U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Assistance
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

810 Seventh Street NW.

Washington, DC 20531

Eric H. Holder, Jr.

Attorney General

Karol V. Mason

Assistant Attorney General

Denise E. O'Donnell

Director, Bureau of Justice Assistance

Office of Justice Programs

Innovation • Partnerships • Safer Neighborhoods

www.ojp.gov

Bureau of Justice Assistance

www.bja.gov

NCJ 248683

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP), headed by Assistant Attorney General Karol V. Mason, 

provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to prevent and control 

crime, administer justice, and assist victims. OJP has six components: the Bureau of Justice 

Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of 

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; the Office for Victims of Crime; and the Office 

of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. More 

information about OJP can be found at www.ojp.gov.
FY 2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS n i

Pursuant to the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as 

amended by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-690), in 

accordance with Section 522, I am pleased to transmit the Bureau of Justice 

Assistance Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2013.

This report also includes information pursuant to:

■ Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-351, Section 

522(b) [42 U.S.C. 3766b(b)]), addressing grants made under the Edward Byrne 

Memorial Grant Program.

■ Second Chance Act of 2007: Community Safety Through Recidivism Prevention 

(Public Law 110-199, Section 5 [42 U.S.C. 17503]).

■ Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-322

[42 U.S.C. 3796ff et seq.]). 

Respectfully submitted,

Denise E. O’Donnell

Director

Bureau of Justice Assistance

April 2015

To the Speaker of the House of 

Representatives and the President 

Pro Tempore of the Senate

FY 2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS n iii

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), a component of the U.S. Department 

of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, was created in 1984 to reduce violent 

crime, restore security in communities, and reform our nation’s criminal 

justice system through the development and implementation of policy, services, 

and sound grant management. We are proud to be a national leader in providing 

training, technical assistance, funding, and other resources to state, local, and tribal 

jurisdictions seeking solutions to their unique public safety needs. 

This is an exciting time for criminal justice reform. We know so much more now than 

ever before about what works in the criminal justice field. Because of improved data 

and action-based research, we have more opportunities to achieve true systems 

reform that results in lower crime and stronger communities. BJA is at the forefront 

of this movement, inspiring collaboration and innovation across the country, fostering 

program accountability, and investing in data-driven, evidence-based programs and 

practices that are proving to save taxpayers money while making neighborhoods 

safer. 

The programs featured in this report highlight BJA’s successes in fiscal year 2013, 

but they would not be possible without our longstanding and bipartisan partnerships 

throughout the field. Time and again, our state, local, and tribal partners have 

demonstrated willingness to pilot new approaches, engage in systemwide reforms, 

and be held accountable through research and evaluation. Their contribution 

has uniquely positioned BJA to adapt innovations directly from the field and to 

disseminate evidence-based and promising practices to every corner of the nation. 

Additionally, our partners join us in dedication to increasing program effectiveness 

through data analysis, information sharing, and performance management. 

Message from the Director
iv n Solutions for Safer Communities

As BJA’s Director, I applaud the many achievements of the men and women who, with the support of BJA and collaborative efforts 

at the state and local levels, have made such a difference in their communities. It is an honor to participate in nationwide successes 

that enable our partners to build exciting, worthwhile projects tailored to their local needs and conditions. 

Thank you for taking the time to review this annual report and for your commitment to making our nation’s communities safer. I look 

forward to meeting tomorrow’s challenges and sharing our success with the many partners that make it possible. 

Sincerely, 

Denise E. O’Donnell
FY 2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS n v

Message from the Director ......................................................................................... iii

FY 2013 Overview....................................................................................................... vii

FY 2013 Programs

Reduction of Violent Crime, Improvement of 

Community Safety, and Support for Public Safety Officers ............................... 1

Justice Systems Reforms, Recidivism Reduction, 

Prevention of Unnecessary Confinement, and 

Managing Offenders........................................................................................ 13

Integration of Evidence-Based, Research-Driven, 

and Field-Initiated Strategies into the Programs BJA 

Administers and Supports................................................................................ 25

Increase in Program Effectiveness With a 

Renewed Emphasis on Data Analysis, Information Sharing, 

and Performance Management....................................................................... 29

Contents

FY 2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS n vii

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) strengthens the nation’s criminal justice 

system and helps America’s local, state, and tribal governments reduce and 

prevent crime, reduce recidivism, and promote a fair and safe criminal justice 

system. In fiscal year (FY) 2013, BJA focused its programmatic and policy efforts 

on providing a wide range of resources, including training and technical assistance, 

to law enforcement, prosecution, indigent defense, courts, corrections, treatment, 

reentry, justice information sharing, and community-based partners to address 

chronic and emerging criminal justice challenges nationwide. 

