriffs' Association to build
coordinated services for elderly victims of crime.  Triad combines the efforts and resources of law
enforcement, senior citizens and organizations that represent them, and victim assistance
providers.  
          
     BJA continued to support a consortium of prevention, education, and prosecution projects
working to thwart fraudulent telemarketers who prey on senior citizens.  A major component of
the project is the Telemarketing Fraud Training Task Force, a multiagency committee led by the
National Association of Attorneys General.  The Task Force includes the National District
Attorneys Association through the American Prosecutors Research Institute, the National White
Collar Crime Center, and the American Association of Retired Persons Foundation.  The Task
Force works to broaden criminal and civil enforcement efforts by increasing the numbers of state
and local telemarketing prosecutions; coordinate statewide and local investigations and
prosecutions; enhance technical and case preparation assistance for state and local prosecutors;
and increase U.S.-Canada cooperation to reduce the cross-border flow of telemarketing fraud.

     In addition, members of the Task Force provided training to five BJA-funded
demonstration sites that have implemented innovative telemarketing prevention and enforcement
programs.  The programs are located in Los Angeles, California, Atlanta, Georgia, Hillsborough
County (Tampa), Florida, Raleigh, North Carolina, and Montpelier, Vermont.

RECOGNIZING SERVICE TO VICTIMS

     Presented annually by OVC, the Crime Victims Fund Award recognizes federal employees
whose work increased deposits into the Crime Victims Fund and substantially improved federal
criminal debt collection.  On September 20, 2000, the Attorney General honored three individuals
and four teams of federal employees from nine states whose efforts resulted in record deposits to
the Crime Victims Fund, which finances services for millions of crime victims across the nation. 
A Dallas team from the Justice Department's Antitrust Division received an award for prosecuting
an international vitamin cartel and exacting two fines, $225 million and $500 million, which was
the largest amount the Justice Department has obtained in a criminal case.  Other award recipients
included a team from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts, which collected the largest fine
ever recorded in a health care fraud case and the largest fine in any case in New England's history. 
Funds deposited into the Crime Victims fund in FY 1999 totaled $985 million, of which $500
million was available in FY 2000.
     TRAINING VICTIM SERVICE PROFESSIONALS

National Victim Assistance Academy

     Over 350 victim services professionals completed a week-long intensive training at the
sixth annual National Victim Assistance Academy sponsored by OVC in June 2000.  The training
was aimed at improving direct services to victims by informing victim service professionals about
the latest techniques and programs in the field.  The 2000 class included participants from the
criminal justice system, domestic violence, sexual assault, and child victimization advocates, and
those who serve elderly victims, survivors of homicide victims, and victims of juvenile offenders. 
This class also included federal Victim-Witness Coordinators from U.S. Attorneys' Offices and
representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration,
Immigration and Naturalization Service, Border Patrol, Bureau of Prisons, State Department,
U.S. Coast Guard, Postal Inspector's Office, and the U.S. Capitol Police.  Students can earn
academic credit through select universities by taking this course.  To date, 137 students have
taken the program for undergraduate credit and 203 students have received graduate credit. 
Between 1995 and 1999, 340 students earned academic credit.  OVC funds the Academy through
a grant from the Crime Victims Fund.

Attorney General Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance

     On January 31, 2000, the latest edition of the Attorney General Guidelines for Victim and
Witness Assistance went into effect.  These guidelines outline requirements for federal employees
whose job responsibilities involve contact with crime victims.  Last published in 1995, the
Attorney General Guidelines have been revised to be more user-friendly.  By providing real life
anecdotes, the guidelines answer such questions as, "Who is the victim of a given crime?" and
"Can a victim be a witness?"

     In addition to becoming more user-friendly, the guidelines were changed to reflect an
Office of Legal Counsel opinion from last year that found that Justice Department employees are
required by law, not just as standard policy, to provide victims with many of the services defined
in the victims' rights laws.  DOJ employees who work with crime victims have a mandatory
responsibility to identify victims, inform victims about how to obtain various forms of assistance,
developments in the investigation, prosecution, and punishment of the offender, and arrange
reasonable protection for victims from offenders.  In addition to outlining mandatory victim
services, the guidelines also suggest ways to deliver these services to victims.

     Furthermore, during FY 2000 the Office of the Comptroller presented a financial
management training module as part of OVC's Victim Assistance in Indian Country conference,
which was attended by approximately 35 recipients. 
     

IMPROVING UNDERSTANDING OF CHILD VICTIMIZATION

     Only 28 percent of violent crimes against children are reported to law enforcement,
according to Reporting Crimes Against Juveniles, an OJJDP bulletin released in November 1999. 
The bulletin relies upon data derived from victim reports from the Bureau of Justice Statistics'
(BJS) National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), which covers approximately 55,000
households and 100,000 individuals, including children ages 12 to 17 and adults.  The NCVS
indicates that:

                    An additional 16 percent of violent crimes against children are reported to other
          authorities, such as school officials; and
                    Only 10 percent of thefts against juveniles become known to police, but an
          additional 29 percent of such thefts get reported to other authorities, such as
          school officials.

     Even when taking into account such reported instances, juvenile victimizations are still less
likely to be made known to authorities than adult victimizations.  The most common reasons
offered by children for not notifying the police of the crimes were similar to those cited by adults
  they reported the crime to another official, saw the crime as a private matter, or viewed the
incident as minor or unsuccessful, in that they saw it as an attempted crime.

     OJJDP released another bulletin in July 2000 that revealed that children are more likely to
be kidnaped by acquaintances   people they know but who are not family members   than by
complete strangers.  Although kidnaping by a family member is more prevalent than either
acquaintance or stranger abduction, it is kidnaping by an acquaintance that is the most likely to
result in violence.  

     The bulletin, Kidnaping of Juveniles: Patterns From NIBRS (National Incident-Based
Reporting System), shows that:

                    49 percent of child abductions were committed by family members, 27 percent by
          acquaintances, and 24 percent by strangers; 
                    71 percent of acquaintance youth kidnaping victims were ages 12 to 17;
                    24 percent of the acquaintance kidnapings led to a victim injury, compared to 16
          percent of the stranger kidnapings and 4 percent of the family abductions; and
                    Family kidnaping is committed primarily by parents, occurs more frequently to
          children under 6, and originates in the home.

     The new findings are from1997 data submitted by law enforcement agencies in 12 states
as part of the FBI's NIBRS, which collects detailed information on crimes known to the police,
including kidnaping.  The bulletin was prepared for OJJDP by New Hampshire's Crimes Against
Children Research Center.
                      FOR MORE INFORMATION
                                
Visit the OJP Website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov, which includes general information
about OJP and its bureaus and program offices, e-mail addresses, downloadable
versions of application kits, and links to selected criminal justice Websites.  The
National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Website at www.ncjrs.org
offers online versions of most OJP publications.  OJP publications can also be
ordered by calling NCJRS toll-free at 1-800/851-3420.  The following publications
are available from NCJRS:

Responding to Terrorism Victims: Oklahoma City and Beyond (OVC) 
NCJ 183949

New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st Century
(OVC) NCJ 170600

Cuando su Nio Desaparece: Una Gua Para la Supervivencia de la Familia
(OJJDP) NCJ 178902

When Your Child Is Missing: A Family Survival Guide (OJJDP) NCJ 170022

First Response to Victims of Crime (NSA/OVC) NCJ 176971

Crimes against Persons Age 65 or Older, 1992-97 (BJS) NCJ 176352

Reporting Crimes Against Juveniles (OJJDP) NCJ 178887

Kidnaping of Juveniles: Patterns From NIBRS (OJJDP) NCJ 181161






8
                   Enhancing Technology's Use
                      in Addressing Crime

     Today, criminal justice practitioners use advanced technology for everything from tracing
stolen vehicles, to the use of DNA technology at the crime scene, to investigating pornography, to
solving financial crimes, to combating cybercrime.  Technology can be a valuable tool to help
criminal justice agencies enhance their ability to lower crime and improve their operations.  OJP
supports development of technology for direct use by front-line law enforcement and corrections
personnel, as well as technology that improves the justice system as a whole.  Of particular
importance are initiatives to advance technologies that improve law enforcement and first
responder management of critical incidents and ability to combat cybercrime.

SUPPORTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT TECHNOLOGY
     
     NIJ's National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC) system
serves as a "broker" for technology information, assistance, and expertise for the nation's law
enforcement, corrections, and criminal justice community.  NLECTC assists in the introduction
and demonstration of emerging technologies; tests off-the-shelf products; prepares and
disseminates equipment test reports, user guides, bulletins, and the award-winning TechBeat
newsletter; provides unique technology assistance; and assists in technology commercialization. 
NLECTC's products and services help to ensure that law enforcement and corrections agencies
and personnel utilize appropriate technology to enhance their effectiveness, efficiency, and safety.