BJA delivers resources to state, local, and tribal communities and justice agencies 

with an emphasis on partnerships and promoting data-driven and evidence-based 

practices and policies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the justice 

system. At the same time, BJA encourages innovation and testing of new strategies 

to meet the unique needs of the communities it serves. BJA also performs a unique 

role as a “convener,” bringing together subject matter experts, practitioners, and 

stakeholders to better inform criminal justice policy on emerging public safety issues. 

The programs and initiatives described within this report reflect the dedication, 

commitment, and successes of a nation of justice partners who believe that more can 

always be done to help reduce and prevent crime and enhance the criminal justice 

system. They also reflect the major strategic focus areas identified in BJA’s Strategic 

Plan for FYs 2013–2016: 

1. Reduction of violent crime, improvement of community safety, and support for 

public safety officers.

2. Reduction of recidivism and prevention of unnecessary confinement.

FY 2013 Overview 
viii n Solutions for Safer Communities

3. Integration of evidence-based, research-driven strategies 

into the day-to-day operations of BJA and the programs BJA 

administers and supports.

4. Increase in program effectiveness with a renewed emphasis 

on data analysis, information sharing, and performance 

management.

The charts below illustrate BJA’s FY 2013 appropriation and 

how funding was distributed by program area. A complete 

listing of FY 2013 grant awards can be found online at http://

ojp.gov/funding/Explore/OJPAwardData.htm. 

FY 2013 APPROPRIATIONS FOR BJA-ADMINISTERED PROGRAMS

Formula

$376,590,996 (36%)

Reimbursement

$261,765,294 (25%)

Discretionary

$273,613,745 (26%)

Payments

$77,911,600 (7%)

Sequestration/Rescissions

$68,836,365 (7%)
FY 2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS n ix

FY 2013 FUNDING BY BJA PROGRAM AREAS*

Law Enforcement/

Crime Victim Support 

38%

Public Safety Officers Support 

8%

Adjudication

1%

Information Sharing/

Countering Terrorism

6%

Managing Offenders

32%

Mental Health/

Substance Abuse Initiatives

8%

Tribal Initiatives

4%

Capacity Building

3%

*Does not include sequestration and across-the-board rescission totals. In FY 2013, they totaled $68,836,365.

The above percentages are for those funds available after these reductions. 

FY 2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS n 1

Chapter 1

Reduction of Violent Crime, 

Improvement of Community Safety, 

and Support for Public Safety Officers

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) supports initiatives that address the 

reduction and prevention of violent crime; the improvement of community safety; 

and support for public safety officers. BJA initiatives cover smart policing, officer 

safety, cybercrime, campus safety, crime prevention, and victim-centered programs that 

leverage support from partners at the state, local, and tribal levels. These efforts provide 

resources, including grant funding and training and technical assistance (TTA), to criminal 

justice agencies, their partners, and the communities they serve. 

Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program

BJA’s Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program, the leading 

source of federal justice funding for state and local jurisdictions, provides states, tribes, 

and local governments with funding necessary to support a range of program areas, 

including law enforcement; prosecution, indigent defense, and the courts; prevention 

and education; corrections and community corrections; drug treatment and enforcement; 

planning, evaluation, and technology improvement; and crime victim and witness 

initiatives. 

BJA continues to support efforts of JAG grantees to invest in strategies that are 

research- or evidence-based and address their priority needs. Additionally, BJA 

encourages JAG grantees to engage in strategic planning to guide funding decisions. If 

such a plan does not exist, BJA strongly encourages state and local jurisdictions to bring 

all system stakeholders together in the strategic planning process to identify funding 

gaps and ensure that the impact of JAG funding decisions is considered across the entire 

criminal justice system. BJA has partnered with the National Criminal Justice Association’s 

National Center for Justice Planning, which offers strategic-planning TTA to JAG’s State 

Administering Agencies. 
2 n Solutions for Safer Communities

In FY 2013, BJA made 1,078 local and 57 state awards totaling 

more than $280 million, including approximately $194 million 

(including prior year available funds) to states and territories 

and $87 million to local units of government. JAG awards are 

up to 4 years in length and funds may be drawn down upfront 

rather than on a reimbursement basis, allowing recipients to 

earn interest on their awards and generate additional funding 

for successful initiatives and future projects. 