     NIJ also develops minimum performance standards and guides for equipment and
technology.  Testing and research have led to performance standards for more than 60 types of
criminal justice equipment, ranging from body armor and handcuffs to protective gloves and
communications systems.  NIJ does not recommend particular brands.  Rather, it distributes lists
of products that have passed standardized tests and indicates whether the item will meet the
minimum performance requirements necessary to be effective for the criminal justice practitioner.
                    
     Recent projects include:

                    Establishment of minimum performance requirements and test methods for the
          ballistic resistance of personal body armor designed to protect the torso against
          gunfire.  This standard serves as a general revision to NIJ Standard 0101.03 from
          1987.


                    A two-volume guide for emergency first responders about detecting chemical
          agents and toxic industrial materials and selecting equipment for different
          applications.  The commercially available products described in this report are
          those known as of May 2000.

     NIJ's technical working group developed the guide, Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide
for Law Enforcement, which was released in January 2000.  The guide is designed to help law
enforcement officials identify, collect, and preserve useful physical evidence.  

     In 1995, the Attorney General asked NIJ to study cases in which convicted sex offenders
were later exonerated by DNA testing.  Based on the outcome of this study, the Attorney General
then asked NIJ to study how evidence could be better gathered and processed for more accurate
identification of offenders.  As a result, NIJ initiated a technical working group   composed of 44
members representing law enforcement, prosecution, the defense bar, and forensic science   on
crime scene investigation to determine recommended practices for the identification, collection,
preservation, and use in court of physical evidence, including DNA evidence, blood and
bloodstain patterns, fingerprints, tool marks, trace evidence, and trajectory evidence. NIJ's
technical working group developed the guide, Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for Law
Enforcement which was released in January 2000.  The guide is designed to help law enforcement
officers identify, collect, and preserve useful physical evidence.

     In May 2000, NIJ awarded funds to two gun manufacturers   Smith & Wesson and FN
Manufacturing, Inc.   to establish projects to research and develop "smart gun" technologies. 
Smart guns, which are firearms engineered to fire only for authorized users, show tremendous
promise in reducing the cost of human life when weapons are taken from their proper owner.  The
Smith & Wesson project will support feasibility and functionality tests of fully electronic smart
gun technology, as well as design a next generation prototype.  FN Manufacturing, Inc. will use
its grant award to further research, development, and testing of its ultrasonic smart gun prototype. 


SHARING INFORMATION
     
Crime Identification Technology Act

     The Crime Identification Technology Act (CITA), enacted on October 9, 1998, authorizes
funds to assist state and local jurisdictions to establish, integrate, or upgrade criminal justice
information systems and identification technologies that enhance their ability to prevent crime. 
Fiscal Year 2000 was the first year OJP received funds related to CITA and, with those funds,
OJP was able to help numerous states and localities. 
     
     OJP used CITA funds to support the following activities in FY 2000:
     
                    The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) provided grants and technical assistance to
          states and Native American tribes through a cooperative agreement with the
          National Governors' Association (NGA).  In July 2000, states and tribes were
          invited to apply for $25,000 planning grants for integrated information system
          strategy development.  BJA also is providing technical assistance to the states to
          assist their work with local government officials in developing strategic plans and
          participating in policy development and other activities to strengthen integrated
          criminal justice information systems.
          
                    In FY 2000, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) provided more than $40 million
          to the states through the National Criminal History Improvement Program, an
          effort to assist states to automate and improve the systems they use to record
          criminal histories.  BJS also provided approximately $10 million to states and local
          jurisdictions to help them participate in the FBI's National Incident Based
          Reporting System, which expands and enhances information reported to the
          Uniform Crime Reports.

                    NIJ provided more than $14 million to 21 states that submitted proposals under
          the FY 2000 Solicitation for Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) Analysis of
          States' Collected Convicted Offender DNA Samples.  Samples analyzed as a result
          of this program will be input into state databases and shared nationally through
          CODIS.  NIJ estimates that the funds provided will reduce the nationwide
          convicted offender DNA backlog by nearly 300,000 samples and provide nearly
          3,000 unknown suspect cases for comparison.   

                    In FY 2000, NIJ's Forensic DNA Laboratory Improvement Program was
          expanded to become the Crime Laboratory Improvement Program (CLIP), with
          the goal of increasing the capabilities and capacities of our nation's public
          laboratories to perform various types of forensic analysis, such as biological
          evidence analysis (including DNA testing), trace evidence analysis, fingerprint
          comparison, toxicology, and firearm and tool mark analyses.  NIJ allocated more
          than $10 million to support congressionally directed projects at the Alaska
          Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory, Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory, South
          Carolina Law Enforcement Division, National Forensic Science Technology
          Center, Southeast Missouri Regional Crime Laboratory, Marshall University, and
          West Virginia University.  An additional $2.7 million was allocated in 2000 to fund
          eight projects at state and local crime labs that were recommended for funding
          under the FY 1999 Forensic DNA Laboratory Improvement Program 
                    solicitation.  Those eight projects focus solely on the improvement of DNA
          analysis capabilities and capacities.

                    NIJ also funded several projects under its FY 2000 Communications
          Interoperability and Information Sharing Technologies solicitation with other
          funding received under CITA.  Those initiatives explore promising technologies
          that make law enforcement voice and data systems interoperable.  In many
          instances, public safety systems are incapable of interfacing.  These conditions
          cause major problems as agencies try to coordinate efforts during emergencies and
          work together administratively.  These grants will explore ways to alleviate this
          problem.

                    By leveraging funds from the CITA appropriation and through partnerships with
          the Community Oriented Policing Services Office and Sandia International
          Laboratories, NIJ directed over $17 million toward developing technologies and
          other resources to enhance school security.  FY 2000 funds supported the
          establishment of a School Security Technology Center at Sandia National
          Laboratories.  Sandia selected several pilot school sites for security upgrades and
          identified technologies new to the market that may provide school security
          technology solutions.   

Crime Mapping

     The use of computerized crime mapping is an important tool in fostering data-driven,
multi-agency collaborative approaches to identifying and solving crime problems.  Crime mapping
allows law enforcement agencies and their partners to display and analyze their own data on
offenses, calls for service and arrests, as well as additional information collected by a variety of
agencies about a specific area, on one map.  Visualizing data in this way promotes better
understanding of relationships among different phenomena and crime.  

     NIJ's Crime Mapping Research Center hosted a conference December 11-14, 1999 in
Orlando, Florida.  The future of crime mapping and its many applications in the justice system was
the focus of this event.  Participants included over 600 law enforcement practitioners, local
planners, and academics from around the world.  NIJ also released Mapping Crime: Principle
and Practice at the conference.  This publication serves as a primer for criminal justice agencies
interested in using crime mapping techniques to better identify and combat community crime
problems.  The guide also explains the basic concepts and theories behind crime mapping and
answers broad questions about applying these technologies in real-life situations.  

     In January 2000, NIJ unveiled a new, innovative, and free crime mapping program
designed to help law enforcement officers in their community policing efforts.  The program, the
Community Policing Beat Book, was designed for use in the field on a laptop, with an in-car
computer, or at the police station and allows an officer access to electronic maps that display
pertinent crime-fighting information.  The electronic maps of the community show information
such as land-use, demographics, businesses, and landmarks, as well as crime incident sites.  The
Beat Book provides law enforcement officers with:

                    A variety of methods to find a location by address, and
                    The ability to create and manage their own data, such as a list of informants along
          with their areas and locations.
     
     The Crime Mapping Analysis Program (CMAP), which is coordinated by NIJ's National
Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC) Rocky Mountain (RM)
Center, provides technology assistance and training to state and local agencies in the areas of
crime and intelligence analysis and geographic information systems (GIS).  CMAP has provided
training to over 300 students from 28 state and local law enforcement agencies.  NLECTC-
Southeast, in Charleston, South Carolina, has joined NLECTC-RM in meeting the high demand
among criminal justice practitioners by bringing GIS technology resources to bear in the
administration of justice and the fight against crime and violence.  NLECTC-SE fosters the use of
crime mapping techniques in law enforcement through capacity building classes and the
coordination of research on new and improved GIS applications for criminal justice.
     
Interoperability

     In today's fast-moving environment, there are many occasions when more than one law
enforcement agency may be involved in a case or situation.  Police units from multiple
departments engaging in a joint operation, such as a high-speed pursuit, frequently cannot
communicate with one another directly as events are unfolding.  This inability may result from use
of different radio frequencies, varying and proprietary protocols or system architectures that are
incompatible, outdated equipment, or operational restraints. 

     NIJ is addressing interoperability problems through its AGILE program (Advanced
Generation of Interoperability for Law Enforcement).  In order to consider the latest technologies
that can impact short and long-term interoperability planning, NIJ's Office of Science and
Technology released a focused solicitation in May 2000 for research and development proposals
that address the area of convergence of wireless and information technologies, software radios,
and general interoperability technologies.  The proposals were reviewed by a peer panel and NIJ,
resulting in four awards in September 2000 to help solve some of these interoperability problems.  
     