BJA’s JAG Showcase highlights high-performing and innovative 

JAG-funded programs. FY 2013 accomplishments include: 

■ A $461,402 justice information sharing program in Maryland 

(www.bja.gov/SuccessStoryDetail.aspx?ssid=38) that assists 

law enforcement and public safety agencies in developing 

crime analysis and mapping capabilities to identify crime 

patterns, trends, and areas of concentration so that effective 

deterrent strategies can be devised.

■ A $464,183 alternative sentencing program in Kentucky 

(www.bja.gov/SuccessStoryDetail.aspx?ssid=30) that 

supports the state’s Department of Public Advocacy’s 

(DPA) efforts to provide social worker services to indigent 

criminal defendants who are represented by Kentucky’s 

public defenders. DPA began this pilot program to assess 

defendants’ mental health and substance abuse needs and 

to plan viable community treatment options to relieve the 

courts’ burden and potentially the burden of custody for 

corrections and jails. 

■ A $214,290 evidence-based program in Pennsylvania (www.

bja.gov/SuccessStoryDetail.aspx?ssid=37) to implement 

the Lethality Assessment Program, which addresses some 

fundamental issues concerning violence against women. 

For more information and resources on BJA’s JAG Program, 

visit www.bja.gov/ProgramDetails.aspx?Program_ID=59.

Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program

BJA launched the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI) 

Program in 2012 as a part of the Obama Administration’s 

Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative (NRI), which coordinates 

interagency federal support for state, local, and tribal 

communities to develop place-based, community-oriented 

strategies to transform neighborhoods of distress into 

neighborhoods of opportunity. BCJI contributes to NRI’s goals 

by supporting data- and research-driven projects that build 

community capacity to create comprehensive strategies that 

reduce crime and improve community safety. 

Each BCJI site assembles partnerships representing a 

broad cross-section of community stakeholders, including 

neighborhood residents, local law enforcement, social and 

human service agencies, housing, education, research partners, 

and others. These partners then target neighborhoods with 

hot spots of violent and serious crime and employ data-driven, 

cross-sector strategies to reduce crime and violence. Thousands 

of community members across the nation have contributed to 

BCJI efforts by helping to identify drivers of crime and to shape 

how law enforcement and community members work together 

to improve safety. 

As the program was newly launched in FY 2012, many of 

these sites have only just completed planning efforts and 

begun to implement strategies specific to their neighborhood 

crime issues. Yet early efforts within BCJI sites are promising. 

For instance, citizens have turned out to plant flowers and 

help neighbors clean up blighted properties in Milwaukee, 

Wisconsin; residents participated in problem-solving training so 

they could be more informed contributors to hot spot response 

strategies in Seattle, Washington; and people with criminal 

backgrounds have secured transitional services in Omaha, 

Nebraska. 

BJA and its TTA partner, the Local Initiatives Support 

Corporation (LISC), work closely with BCJI grantees. LISC’s 

TTA is organized around several main themes of the BCJI 

model: using data and research to guide program strategy, 

engaging community members in shaping crime prevention and 

revitalization efforts, tackling problems from multiple angles 

through cross-sector partnerships, and integrating crimecontrol efforts with revitalization strategies. 

BCJI is a component of BJA’s Smart Suite of programs, which 

support research/practitioner partnerships to integrate data 

and evaluation into program models in policing, prosecution, 

indigent defense, probation, and pretrial initiatives. (See page 

26 for more information about BJA’s Smart Suite.)
FY 2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS n 3

FY 2013 accomplishments include the following: 

■ Fifteen communities, representing the inaugural group of 

BCJI grantees from FY 2012, launched research-informed 

and data-driven efforts to reduce crime and address the 

interconnected challenges of blight and poverty. 

■ Fourteen additional communities were awarded grants in FY 

2013 to plan, implement, and/or enhance BCJI initiatives.

See below for a map of the 2013 BCJI sites. (It can also be 

viewed at www.bja.gov/Funding/12-13BCJIAwardsMap.pdf).

For more information and resources on the BCJI Program and 

the individual sites, visit www.lisc.org/bcji. 

Cybercrime

High-tech and electronic crime—often called “cybercrime”—

impacts every corner of our nation. It encompasses a full 

range of crimes, from economic crime such as identify theft, 

corporate and personal hacking, and fraud; to personal crime 

such as cyberbullying and cyber stalking; to terrorism and 

espionage. Federal agencies are well-equipped to address 

international and interstate threats, but it is the state, local, and 

tribal agencies that confront this threat on a daily basis. BJA is 

committed to providing TTA and resources to these agencies to 

build their expertise and capacity to deal with these crimes. 