     In FY 2000, AGILE also funded the creation of the NPSTC Support Office (NSO).  The
National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) is a federation of 11 associations
that together represent nearly all components of public safety in wireless communications issues. 
Coordinated by the NLECTC-RM Center in Denver, Colorado, NSO provides secretariat support
for NPSTC, thereby providing a voice for this important constituent group in the areas of wireless
communications.  AGILE also provided funding for the creation of a national, pre-coordination
database for the 700 MHZ band, so that when this part of the spectrum does become available for
public safety use, this database will provide a rapid and efficient allocation and licensing of the
spectrum.  

     To assist state and local agencies that are in immediate need of interoperability                
assistance, NIJ has developed partnerships to technically and operationally evaluate                
interoperability solutions.  A federal laboratory will provide technical assessments, while             
public safety agencies (such as the Alexandria, Virginia Police Department) are integrating,
testing, and evaluating products in actual operational environments.  In FY 2000, some of the first
products evaluated were the ACU-1000, an audio gateway technology that ties incompatible radio
systems together as a means for rapidly disseminating information on missing children, and the
INFOTECH informational technology system, which provides inter-regional information sharing
among law enforcement agencies.

Information Sharing

     Other OJP information sharing activities include the Regional Information Sharing System
(RISS), a multijurisdictional criminal intelligence system operated by and for state and local law
enforcement agencies.  The program comprises six regional sites, which act as hubs for the
member agencies that use RISS.  In FY 2000, the Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded
approximately $25 million under the RISS program.  This funding helped the six regional RISS
centers provide state-of-the-art investigative support and training, analytical services, specialized
equipment, and information sharing technology to more than 5,500 municipal, county, state, and
federal law enforcement agencies nationwide.  This assistance helped law enforcement agencies
make more than 3,000 arrests and seize or recover illegal controlled substances, property, and
currency worth $100 million.  BJA also awarded funds to the Institute for Intergovernmental
Research for Information Technology Support to support the RISS program and for the RISS
Performance Management and Assessment.

Information Technology

     In addition to building interoperability and communications into law enforcement, OJP is
also sponsoring integration of the justice information system as a whole.  The OJP Justice
Integration Initiative seeks to improve communication and information sharing among justice
agencies at all levels of government, federal, state, and local, and across all disciplines within the
juvenile and criminal justice systems.  OJP recognized that, as state, local, and tribal governments
forge ahead with the development of information sharing architectures, OJP was presented with
an unparalleled opportunity, through the efficient, coordinated, and targeted use of grant funds, to
form partnerships in support of justice information sharing.  OJP subsequently created the
Information Technology Executive Council (IT Executive Council or ITEC) to design a more
strategic approach to OJP's funding and technical assistance in this area.  OJP's generalized basis
for a coordinated grant funding strategy is found in more than 40 of its current statutory
provisions that contain express or implied language authorizing the purchase of information
technology.  Each of these statutes provides for and encourages the development of information
sharing systems to further the fight against crime.

     The IT Executive Council worked with more than 300 state and local criminal justice
leaders through a conference series designed to gain insight into current state and local integrated
technology initiatives.  The conference series provided OJP with the field's recommendations for
furthering state and local justice integration through grant guidance, technical assistance, and the
development of a national integration resource center.  Based on this field input, in 1999 OJP
refined its federal role in support of integrated justice and designed and implemented a number of
actions to facilitate and assist integration efforts at the state, local, and tribal level.  

Some FY 2000 IT initiative highlights include:

                    BJS issued a public solicitation to state and local jurisdictions to implement the
          National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) Implementation Program. 
          This program  is designed to improve the quality of crime statistics in the United
          States.  The NIBRS program provides funding to states, in conjunction with units
          of local government and tribes, that want to participate in the FBI's new approach
          to uniform crime reporting.  FY 2001 funds allocated to NIBRS will enable BJS to
          fund additional applications submitted in response to the FY 2000 solicitation.

                    Crime Victimization Survey (CVS) software is available to help communities
          conduct local crime and attitudinal surveys.  The CVS software package, designed
          by BJS and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), allows
          communities to conduct their own telephone surveys of residents to collect data on
          crime victimization, attitudes toward policing, and other community issues.  Using
          the established methods and questions of the National Crime Victimization Survey,
          this software allows communities to generate crime and victimization estimates
          that facilitate comparisons among similar jurisdictions.  To date, more than 1,800
          requests for copies and downloads of the software have been made from police
          departments, local agencies, and criminal justice researchers.  Many of these
          requests have come from other countries, including Israel, Ireland, and South
          Africa.  In addition to the CVS software, BJS  released the CVS Software User's
          Manual and Conducting Community Surveys: A Practical Guide for Law
          Enforcement Agencies in October 1999.   

                    BJS began experimental use of Web-based data collection to compile
          administrative data from selected state and local criminal justice agencies.  BJS
          currently maintains over two dozen different data collection programs that obtain
          information describing the workload of approximately 50,000 federal, state, and
          local agencies, offices, and institutions.    Until now, all BJS collection efforts
          entailed sending paper questionnaires to law enforcement agencies, prosecutors'
          offices, probation offices, local jails, courts, pretrial release agencies, public
          defender offices, and prison and parole authorities.  Like many other governmental
          and private-sector data managers, BJS has begun the transition from paper-based
          data collection to direct Internet submission of information to a database.  In FY
          2001, BJS will conduct data collections using the Internet for the Survey of DNA
          Crime Laboratories, the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies,
          and the Annual Survey of Jails.

                    OJJDP awarded $500,000 to start the Information Systems to Prevent Juvenile
          Delinquency Training and Technical Assistance project.  This program is aimed at
          advancing more effective and proactive responses to at-risk youth and youth
          within the juvenile justice system.  It is also geared to support solutions to juvenile
          delinquency by providing training and technical assistance on information sharing
          to juvenile justice, education, health, child welfare, and other youth serving
          systems or organizations that foster multi-disciplinary and multi-agency solutions.

FIGHTING CYBERCRIME
     
     Law enforcement agencies must act quickly to keep pace with criminals who are
increasingly using high-capacity technology that could soon surpass current abilities and resources
to combat them.  

     In August 2000, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) released the publication, State and
Local Law Enforcement Needs to Combat Electronic Crime, which summarizes the critical steps
that must be addressed in order for law enforcement agencies to successfully contend with
electronic crime.  The study, initiated in response to a request from the National Cybercrime
Training Partnership, was conducted to assess law enforcement needs for identifying, preventing,
and combating electronic crimes in this country.  The full report was released in July 2001.  


     NIJ's Office of Science and Technology also supported the publication and dissemination
of a pocket guide for use by first responders at crime scenes.  The guide, Best Practices for
Seizing Electronic Evidence, was developed by the U.S. Secret Service.  In addition, NIJ
continued work to complete the first of a set of quick reference guides for cybercrime
investigations that will address the entire life-cycle of cybercrime remediation, from crime scene to
prosecution in the courtroom.

     To help meet the needs identified in this study, in the summer of 2000 NIJ established the
National Law Enforcement CyberScience Laboratory Northeast, which is co-located with NIJ's
National Law Enforcement Corrections and Training Center-Northeast Center at the U.S. Air
Force Research Laboratory in Rome, New York.  The CyberScience Laboratory's mission
includes fostering government, industry, and academic research partnerships that address
cybercrime and provide technical assistance to state and local law enforcement.  Its partners
include Utica College's Computer Forensics Research and Development Center, the New York
Electronic Crimes Task Force, the New York State Police, the New York City Police
Department, and Eastman Kodak.

Internet Crimes Against Children
     
     Keeping children safe online increasingly has become as important as keeping them safe in
schools or on the streets.  Sexual predators no longer lurk only in malls and on playgrounds. 
Instead, they roam freely in cyberspace and hide in chat rooms looking for vulnerable children. 
More than 28 million children currently go online, and industry experts predict that more than 45
million young people will use the Internet by 2002.  Law enforcement and prosecutors will be
increasingly challenged by sex offenders who use computer technology to victimize children. 
These crimes present complex technical and investigative challenges for law enforcement. 
Because few crime investigations begin and end in the same jurisdiction, investigations require
close coordination among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.  In addition,
evidence collection, interviewing practices, and undercover operations must be carefully adapted
to meet the technical and legal demands of Internet crimes.  

     In May 2000, OJJDP awarded nearly $2.5 million in grants to 10 state and local law
enforcement agencies to combat Internet crimes against children under its Internet Crimes Against
Children (ICAC) Task Force program.  These awards were announced at an ICAC law
enforcement training seminar at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.  OJJDP
also awarded continuation funding to the existing 30 sites.  These grants provide states and
localities with the tools and skills to investigate, prosecute, and prevent Internet crimes against
children. 



     The ICAC program encourages communities to develop regional, multi-jurisdictional, and
multi-agency responses to Internet crimes.  Grant funds are used to ensure that investigators
receive specialized training in Internet crimes and are equipped with the most up-to-date
computer technology.  The task forces developed as part of the ICAC program are also designed
to become sources of prevention, education, and investigative experience to provide technical
assistance to parents, teachers, law enforcement, and other professionals.  The 20 existing ICAC
grantees' collective efforts have led to the arrest of more than 115 people who were using the
Internet to sexually exploit children.  The grantees have also trained more than 1,000 law
enforcement officers and prosecutors.  In addition, thousands of children, parents, and educators
have received information about safe Internet practices for young people.    

     OJJDP awarded $6 million in FY 2000 for the task force program, with another $2.125
million set aside for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's CyberTipline and
training activities.  OJJDP has identified some major obstacles to a successful law enforcement
response to child pornography on the Internet.  Forensic capacity to deal with child pornography
on computers is deficient, and case referrals are not followed through because receiving agencies
lack understanding and capacity to respond.  OJJDP utilized $6 million to respond to these
problems in FY 2000 with a plan that includes investigative and computer forensic training and
technical assistance ($1 million), and an investigative satellite program that would support 
non-ICAC task force members with acquiring skills and equipment needed to process referral
cases ($1.2 million).  

     In FY 2000, OJJDP also offered two training programs for law enforcement officers
investigating child pornography and "cyberenticement" offenses.  The 5-day Protecting Children
Online course provides detectives with information regarding forensic and investigative
techniques, offender behavioral characteristics, statutory, and existing case law, and available
resources that can assist in ICAC investigations.  The 3-day Protecting Children Online Unit
Commander course encourages law enforcement supervisory and management personnel to
develop departmental policies and procedures that respond effectively to online crimes against
children.  Nearly 1,000 investigators and managers participated in these courses within the past
year.

Research & Tools

     Working in partnership with state, local, federal, and international law enforcement
agencies, the Department of Justice developed the National Cybercrime Training Partnership
(NCTP) as an important element in the solution to the growing cybercrime problem.  The
National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA),
serves as the state and local liaison and training arm of the NCTP.  Additionally, BJA serves in a


leadership role with NCTP in providing guidance and advice on state and local issues regarding
the investigation and prosecution of cybercrime.   The NW3C was awarded $9.25 million in FY
2000 to support these efforts.

     The Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC), managed by the FBI with operational
support provided by the NW3C, was launched nationwide in early 2000.  Since its official
opening, the IFCC has averaged about 125 calls per day, conducting numerous investigations in
conjunction with the FBI and state and local agencies.  The IFCC has also provided information
on fraud schemes that had not previously come to the attention to law enforcement.  In addition,
it serves as a central repository for complaints related to Internet fraud, works to quantify fraud
patterns, and provides timely statistical data on current fraud trends.  For victims of Internet
fraud, the IFCC provides a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism that alerts authorities
of a suspected criminal or civil violation. 

      In November 2000, NW3C released two computer-based training courses   The Internet
as an Investigative Tool and Computer Crimes on Your Doorstep.  This interactive training
demonstrates how to use the Internet as an investigative tool, helping law enforcement managers,
investigators, and the criminal justice system respond to the growing computer crime problem. 
The training was provided to state and local law enforcement agencies at no cost.

     Through NCTP, federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies are working with
private industry to provide cross-training.  More and more private companies are experiencing
cybercrime, which requires a greater involvement by law enforcement.   The component agencies
of OJP are committed to continuing the dialogue with state and local counterparts and the
organizations that represent them.  For example, through its participation in NCTP, BJA is
facilitating coordination of state and local issues through organizations such as the International
Association of Chiefs of Police, the Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies, the
National Sheriffs' Association, the National Association of Attorneys General, and the National
Association of District Attorneys.

     The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) has been modifying an ongoing statistical series that
gathers administrative data from operational criminal justice agencies to include data on computer
crime.  The Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics series, which was fielded
July 1, 2000, obtains information on computer crime units in state and local law enforcement.  
BJS also has been exploring computer crime measurement issues with the Business Software
Alliance (BSA) as part of a larger effort that would facilitate the collection and reporting of
statistical information relating to cybercrime and its effect upon the business community.    



     The BJS partnership with the business community will allow BJS to tap into the
knowledge the private sector has gained in responding to cybercrime, as well as provide BJS
important information that can be used to define the scope of the cybercrime issue for the
development of national statistics.  As a first step in FY 2000, BJS held a focus group for BJS and
Census Bureau staff, as well as representatives from the private sector and the academic
community to facilitate exploration of the issues related to the collection of cybercrime statistics. 
As a result of this meeting, BJS began work with the Census Bureau, with the input and advice of
the private sector, to formulate and test cybercrime-related questions to supplement ongoing
commercial surveys dealing with businesses, industries, and other private concerns.
          
     In FY 2000, NIJ provided funds totaling $450,618 to the National Institute of Standards'
Office of Law Enforcement Standards to continue its efforts in:

                    Verifying computer forensic software tools for law enforcement use; 
                    Developing a National Software Reference Library for use by law enforcement;
          and
                    Developing two of a seven volume series of  quick reference guides for
          investigating electronic crime.  

     Also in FY 2000, NIJ awarded the Institute for Security Technology Studies at Dartmouth
funds totaling $8.52 million for two projects involving cybersecurity and information
infrastructure assurance.  The cybersecurity project involves the development, evaluation, and
demonstration of cybersecurity, network security, cybersecurity tools, and software system
protection.  The information infrastructure assurance project will develop, demonstrate, and
evaluate cybercrime technology tools for law enforcement and forensic application.  This project
will also focus on wireless and web infrastructure and security issues within law enforcement
agencies. 

     BJA, NIJ, and OJJDP are pooling resources and working with the Information
Technology Association of America (ITAA) on developing an overall awareness campaign to
alert the general public about problems associated with cybercrime.  Each of these OJP bureaus is
exploring how existing appropriations can be used to expand opportunities for communicating
with the general public about using the Internet responsibly and the consequences that could
result from misuse.  

Victims
     
     In FY 2000, the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) supported a project to establish a
model victim-centered community response to stalking, which included cyber-stalking.  A
working group is developing protocols in identifying roles and responsibilities of the agencies that
respond to stalking issues.  The Violence Against Women Office supports the National Stalking
Resource Center at the National Center for Victims of Crime.  Also in FY 2000 through 2003, as
part of the Innocent Images Project of the FBI Baltimore Field Office, OVC funded a clinical level
Child Interview Specialist to assist the FBI in training special agents in identifying, contacting, and
interviewing child victims involved in online pornography cases.  OVC also provided funding to
the U.S. Secret Service to hire a Victim-Witness Specialist to assist in implementing a victim-
witness assistance program.  Victims under the Secret Service's investigative purview often
include victims of credit card fraud and identity theft   offenses that are oftentimes perpetrated
electronically.

     In addition, during FY 2000 OVC supported a variety of training initiatives for law
enforcement related to the emergence of cybercrime and will continue this support in FY 2001.   
                              
IMPROVING THE USE OF DNA EVIDENCE

     Increasing law enforcement's ability to use DNA evidence in the fight against crime makes
sense, and ultimately gets violent offenders off our streets.  Last year, the National Commission
on the Future of DNA Evidence provided recommendations to the Attorney General on the
current and future uses of DNA technology in the criminal justice system.  Among those
recommendations was one to help states analyze existing DNA samples that had been collected
from convicted offenders, but not yet analyzed and added to existing state systems and the FBI's
Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).  At the time of the recommendation, it was estimated
that there were more than 750,000 unanalyzed samples in existence.  

     In July 2000, more than 100 police chiefs, sheriffs, and other law enforcement officials met
in Washington, DC for the National Law Enforcement Summit on DNA Technology.  Based upon
another recommendation by the National Commission on the Future of DNA Evidence, NIJ
sponsored the summit to educate law enforcement decision makers about the crime-solving
potential of DNA technology.  Training for first responders to identify and preserve DNA
evidence, as well as stress collaboration between law enforcement and other members of the
criminal justice system was also emphasized.

     The National Commission on the Future of DNA Evidence also recognized the importance
of identifying technical advances in the next decade and assessing the expected impact of these on
the forensic DNA community.  The Forensic DNA Research and Development Program aims to
maximize the value of DNA evidence to the criminal justice system by supporting research that
builds or improves upon existing technologies, methods, or approaches, as well as research based
on new or novel technologies, methods, or approaches.  In addition to the continued support in
the development of a DNA chip for high-speed, inexpensive, and ultimately portable DNA testing,
NIJ supported research of improved tools for use in routine DNA analysis, as well as exploration
of genetic markers that will increase the success rate of testing old, degraded, or very small
amounts of biological crime scene evidence.