Since 2011, the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) 

has been a key BJA partner in fighting cybercrime. NW3C 

serves law enforcement agencies by offering 26 specialized 

investigative and forensic classes in the fields of cybercrime, 

financial crime, and intelligence analysis (www.nw3c.org/

training); technical assistance and investigative support for 

improved investigations and prosecutions (www.nw3c.org/

services/investigative-support/analytical-support); research 

on emerging issues (www.nw3c.org/services/research/

publications); and resources for justice agency and public 

awareness of electronic/cyber and other white collar crimes 

(www.nw3c.org/News).

BYRNE CRIMINAL JUSTICE INNOVATION PROGRAM

Los Angeles,

California

San Francisco,

California

Corning,

California

Kansas City,

Missouri

Evansville,

Indiana Cleveland,

Ohio

Syracuse,

New York

Springfield,

Massachusetts

Providence,

Rhode Island

Erie,

Pennsylvania

Albany,

Georgia

Tampa,

Florida Nashville,

Tennessee

Baton Rouge,

Louisiana
4 n Solutions for Safer Communities

In FY 2013, NW3C trained 7,235 students from 3,805 agencies 

during in-person classes and 3,547 students in web-based 

classes/presentations. These FY 2013 totals include:

■ An Intellectual Property (IP) course created in partnership 

with the National Association of Attorneys General in 2010. 

In FY 2013, popularity increased 61 percent over all previous 

years combined, with 680 investigators and prosecutors 

attending the IP classes (1,758 attendees since 2010). 

■ Mortgage fraud crimes TTA programs that can be customized 

for targeted audiences. In FY 2013, attendance increased 48 

percent over all previous years combined, with 273 students 

from 122 agencies (521 attendees since 2011). 

■ Data analysis and investigative support that provided 

technical assistance and analytical products for law 

enforcement to search 12,609 public records and 587 court 

documents. This effort helped to secure 204 months in 

criminal sentences and $10.4 million in restitution.

■ A Social Media 101 course (www.nw3c.org/training/specialtytraining/78) that demonstrated dynamic tools and proper 

procedures for use in online investigation activities. NW3C 

held 23 classes for 1,238 students from 584 agencies.

■ An Instructor Development Program (www.nw3c.org/training/

specialty-training) that equips new instructors to establish 

effective, sustainable training at local agencies. Feedback 

indicates at least 277 additional students were trained this 

year by the new instructors. 

■ Training for officers to use proprietary investigative tools 

such as PerpHoundTM (http://perphound.nw3c.org), with 817 

students this year (3,544 since 2010), and TUX4N6TM (http://

tux4n6.nw3c.org), with 637 students this year (9,067 since 

2009).

Response to NW3C training has been positive. New York 

County District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., expressed 

appreciation of the Instructor Development Program by 

stating, “Our collaboration with NW3C has allowed for the 

expansion of my office’s Cyber Academy, enabling our in-house 

instructors to conduct comprehensive, multi-day trainings for 

law enforcement agencies and prosecutors around the city, 

state, and country.” Another popular resource for officers, 

the Cell Phone Investigations course, elicited the following 

comment from Sgt. James Seger of the Prince George’s County 

Police Department, Maryland: “We have used these cell phone 

skills in almost every case, with over 222 cases this year, as we 

charge and clear suspects, identify locations, and track missing 

persons.”

For more information and resources on NW3C and BJA’s efforts 

to combat cybercrime, visit www.nw3c.org.

Campus Public Safety

Campus law enforcement agencies vary greatly across the 

nation’s colleges and universities, ranging from full-service 

police departments (both armed and unarmed) to private 

security operations and contractual services. Such departments 

also vary greatly in how they relate to and share information 

with local and state public safety agencies. BJA improves 

campus safety by identifying and addressing gaps in training 

and resources among these agencies. BJA’s partners in 

these efforts include organizations in the field such as the 

International Association of Campus Law Enforcement 

Administrators and federal agencies such as the Office of 

Community Oriented Policing Services and the Federal Bureau 

of Investigation (FBI).