     With over a million copies of What Every Law Enforcement Officer Should Know About
DNA Evidence distributed, and continued demand for this publication, more needed to be done. 
The Commission, in collaboration with NIJ grant recipient Eastern Kentucky University,
developed a computer-based training program for law enforcement on DNA.  The interactive CD-
ROM training module is being distributed in two parts.  The first module, which covers basic
information on DNA and the identification and preservation of potential DNA evidence at the
crime scene, was designed for first responders and was distributed in FY 2000. 

GENERAL FORENSICS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

     While DNA evidence is important to the resolution of many violent crimes, on average it
makes up less than 5 percent of the evidence used.  Other types of forensic evidence continue to
play a crucial role in the investigation of violent crimes.  NIJ is committed to enhancing the use of
all classes of forensic evidence, and in FY 2000 supported research and development in forensic
disciplines, such as questioned document examination, firearms and toolmarks examination,
toxicology examinations, forensic entomology, transfer (trace) evidence examinations, and
controlled substance examinations.



 




                      FOR MORE INFORMATION
                                
Visit the OJP Website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov, which includes general information
about OJP and its bureaus and program offices, e-mail addresses, downloadable
versions of application kits, and links to selected criminal justice Websites.  The
National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Website at www.ncjrs.org
offers online versions of most OJP publications.  OJP publications can also be
ordered by calling NCJRS toll-free at 1-800/851-3420.  In addition, the NIJ-
sponsored NLECTC JUSTNET Website (www.nlectc.org) provides criminal justice
professionals with impartial information on a variety of products to help agencies in
making purchasing decisions that will maximize their limited resources.  The
following publications are available from NCJRS:

State and Local Law Enforcement Needs to Combat Electronic Crime (NIJ)
 NCJ 183451

Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for Law Enforcement (NIJ) NCJ 178280

Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report CD-ROM (OJJDP) 
NCJ 178257

Mapping Crime: Principle and Practice (NIJ) NCJ 178919

CVS Software User's Manual (BJS) NCJ 176361

Conducting Community Surveys: A Practical Guide for Law Enforcement Agencies (BJS)
NCJ 178246

Guide for the Selection of Chemical Agent and Toxic Industrial Material Detection
Equipment for Emergency First Responders (NIJ) NCJ 184449

Stab Resistance of Personal Body Armor (NIJ Standard-0115.00) (NIJ) 
NCJ 183652

Ballistic Resistance of Personal Body Armor (NIJ Standard-0101.04) (NIJ)
NCJ 183651



































9 
                 Enhancing Law Enforcement and
                    Adjudication Initiatives
                                
     OJP continues to promote innovation in law enforcement and adjudication in states and
counties, as well as to support efforts that enhance confidence in criminal justice processes,
improve productivity of law enforcement agencies, target violence that is disproportionate to
national trends, and promote the interaction of the police with their communities in positive and
productive partnerships. 

DEPLOYING PROSECUTORS TO THE COMMUNITY

     Community prosecution is a strategy being implemented by an increasing number of
prosecutors around the country.  A basic premise behind this approach to prosecution is the
realization that a prosecutor is more than a mere case processor, simply waiting for matters to be
presented for resolution.  Rather, a prosecutor can be much more effective if he or she enters into
partnerships with the community and other law enforcement entities and engages in a problem-
solving approach to law enforcement.  While community prosecution programs or projects differ
from one jurisdiction to another, this collaborative, problem-solving approach is what makes this
strategy different from other prosecution initiatives.  

     A number of jurisdictions have been involved in community prosecution efforts for many
years with little or no federal resources to support those efforts.  For instance, community
prosecution has been in Portland, Oregon for almost 10 years.    The amount of interest generated
at the local level for this approach to prosecution has grown substantially.  The National District
Attorneys Association (NDAA) and many state attorneys general are actively involved in
community prosecution.

     Community prosecution is a key element to increasing a community's confidence in the
justice system.  Community prosecutors work directly with neighborhood residents and
organizations in the communities they serve.  In FY 2000, BJA awarded Community Prosecution
grants totaling more than $8 million to 61 communities.  These grants will foster collaborative
efforts between local prosecutors' offices and the community to identify local priorities and
develop and implement strategic crime prevention and reduction plans.  The grants also will help
communities plan, implement, or enhance community prosecution strategies. In FY 1999, BJA
provided approximately $5 million to 40 jurisdictions.  The FY 2000 grants awarded bring the
number of federally funded community prosecution initiatives to almost 100.
          
     Community prosecution programs are spread throughout a variety of prosecutors' offices
across the country, from tribal prosecutor offices to some of the largest district attorney offices to
state attorney general offices.  BJA provided more than $300,000 in funds to provide technical
assistance and training for the new grantees, a portion of which is being provided by the American
Prosecutors Research Institute (APRI), the training and research component of NDAA.  APRI
has also developed a community prosecution course that it offers to prosecutors at the National
Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina.
     
     Complementary to OJP's community prosecution effort is BJA's Community Court
Initiative.  In January 1998, New York City's Midtown Community Court was the only
community court in the United States.  Midtown Community Court succeeded by asking a new
set of questions about the role of the court in a community's daily life.  What can a court do to
solve neighborhood problems?  What can courts bring to the table beyond their coercive power
and symbolic presence?  And what roles can community residents, businesses, and service
providers play in improving justice?

     By March 2000, nearly a dozen community courts had opened across the country in cities
in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, and Texas.  Another
13 communities, many using BJA grants, are planning to open courts in the near future.  The
courts that followed Midtown are answering these questions in different ways, but they also seek
a set of common, important goals.  All of them have implemented a new way of doing business
that imposes immediate, meaningful sanctions on offenders, truly engages the community, and
helps offenders address problems that are at the root of their criminal behavior.  BJA funds the
Center for Court Innovation to provide assistance to these courts through publications, on-site
training, and the Center's Website, www.communityjustice.org.
     
ADVANCING AND IMPROVING PROSECUTION 

     As the number of juvenile gun offenders increases, the need for a more focused,
coordinated response to reducing youth gun violence is becoming more apparent.  An innovative
program by the King County, Washington Prosecutor's Office and the Seattle Police led to
quicker handling of juvenile firearm offense cases and an increased conviction rate.  During the
first eight months of the program, the average number of days handling a firearm case dropped
from 53 to 17, while the conviction rate rose from 65 percent to 78 percent.  The Seattle program
is part of the city's Youth Handgun Violence Initiative, which was funded by the Office of
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).  This program is profiled in Seattle's Effective
Strategy for Prosecuting Juvenile Firearm Offenders, a bulletin released from the Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) in March 2000.  

According to the bulletin, the Seattle program emphasizes:

                   Vertical prosecution, meaning that the same prosecutor handles a case from start
          to finish, and 
     


                   Prosecutors train police officers on how to collect the specific information needed
          to improve investigations and write better reports, which lead to successful
          prosecution of these cases.  
     
     As a result of this program's approach, delays and backlogs in filing juvenile firearm cases
were eliminated, while the quality of information provided to prosecutors was substantially
improved.  These improvements led to a 50 percent drop in the dismissal rate for juvenile firearms
cases.  The Seattle program was also profiled in OJJDP's report, Promising Strategies to Reduce
Gun Violence.

     Eyewitnesses frequently play a vital role in uncovering the truth about a crime.  The
evidence they provide can be critical in identifying, charging, and ultimately convicting suspected
criminals.  Recent cases in which DNA evidence has been used to exonerate individuals convicted
primarily on the basis of eyewitness testimony have shown that eyewitness evidence is not
infallible.  In October 1999, NIJ released Eyewitness Evidence: A Guide for Law Enforcement. 
This guide was produced with the participation of criminal justice professionals who served on the
Technical Working Group for Eyewitness Evidence.  These 34 individuals brought together
knowledge and practical expertise from jurisdictions large and small across the United States and
Canada.

ENSURING FAIRNESS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT

     Although serious cases of abuse of police authority have raised questions and been
debated in recent years, little is known about how police officers themselves view these critical
issues.  According to two studies released by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Office
of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) in June 2000, a majority of law enforcement
officers in the United States find incidents of excessive force unacceptable and believe that police
should be held accountable and punished for inappropriate behavior.  
     
     Police Attitudes Toward Abuse of Authority: Findings from a National Survey questioned
more than 900 U.S. police officers regarding their attitudes about police abuse of authority.  To
assess these attitudes, researchers polled 925 randomly selected police officers from 121
departments.  The officers were asked what types of abuse and attitudes toward abuse police
observe in their departments and what strategies or tactics are effective in preventing officers from
abusing authority.  
     