National Center for Campus Public Safety

In fall 2013, BJA competitively selected Margolis Healy and 

Associates (MHA) to create and host the National Center for 

Campus Public Safety (National Center). The National Center 

provides TTA and other resources to campus police chiefs, 

directors of public safety, emergency managers, and key 

campus safety stakeholders. Its mission is to bring together 

all forms of campus public safety, professional associations, 

advocacy organizations, community leaders, and others to 

improve and expand services to those who are charged with 

providing a safe environment on the nation’s campuses.

The National Center will work with BJA to:

■ Identify and prioritize the needs of the field—especially in 

the areas of gender and sexual violence on campus (Title IX), 

firearms on college campuses, and challenges in Clery Act 

compliance—and develop comprehensive responses. 
FY 2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS n 5

■ Connect existing federal and non-federal resources with the 

needs of constituents. 

■ Connect major campus public safety entities with one 

another and with federal agencies to facilitate collaboration 

and coordination to improve campus public safety. 

■ Highlight and promote best and innovative practices specific 

to campus public safety challenges.

■ Deliver TTA that addresses the specific needs of campus 

public safety.

For more information and resources from the National Center, 

visit http://nccpsafety.org.

Best Practices for Campus Crime Prevention

In FY 2013, MHA continued the Developing Evidence-Based 

Modern Crime Prevention Strategies for Institutions of Higher 

Education project with key stakeholders in the campus public 

safety, law enforcement, and prevention communities. The 

project develops free crime prevention programming, technical 

assistance materials, and professional networking opportunities 

for the campus safety community. These resources are meant 

to identify best practices that can improve the effectiveness of 

current campus crime prevention programming and to enable 

institutions to improve student safety, both on and off campus.

FY 2013 accomplishments for this project include the following:

■ Researchers isolated key dimensions of an evidence-based 

campus crime prevention program and identified 10 campus 

programs for closer site-visit evaluation.

■ Campus Sentinel, a free app that was launched in May 

2012 and is available for download via Google Play and 

iTunes stores, was upgraded to include additional resources 

covering gender violence and crime prevention.

Additionally, MHA continued work on its Best Practices for 

Study Abroad Safety and Security project. International 

studies potentially put students at much higher risk in terms 

of their safety and security, but for the most part, institutions 

of higher learning have not implemented assessment and 

prevention strategies to address this elevated risk. The project 

responds to this gap by examining and identifying successful 

multidisciplinary, evidence-based student travel abroad safety 

and security assessments, including policies and processes, as 

models appropriate for institutions of higher education. 

Learn more about other MHA campus safety activities at www.

margolishealy.com/resources/category/campus_safety.

For more information about BJA’s work on enhancing campus 

safety and security, visit www.bja.gov/ProgramDetails.

aspx?Program_ID=108. 

Officer Safety and Wellness

Preventing Violence Against Law Enforcement and 

Ensuring Officer Resiliency and Survivability

The Preventing Violence Against Law Enforcement and 

Ensuring Officer Resiliency and Survivability (VALOR) Program 

responds to the startling increase in felonious assaults that 

have taken the lives of many law enforcement officers. VALOR 

is a national officer safety TTA initiative that delivers current, 

dynamic classroom and web-based training, research, and 

resources for sworn state, local, and tribal law enforcement 

officers. 

Since the program’s launch, 14,424 law enforcement officers 

have received VALOR training in 103 events in 40 states. In 

FY 2013, 36 of those events trained more than 4,700 officers. 

There continues to be a high demand for VALOR across the 

country. 

FY 2013 accomplishments include the following:

■ The VALOR web portal (www.valorforblue.org) was updated 

with improved navigation to enhance user experience.

■ Several online training modules were developed and made 

available on the VALOR web portal to heighten officer 

awareness. Topics include foot pursuits and officer-safety 

indicators.

■ VALOR offers a train-the-trainer component to extend its 

reach to more law enforcement officers across the United 

States. The multiplying effect of this format enabled at least 

1,200 additional officers to be trained in FY 2013.

To learn more about BJA’s VALOR Program, visit www.

valorforblue.org. 
6 n Solutions for Safer Communities

Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training 

The BJA-funded Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response 

Training (ALERRT) Center, administered by Texas State 

University, provides frontline law enforcement officers across 

the country with advanced scenario-based training to safely 

and effectively respond to, address, and stop active shooters. 

ALERRT has trained more than 50,000 law enforcement 

professionals nationwide since the program was established in 

2002. 