The majority responded that:

                   It is unacceptable to use more force than legally allowable to control someone who
          physically assaults an officer;
                   Extreme cases of police abuse of authority occur infrequently, although fellow
          officers occasionally use more force than necessary when making an arrest; and
     
                   The police "code of silence" affects an officer's willingness to report improper
          police behavior.

     The second study, The Measurement of Police Integrity, surveyed officers in 30 police
agencies nationwide to explore organizational influences on police behavior.  In this study, the
researchers drew the following conclusions about the perception of police integrity:

                   Police officers were more likely to report and endorse severe discipline for more
          serious misconduct;
                   The majority of police officers felt that their department's disciplinary policies for
          misconduct are fair; and
                   A majority of police officers said that they would not report a fellow officer who
          had been engaged in what they regarded as less serious conduct, but would report
          conduct such as stealing from a burglary scene or accepting a kickback.
     
     These findings support what we already know   that the behavior of our nation's law
enforcement officers is guided by principled decision making.  And, any incidence of unethical
behavior or inappropriate use of force is unacceptable.  These two policing studies also give us
direction about the tools that supervisors and line officers need to foster sound decision making. 
Factors such as strong leadership from police chiefs and supervisors, as well as training in ethics
and diversity, can help prevent inappropriate behavior or excessive use of force on the streets.

IMPROVING INDIGENT DEFENSE

     Studies have shown that nearly 80 percent of defendants charged with felonies in this
country rely on a public defender or assigned counsel for legal representation because they are too
poor to hire private attorneys on their own.  All individuals charged with an offense should
receive fair and effective representation.  Two new reports on indigent defense systems were
released in May 2000 by OJP to provide examples of how the criminal justice system can meet
this goal. 

     The first publication, Report of the National Symposium on Indigent Defense, presents the
results of a 1999 two-day conference that addressed the issue of equal justice for all those
charged with a criminal offense, especially those who cannot afford to pay the cost of
representation.  The second publication, Contracting for Indigent Defense Systems: A Special
Report, funded by BJA, examines the major issues surrounding the planning, implementation, and
use of contracting in indigent defense systems as an alternative to using assigned counsel
programs or public defender offices.  

     BJA seeks to bring more balance to the criminal justice system by giving indigent defense
more visibility, funding, and information tools.  In FY 2000, BJA supported projects in Arizona,
Georgia, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas under the Emerging Issues in Indigent
Defense Management and Technology Program that improves case management practices and
building capacity to access technology.  This program represents the first grant opportunity in
decades specifically targeting defenders.

     BJA also supported the work of several organizations that provide technical assistance to
indigent defense practitioners.  The National Legal Aid and Defender Association continues its
work to help state and local indigent defense organizations improve the quality of indigent
representation in the United States.  The Vera Institute of Justice provided training to defender
managers through the National Defender Leadership Project to become more active participants
in policy planning and development.  BJA funded and disseminated two reports by The
Spangenberg Group that focused national attention on major challenges facing the indigent
defense community.
                         
SUPPORTING LAW ENFORCEMENT

     In the course of interacting with community groups and criminal justice practitioners, we
have learned that many agencies at the state and local level need funds to assist their personnel in
dealing successfully with violent crime and serious offenders.  In FY 2000, BJA awarded a total
of $500 million to all 50 states, five territories, and the District of Columbia under its Edward
Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program for combating violent and
drug-related crime.  The Byrne program is authorized by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (as
amended) and award amounts are based on each state's population.  States make subawards to
units of local government and nonprofit agencies and funds must be used in accordance with
legislatively authorized purpose areas, including multi-jurisdictional drug task forces, criminal
justice records improvement, crime prevention, and drug treatment and education.

     More than 3,100 local jurisdictions received Local Law Enforcement Block Grants
(LLEBG) totaling nearly $400 million in FY 2000 to help them reduce crime and improve public
safety.  The funds can be used to hire police officers, improve security in and around schools,
purchase law enforcement equipment and technology, enhance the adjudication of violent
offenders, and for other public safety efforts.  The LLEBG program awards its funds based on a
formula derived from Uniform Crime Report (UCR) data.  

     To be considered eligible for the LLEBG Program, a jurisdiction must report to the
Federal Bureau of Investigation's UCR program.  The determining variable within the LLEBG
formula is the number of UCR Part I violent crimes reported by a jurisdiction to the FBI.  In
short, the formula is based on the premise that areas with higher crime rates need more funds. 
                                             
     Public safety officers face numerous risks in their daily jobs.  In FY 2000, BJA assisted
over 3,500 law enforcement agencies across the nation obtain bulletproof vests.  Through the
Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program, BJA distributed $25 million to jurisdictions nationwide to
provide for up to half the cost of bullet-resistant vests.  Funding for over 180,000 bulletproof
vests have been provided to state, county, and local law enforcement agencies in the program's
two years.  Each jurisdiction may purchase one vest per officer per year, and all vests must meet
or exceed standards developed by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ).

     The Office of the Police Corps and Law Enforcement Education (OPCLEE), which in
November 1998 was transferred from the Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing
Services (COPS) to OJP, provides college educational assistance to students who commit to
public service in law enforcement, and scholarships to students with no service commitment, who
are dependents of law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty.  

     In FY 2000, the Police Corps program added an additional 140 officers with advanced
education and training to community patrol positions throughout participating states and
territories.  As of September 30, 2000, a total of 771 individuals were currently participating or
had participated in the Police Corps program.  Six additional states and territories   Alaska,
Arizona, Maine, Minnesota, Virginia and America Samoa   initiated participation into the
program in FY 2000.  A total of 30 states and territories currently participate.  The Mississippi
Police Corps program became the first law enforcement training program in the nation to receive
national certification for its emphasis on ethics instruction in its law enforcement training.  The
certification award was presented by the National Institute of Ethics (NIE), a non-profit
organization that is the largest provider of law enforcement and corrections ethics training in the
United States.

     The Public Safety Officers' Benefits (PSOB) program, also administered by BJA, is
designed to offer peace of mind to men and women seeking careers in public safety.  The PSOB
program provides financial benefits to survivors of police officers, firefighters, and emergency
response personnel killed in the line of duty, and to those who are permanently and totally
disabled in the line of duty.  The program also collects information on line-of-duty deaths, which
is used to enhance public safety officer training.  In FY 2000, the PSOB program awarded nearly
$30 million in death and disability benefits to surviving families of nearly 200 public safety
officers.

     In 1999, Congress amended the Police, Fire, and Emergency Officers' Educational
Assistance Act, which authorizes the Federal Law Enforcement Dependents' Assistance (FLEDA)
program.  In the past, the FLEDA program, administered by BJA, provided assistance for higher
education to eligible survivors of federal police officers whose death or permanent disability
occurred in the line of duty.  The act was amended to allow for this assistance to apply to all
federal, state, and local public safety officers, including federal police and firefighters, state and
local law enforcement, and members of federal, state, and local public rescue squads.  To reflect
these changes, the title of the program was changed to the Public Safety Officers' Educational
Assistance (PSOEA) program.
          
     In January 2000, Congress amended the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of
1968 to extend the retroactive financial assistance eligibility dates for higher education benefits to
the families of public safety officers.  In FY 2000, the PSOEA program awarded more than
$40,000 in educational financial assistance to 16 families.

     NIJ's Corrections and Law Enforcement Family Support Program is discovering
innovative ways to prevent and treat the negative effects of stress experienced by law enforcement
and correctional officers and their families.  The program primarily consists of demonstration and
research grants that are periodically awarded to state and local law enforcement and corrections
agencies or organizations (e.g., unions and associations) representing law enforcement and
corrections personnel.  In FY 2000,  two grants were awarded for research into officer and family
stress issues and four grants were awarded for development of demonstration and training
programs.  Grants focused primarily on programming for managerial rather than line staff.  The
grants awarded for demonstration and training programs will impact 571 supervisors and 420
officers and their families.

     The Violence Against Women Office supports the Battered Women's Justice Project
(BWJP) to train law enforcement officers on promising practices, such as: interviewing children at
the scene of a domestic assault; making self-defense and primary aggressor determinations;
investigating officer-involved domestic violence cases; testifying in court; coordinating with victim
services programs; managing specialized domestic violence units; and enforcing protection orders. 
BWJP also is updating and disseminating a best-selling video-based curriculum on law
enforcement response to domestic violence.

     In addition, VAWO supports specialized domestic violence training for rural law
enforcement officers.  Praxis, International trains rural grantees about intervention practices that
enhance the safety of battered women and their children.  The Federal Law Enforcement Training
Center (FLETC) is implementing a domestic violence rural law enforcement train-the-trainer
program to enable participants to conduct training in their own jurisdictions.  The National
Sheriffs' Association provides training to front line officers and administrators, focusing on rural
law enforcement in sheriffs' offices.  