Responding to the increased demand for active-shooter 

response training following the 2012 tragedy in Newtown, 

Connecticut, BJA and the FBI partnered to expedite and 

broaden the delivery of the Basic Active Shooter Level I 

curriculum to state and local law enforcement throughout 

the country. This project—the Active Shooter Response 

Training Initiative—trained 100 FBI tactical instructors on the 

Level I curriculum to enable them to teach this course jointly 

with ALERRT instructors. Teams of two ALERRT and two 

FBI instructors are now delivering Level I training across the 

country. 

FY 2013 accomplishments include the following:

■ Since 2012, the ALERRT program has conducted 115 events, 

directly training more than 2,600 law enforcement officers. 

■ Officers who have completed the ALERRT train-the-trainer 

course administered 139 indirect ALERRT training programs, 

reaching an additional 3,600 law enforcement officers.

■ The FBI and numerous states and agencies adopted the 

ALERRT curricula as their national training standard for 

active-shooter response.

■ States such as Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, and Maryland 

adopted the Active Shooter Response Training Initiative 

model, using FBI and ALERRT instructors to spread this 

training throughout their states.

■ The ALERRT/FBI partnership initiated 60 active-shooter 

trainings, reaching almost 1,500 attendees. An additional 10 

indirect programs were conducted, training an additional 245 

law enforcement officers. 

■ The FBI field office in Atlanta established ALERRT in all five 

regional training academies.

To learn more about ALERRT, visit www.alerrt.org.

To learn more about BJA’s Active Shooter Response Training 

Initiative, visit www.bja.gov/ProgramDetails.aspx?Program_

ID=106.

Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program

BJA’s Bulletproof Vest Partnership (BVP) Program provides 

funds to state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies 

to purchase life-saving, bullet- and stab-resistant body 

armor for sworn law enforcement and corrections officers. 

The BVP Program grant funds pay for up to 50 percent of 

the cost of protective vests that meet the current National 

Institute of Justice’s (NIJ) body armor standards. The BVP 

Program distributes funds on a reimbursement basis—after 

the protective vests are actually received by the officers and 

appropriate documentation is submitted.

In FY 2013, BJA awarded a total of $16.3 million to 4,580 state, 

local, and tribal jurisdictions. These funds will be used to pay 

for NIJ-compliant protective vests that are purchased before 

September 30, 2015. 

FY 2013 accomplishments include the following: 

■ More than 94,710 vests were purchased and distributed to 

officers at an average cost to the BVP Program of only $288 

per vest. 

■ Vests were directly attributable to saving the lives of at least 

17 law enforcement and corrections officers in various states 

and the District of Columbia, according to data collected and 

recorded by BJA staff. These successes include the incidents 

described below: 

− On August 16, 2013, a deputy with the Butler County 

(Kansas) Sheriff’s Office received a new bullet-resistant 

vest, bought in part with BVP funds. Less than 3 weeks 

later, while conducting a motor vehicle equipment stop, 

this deputy was shot in the chest at point-blank range by 

a subject with an outstanding felony warrant. This would 

likely have been a deadly encounter without the protective 

vest.
FY 2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS n 7

− On December 21, 2012, a Pennsylvania State Trooper 

was shot in the chest while trying to apprehend a person 

wanted in the killing of three persons. The vest he was 

wearing, which was purchased in part with BVP funds, is 

credited with saving his life. 

To learn more about BJA’s BVP Program, visit http://ojp.gov/

bvpbasi/home.html.

RISSafe

A component of BJA’s Regional Information Sharing Systems 

(RISS), RISS Officer Safety Event Deconfliction System (RISSafe) 

is a deconfliction system that helps to ensure that officers 

remain safe during police operations. The system helps identify 

potential conflicts between agencies or officers unknowingly 

conducting operations—such as raids, controlled buys, and 

surveillances—in close proximity to each other or that focus 

on the same suspect at the same time, and it notifies affected 

parties of identified conflicts prior to engaging in operations. 

Failure to use RISSafe may result in compromised case integrity, 

or worse, officers could be unintentionally injured or killed. This 

system is the only comprehensive, nationwide program that is 

available to all law enforcement agencies on a 24/7/365 basis. 

More than 900,000 operations have been entered since the 

system’s inception, resulting in more than 300,000 identified 

conflicts. On average, 30 percent of all operations entered have 

a potential for a law enforcement-related conflict. In FY 2013, 

more agencies established internal agency policies mandating 

the use of event deconfliction, and the number of submissions 

using RISSafe Mobile continued to increase. 