COLLECTING DATA FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT 

     OJP data is continuing to support efforts to ensure that felons and other ineligible persons
cannot legally obtain firearms.  Approximately 536,000 of the more than 22.2 million individual
applications to purchase or pawn firearms have been rejected based on federal, state, or local laws
since the inception of the Brady Act in February 1994.  BJS released two reports in June 2000,
Background Checks of Firearm Transfers, 1999 and Federal Firearm Offenders, 1992-98 With
Preliminary Data for 1999.  According to these reports, more than 200,000 firearms applications
were rejected in 1999 and the number of defendants charged with federal firearms offenses
increased from 1998 to 1999.  
     Other findings include:

Firearm Background Checks

                   In 1999, of the 123,000 rejections made by state and local agencies, 73 percent
          were rejected because of a felony conviction or indictment.  
                   Domestic violence convictions or restraining orders accounted for 11 percent of
          these rejections; and 4 percent were due to state or local law prohibitions.  
                   During 1999, slightly less than half of the firearms applications were screened
          through state or local points of contact, the rest of the checks were handled by the
          FBI through its National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
                   Of the approximately 8.6 million applications to transfer firearms in 1999, about
          204,000 (2.4 percent) were rejected.  The rejection rate among state or local
          points of contact was 3 percent; at the federal level it was 1.8 percent.
                   State points of contact have access to more detailed criminal history records than
          the FBI, and more than two-thirds of the U.S. population is in the 26 states that do
          their own background checks for handguns.
          
Firearm Offense Prosecutions

                   During 1998, 85 percent, or 5,419, of the 6,397 firearms defendants were charged
          with a firearms possession offense, half of whom were charged with using a
          firearm during a violent offense or a drug offense.
                   Seven percent of the 1998 firearm defendants were charged with unlawfully
          receiving or transferring a firearm.
                   From 1992 through 1999, among defendants charged with illegally possessing a
          firearm:
                              48 percent were charged with using a firearm during a violent crime or
               during a drug trafficking offense;
                              44 percent were charged with unlawfully possessing a firearm;
                              8 percent were charged with having an unregistered firearm;
                              3 percent were charged with possessing a firearm with an altered or
               obliterated serial number; and
                              3 percent were charged with having stolen firearms.

     In July 2000, criminal and juvenile justice researchers, practitioners, and policy makers
met to discuss the latest studies and program evaluations related to crime, drug control, and
violence.  This Annual Conference on Criminal Justice Research and Evaluation, sponsored by the
agencies and bureaus of OJP, provided a national forum for the discussion of cutting edge
research and promising programs that are making a difference in shaping criminal and juvenile


justice policy.  Specifically, firearms intervention programs, police accountability, youth gangs,
crime in Indian country, violence against women, community policing, reentry of offenders back
into the community, racial profiling, drug courts, youth violence, and drugs and crime were
among the topics discussed. 




                      FOR MORE INFORMATION
                                
Visit the OJP Website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov, which includes general information
about OJP and its bureaus and program offices, e-mail addresses, downloadable
versions of application kits, and links to selected criminal justice Websites.  The
National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Website at www.ncjrs.org offers
online versions of most OJP publications.  OJP publications can also be ordered by
calling NCJRS toll-free at 1-800/851-3420.  The following publications are available
from NCJRS:

Seattle's Effective Strategy for Prosecuting Juvenile Firearm Offenders (OJJDP)
NCJ 178901

Promising Strategies to Reduce Gun Violence (OJJDP) NCJ 173950

Eyewitness Evidence: A Guide For Law Enforcement (NIJ) NCJ 178240

Report of the National Symposium on Indigent Defense (OJP) NCJ 181344

Contracting for Indigent Defense Systems: A Special Report (BJA) NCJ 181160

Police Attitudes Toward Abuse of Authority: Findings from a National Survey (NIJ) 
NCJ 181312

The Measurement of Police Integrity (NIJ) NCJ 181465

Background Checks of Firearm Transfers, 1999 (BJS) NCJ 180882

Federal Firearm Offenders, 1992-98 With Preliminary Data for 1999 (BJS) 
NCJ 180795



10
                     Countering Terrorism &
                       Ensuring Domestic
                                    Preparedness
                                 
     
     Incidents of domestic and international terrorism over the past several years have made it
clear that the federal government must do all it can to prepare at the federal, state, and local levels
to respond more quickly to these incidents and to ensure the safety of our citizens.  As a result,
the federal government has been called upon to play a larger role in mitigating and responding to
all types of human-caused violent events and disasters.  As part of this, the federal government
has dramatically increased its activities with state and local jurisdictions to enhance their abilities
to prepare for and respond to these incidents.

TRAINING STATE AND LOCAL EMERGENCY RESPONDERS

       Since the inception of the Office for State and Local Domestic Preparedness Support
(OSLDPS), it has trained over 60,000 emergency responders, including firefighters, law
enforcement, EMS, HAZMAT, and emergency management personnel.  First responders were
trained through OSLDPS programs in the areas of awareness, technician, operations, and terrorist
incident command.  Training is provided through a variety of resources, including the
Metropolitan Firefighter and Emergency Medical Services Program, the U.S. Army's Pine Bluff
Arsenal, the National Terrorism and Prevention Institute, the Center for Domestic Preparedness,
and the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium.  The National Domestic Preparedness
Consortium (NDPC), which was formally organized on June 11, 1998, brings together several
federal and local agencies receiving funding under OJP's domestic preparedness initiative into a
singular, coordinated, and integrated training program. One Consortium member, OJP's Center
for Domestic Preparedness (CDP), was established as an OJP component on June 1, 1998 and
operates as part of OSLDPS.  Currently, OSLDPS offers 16 domestic preparedness training
courses, a televised distance learning initiative, and three videos and booklets for use by public
safety officials.  OSLDPS is developing additional courses, videos, and other training materials. 
     
EQUIPPING LOCALITIES

     OSLDPS funds state and local agencies to enhance the nation's first responder capabilities
through equipment acquisitions that will help the first responders' response to incidents of
domestic terrorism involving chemical and biological agents, as well as radiological and explosive
devices.



     In FY 1999, OSLDPS developed two levels of grant equipment programs to cover more
of the country than under its FY 1998 initiative.  The FY 1999 equipment grants reached out and
funded additional counties and, for the first time, states.  The first of these grant equipment
programs, the FY 1999 County and Municipal Agency Domestic Preparedness Equipment
Support Program, provided direct grants totaling $30.7 million to 157 of the most populated
cities and counties in the nation for the procurement of basic defensive level equipment.  Also, in
FY 1999, OSLDPS awarded $51.8 million through its State Domestic Preparedness Equipment
Program to the nation's 50 states and the District of Columbia to purchase personal protective,
chemical, biological, and radiological detection, decontamination, and communications
equipment.  This funding is administered by a governor-designated state agency.   In FY 2000,
territories were also included in the State Domestic Preparedness Equipment Program.  
     
     To qualify for OSLDPS assistance, the states, territories, and the District of Columbia are
required to undertake a Threat, Risk, and Needs Assessment and to develop a Three-Year
Statewide Domestic Preparedness Strategy to plan the allocation of OJP and other resources. A
Web-based data collection tool was created to allow states and local jurisdictions to submit their
assessment data and statewide strategic plans on-line.  To assist in this effort, OSLDPS released
the following publications: State Domestic Preparedness Equipment Program Assessment and
Strategy Development Tool Kit, and Guidance for the Development of a Three-Year Statewide
Domestic Preparedness Strategy.  FY 2000 and FY 2001 State Equipment funding will be
awarded after OSLDPS receives the completed assessments and the Statewide Domestic
Preparedness Strategy from each state.  The 50 states will receive a total of $70,103,000 in
equipment grants through FY 2000 funds.  It is projected that states will receive $78.4 million in
FY 2001. 

     BJA continued its support of the State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training (SLATT)
Program, the only ongoing training and technical assistance counterterrorism initiative specifically
designed for state and local law enforcement and prosecution authorities.  Working in close
cooperation withe FBI and its National Security Division Training Unit, the SLATT program
delivers specialized executive, investigative, intelligence, and officer safety training, with an
emphasis on lesser populated jurisdictions.

PLANNING AND RESPONDING TO TERRORISM

     OSLDPS continues to work with state and local jurisdictions, as well as with its federal
agency partners, to assist in preparing and developing responses to potential terrorist acts.  In
May 2000, OSLDPS worked with more than 25 federal organizations and several states and local
communities to conduct the TOPOFF (Top Officials) 2000 exercise, the most comprehensive
counterterrorism exercise conducted to that point in time in America.  The exercise simulated a
chemical weapons attack on Portsmouth, New Hampshire and a biological attack on Denver,
Colorado.  More than 1,000 federal, state, and local officials participated in the exercise, which
was co-chaired by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.  The National Capital Region
(NCR) 2000 counterterrorism exercises in Washington, DC also ran concurrently with the
TOPOFF 2000 exercises.  NCR 2000 simulated radiological attacks at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in
Washington, DC and the U.S. Air Arena in Landover, Maryland.  The NCR 2000 exercises were
directed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

     TOPOFF 2000 was conducted to assess the ability of federal, state, and local assets
working  together to mitigate the consequences of a Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
attack.  The exercise spanned a 10-day period during which local, state, and federal personnel
were challenged to employ the measures they normally would in the event of a real incident or
attack involving chemical or biological agents.  An after-action report detailing the lessons learned
and making recommendations for future counterterrorism activities will be released.  A second
TOPOFF exercise is being planned for 2002. 

     Also in 2000, OSLDPS assisted the City of Seattle and King County, Washington in the
SEAKING 2000 exercise.  As a result of this exercise series, the area's capability to respond to a
WMD event has been greatly enhanced.  OSLDPS, in partnership with the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services,  is currently working with the City of New York to develop and test
a biological incident response plan.  These efforts will continue in 2001.

     During the past fiscal year, OJP, through a partnership between OSLDPS and the National
Institute of Justice's Office of Science and Technology (OST), continued to fund the work of the
Oklahoma City National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism and the Dartmouth
Institute for Security Technology Studies.  Both institutes will be co-managed by OSLDPS and
OST and asked to undertake projects to address current and emerging needs in the nation's
response to incidents of domestic terrorism.  Principal areas of concentration will be in technology
testing, equipment standards development, and overall technology research and development.

ENGAGING THE FIELD

     State and local capacity building requires listening to and working with the state and local
communities and the entire emergency response community to formulate and guide program
activities.  OJP/OSLDPS works as a partner with those on the front lines of WMD response.  This
outreach takes two forms, meetings and conferences and assessments.  OSLDPS has held several
conferences   National Stakeholders Conference (August 1998 and May 1999), State Terrorism
Policy Summit, Executive Session Series at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard
University, Regional Policy FY 2000 Conferences, and Executive Training meetings for the
National Sheriffs' Association.  The goal of OSLDPS' efforts is to focus policy makers on WMD
issues.  
     


     In addition to working with the field, OSLDPS is committed to helping states and
localities better understand their current states of readiness for a WMD event.  Assessments are
an essential means for doing this, for gathering information and understanding the current threats
and risks, and for helping guide program direction and development, including decisions for
prioritizing and allocating the resources (training, equipment, and exercises).  Assessments ensure
that measures taken to reduce vulnerabilities are justifiable and that resources are appropriately
targeted.  Formal assessments have been largely absent from most federal programs directed at
addressing WMD terrorism.  OSLDPS is changing that.  During FY 1999, OSLDPS undertook a
major, two-phase nationwide needs assessment.  Phase I of this assessment entitled, Responding
to Incidents of Domestic Terrorism: Assessing the Needs of State and Local Jurisdictions, was
released in June 1999.  Phase II of the report was released in March 2000.

     OSLDPS is currently focused on these assessments at the state and local levels.  As part of
the OSLDPS FY 1999 State Domestic Preparedness Equipment Program, states will be required
to conduct individual needs and risk assessments and, using the information gathered, develop
individual state strategies addressing issues of training, equipment, and technical assistance needs. 
These assessments, collectively known as the OSLDPS State Domestic Preparedness Equipment
Program Needs Assessment and Strategy Development Initiative, will result in detailed
information for each of the 50 states.  In FY 1999, to assist states in completing this project,
OSLDPS provided both planning grants and technical assistance, including assessment tools and
instruments.

     These OSLDPS state-based needs assessments are intended to provide a national survey
of the current WMD response environment.  Working closely with other federal agencies,
including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the FBI, OSLDPS will
engage city, county, and state emergency managers, law enforcement officers, and public health
officials to help individual jurisdictions pinpoint vulnerabilities and develop plans for countering
WMD terrorism.  The assessment results will serve, not only as a roadmap for program planning,
but also as a benchmark for measuring program effectiveness.  Each state, as part of its
responsibilities under the OSLDPS FY 1999 Equipment Program, will use the assessments as the
basis for developing a Three-Year Strategy, which will be carried out in 2001.  To facilitate the
process, OSLDPS sponsored a series of regional workshops.   

PROVIDING TOOLS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM

Training and Other Resources in the Field

     The better state and local emergency response agencies are prepared to do their jobs, the
better they can ensure public safety.  For instance, evidence found at arson, bombing, and other
incident sites is critical in identifying, charging, and ultimately convicting suspected criminals.  For
this reason, it is absolutely essential that the evidence is collected in a professional manner that
will yield successful laboratory analyses.  One way to ensure that is to follow sound protocols in
investigations.  To assist first responders   fire fighters, law enforcement officers, and emergency
medical technicians   in locating, identifying, collecting, and preserving critical bombing and fire
scene evidence, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) released two guidebooks: A Guide for
Explosion and Bombing Scene Investigation and Fire and Arson Scene Evidence: A Guide for
Public Safety Personnel.  The reports were released in June 2000.  

     Both guides include information on the role of the first responders who arrive on the
scene, as well as guidance in:

                    Evaluating and ensuring the integrity of the evidence and the security of the crime
          scene;
                    Documenting the scene, such as information on photographing, videotaping, and
          documenting the scene;
                    Processing evidence, including assembling evidence processing teams, establishing
          and maintaining a chain of custody, and identifying, collecting, preserving,
          inventorying, packaging, and transporting evidence; and
                    Completing and recording the crime scene investigation, which includes guidance
          on when to "release" the scene and how to submit reports to the appropriate
          national databases.
     
     In addition, OSLDPS, in partnership with the FBI, is working on developing training
courses for state and local emergency response personnel on evidence collection and preservation. 
Further, OSLDPS has developed two "pocket-sized" field aids, or "job aids," for distribution to
emergency response personnel.

Identifying and Developing New Tools

     In its Second Report of the President's Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response
Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction, the Gilmore Commission
noted that "a national strategy for combating terrorism should emphasize programs and initiatives
that build appropriately on existing state and local capabilities for other emergencies and
disasters."  Pursuant to the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-
132), NIJ's Office of Science and Technology has been actively involved in providing public
safety agencies with better tools to deal with such incidents, addressing both the unique needs of
law enforcement and those shared with other types of public safety agencies.

     Public safety agencies play a leading role in this effort by defining their requirements and
testing the new tools being developed by NIJ and its technology partners.  Partnering to take
advantage of related research and development efforts is a major part of NIJ's development
strategy.  NIJ partners include: the Technical Support Working Group (TSWG), the Sandia
National Laboratory, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the FBI, FEMA, and the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).  Other partners include: the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Dartmouth College's Institute for Security
Technology Studies (ISTS), the Oklahoma Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism
(MIPT), and Eastern Kentucky University.  NIJ's efforts are also coordinated with the National
Domestic Preparedness Office (NDPO), OSLDPS, and the Interagency Board for Equipment
Standardization and Interoperability   the responder community's forum for standards-related
issues.

     
                      FOR MORE INFORMATION
                                
Visit the OJP Website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov, which includes general information
about OJP and its bureaus and program offices, e-mail addresses, downloadable
versions of application kits, and links to selected criminal justice Websites.  The
National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Website at www.ncjrs.org
offers online versions of most OJP publications.  OJP publications can also be
ordered by calling NCJRS toll-free at 1-800/851-3420.  The following publications
are available from NCJRS:

State Domestic Preparedness Equipment Program Assessment and Strategy
Development Tool Kit (OSLDPS)

Guidance for the Development of a Three-Year Statewide Domestic
Preparedness Strategy (OSLDPS)

A Guide for Explosion and Bombing Scene Investigation (NIJ) NCJ 181869

Fire and Arson Scene Evidence: A Guide for Public Safety Personnel (NIJ) 
NCJ 181584


                      For More Information

     The Office of Congressional and Public Affairs (OCPA) is a key point of contact for all of
OJP.  OCPA is responsible for ensuring effective communication with Congress, the news media,
public interest groups, and the public.  The telephone number for OCPA is 202/307-0703.

     OJP maintains a Website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov.  In addition to general information about
OJP and its bureaus, the Website includes downloadable versions of many OJP publications and
application kits, as well as useful links to selected criminal justice Websites.  Each bureau and
office's Website includes an e-mail address where you can write with questions.

     To be placed on mailing lists to receive grant announcements and application kits, call the
Department of Justice Response Center at 1-800/421-6770 or in Washington, DC call 
202/307-1480.

     For ordering and other information about OJP publications, contact the National Criminal
Justice Reference Service at 1-800/851-3420 or on the Internet at www.ncjrs.org.  You may also
call one of the OJP clearinghouses listed below.

                                   BJA Clearinghouse                  Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse
                              1-800/688-4252                1-800/638-8736

                                   BJS Clearinghouse                  National Victims Resource Center
                              1-800/732-3277                1-800/627-6872