The importance of RISSafe is consistently highlighted by 

positive testimonials from the field, including the following 

comment from the Philadelphia (Pennsylvania)/Camden (New 

Jersey) High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA): “We 

process upwards of 5,000 event deconfliction requests annually 

for approximately 30 agencies in the southeast Pennsylvania 

and southern New Jersey area.... We do consider RISSafe a 

critical part of our services to law enforcement participants. It is 

reliable, adaptive, and easy to employ.” 

FY 2013 accomplishments include the following: 

■ 179,770 events were entered into RISSafe, resulting in 73,119 

identified conflicts. This represents almost 41 percent of 

operations entered.

■ The number of RISSafe Watch Centers increased to 24, 18 of 

which are operated by organizations other than RISS, such as 

state agencies, fusion centers, and HIDTAs. 

■ The RISSafe Online Training Program was launched on the 

RISS Officer Safety web site, which all law enforcement 

officers can access by logging on to their RISSNet user 

account (www.riss.net) or by registering at the VALOR web 

site (www.valorforblue.org).

■ Substantial progress was made to connect three disparate 

deconfliction systems and provide a nationwide deconfliction 

search capability with a single sign-on. RISSafe and Case 

Explorer (a case management system) have established 

connectivity and plans are underway to connect the HIDTA 

system in 2014.

To learn more about RISSafe, visit www.riss.net/Resources/

RISSafe. 

Smart Policing Initiative 

BJA’s Smart Policing Initiative (SPI) provides financial and 

technical assistance to law enforcement agencies seeking to 

build evidence-based best practices that improve policing 

performance—as measured by reduced crime, higher 

closure rates, and saved costs. Strong collaboration between 

law enforcement and their research partners is a defining 

characteristic of SPI. SPI grantees are required to partner with 

research practitioners at every stage of the project, leveraging 

their capacity to objectively identify pressing crime issues 

through data-driven research and crime analysis, develop 

strategic and tactical solutions to those issues, and devise 

an evaluation plan to collect and analyze data that measure 

the impact of police strategies. Research partnerships and 

the information they produce not only help to reduce crime, 

they also increase agency accountability and transparency. To 

date, BJA has provided more than $14.4 million to 35 agencies 

conducting 38 unique projects with their research partners.

As a result of SPI, jurisdictions across the country are now 

using evidence-based research and technical assistance from 

nationally recognized subject matter experts to reduce and 

prevent violent crime. SPI not only creates safer communities, 

but also makes a sound fiscal investment. Research shows 

that violent crimes (e.g., rape and sexual assault, robbery, 
8 n Solutions for Safer Communities

aggravated assault, homicide) are costly (ranging from several 

hundred thousand to several million dollars, per crime event); 

thus reducing and preventing violent crime in any community 

not only (and most importantly) prevents harm to individuals 

and communities, but yields millions in fiscal savings to 

jurisdictions.

SPI is a component of BJA’s Smart Suite of programs, which 

includes prosecution, indigent defense, probation, and pretrial 

initiatives. (See page 26 for more information about BJA’s Smart 

Suite.)

Response to SPI has been positive. For example, Philadelphia 

Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey and Deputy 

Commissioner Nola Joyce provided commentary on SPI in the 

September 2013 issue of Police Quarterly: “With a targeted, 

research-based approach, we can use our resources more 

effectively. Leveraging research is a key component of policing 

smarter. The more we understand, the more we can work 

toward creating a safer community for us all.” 

FY 2013 accomplishments include the following: 

■ Indio, California: The Indio Police Department, working 

with its research partner from the University of California, 

Riverside, identified a chronic problem with residential 

burglary. Further analysis revealed a predictive link between 

school truancy and residential burglary. The research 

partner developed and validated a predictive model 

based on truancy, while the Indio SPI team implemented 

a multipronged, community-policing strategy to engage 

schools, parents, and the business community in interventionand prevention-oriented tactics to reduce burglaries. The 

project evaluation reveals a 16 percent decline in burglaries 

and an 8 percent decline in thefts in the targeted geographic 

areas. 

■ New Haven, Connecticut: The New Haven Police Department 

SPI used a supplementary foot patrol strategy to reduce 

violence and the number of shooting incidents in one of the 

city’s most violent neighborhoods, Newhallville. Over the 

13-week intervention period, the Newhallville neighborhood 

saw a 19 percent reduction in violent crime neighborhoodwide and a 36 percent reduction in violent crime within the 

high-risk areas. In the 13 weeks following the intervention, 

there was a further 41 percent drop in violent crime at the 

neighborhood level and a 56 percent drop in the high-risk 

areas.

To learn more about the Smart Policing Initiative, visit www.

smartpolicinginitiative.com.

State and Local Anti-Terrorism 

Training Program

BJA’s State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training (SLATT) Program 

provides law enforcement personnel with specialized training 

and resources to combat domestic terrorism and violent 

criminal extremism, covering topics such as international/

domestic terrorism, violent criminal extremism, radicalization, 

and more. SLATT instructors have worked on many of 

the nation’s most notorious terrorism cases and have an 

indepth understanding of terrorism, pre-event planning, 

and investigative procedures. Their expert knowledge gives 

state, local, and tribal law enforcement professionals the tools 

and skills that they can use in their daily duties to safeguard 

communities and do their jobs more safely. 

Since its inception, SLATT has trained more than 136,400 law 

enforcement professionals in 1,335 events. In FY 2013, the 

program trained 8,577 law enforcement professionals at 64 

events. As a trusted training partner to United States Attorney’s 

Offices (USAO), SLATT has delivered 266 terrorism-prevention 

events that were hosted/cohosted by USAOs in 48 states from 

2008 to 2013. SLATT continues to be in high demand by the law 

enforcement field, with more than 120 agencies on the waiting 

list for this training. 

FY 2013 accomplishments include the following:

■ SLATT’s Workshops on the Web (WOW) initiative allows 

students to download workshop materials. Every time a 

student downloads material, it saves the program printing, 

shipping, and labor costs. Between June and September 

2013, class participants downloaded 2,993 files.

■ In collaboration with the International Association of Chiefs 

of Police Committee on Terrorism, SLATT produced the 

acclaimed training video, Sovereign Citizen Encounters, 

featuring an introduction by retired Chief Robert Paudert, 

whose son, Officer Brandon Paudert, was gunned down by a 
FY 2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS n 9

sovereign citizen. The video is available through IACP or the 

SLATT password-protected web site.

■ SLATT responded to a surge in need for TTA related to 

the criminal element of the sovereign citizen movement 

by delivering 38 specialized training events to 5,946 law 

enforcement participants and developing related online tools.

■ SLATT.org received 105,101 visits from 20,670 registered law 

enforcement professionals.

To learn more about the SLATT Program, visit www.slatt.org.

Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program

The Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) Program provides 

vital death and education benefits to survivors of fallen law 

enforcement officers, firefighters, and other first responders as 

well as disability benefits to officers catastrophically injured in 

the line of duty. PSOB is a unique effort of the U.S. Department 

of Justice (DOJ); local, state, tribal, and federal public safety 

organizations; and national organizations. 

As of September 30, 2013, BJA’s PSOB Office received 294 new 

death claims and 90 new disability claims. In FY 2013, a total of 

160 death cases (from various fiscal years) were determined at 

the PSOB Office level; of these 160 cases, 120 were approved, 

and benefits paid to the survivors. A total of 44 disability cases 

were determined at the PSOB Office level in FY 2013, with 

17 of the cases approved for payment. Also in FY 2013, 293 

education claims were approved for funding to spouses and 

children to enable family members to pursue their dreams of 

higher education. 

The PSOB Office continued to collaborate with the Concerns of 

Police Survivors and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation 

to conduct proactive outreach to public safety agencies 

nationwide to increase awareness about the PSOB death, 

disability, and education programs; provide effective assistance 

when filing PSOB claims; and offer meaningful peer support and 

counseling services to survivors of America’s fallen officers. 

For information and resources on PSOB’s death, disability, and 

education programs, visit www.psob.gov.

High-Performing Prosecution/Community 

Prosecution

BJA’s Enhancing Community Prosecution through the 

National High Performance Prosecution (HPP) Framework 

Initiative is based on a model for prosecutors published by 

BJA and the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (APA). 

The HPP Framework supports efforts to reduce violent crime 

and improve community safety through four components: 

(1) embracing community prosecution, (2) harnessing science 

and technology, (3) implementing information sharing, and 

(4) employing outcome evaluation. These four components 

also provide a structure for examining the opportunities and 

resource needs of today’s prosecutors. 

In FY 2013, APA trained more than 300 prosecutors via 

webinar on issues related to the HPP Framework and the 

criminal justice system. Topics included prosecutorial ethics 

and Brady obligations, establishment of mental health courts, 

and prosecution and racial justice issues. APA also conducted 

numerous peer-to-peer onsite technical assistance visits to 

jurisdictions such as Portland, Oregon (Brady obligations); 

Chicago, Illinois (overcoming the no-snitch campaign); San 

Francisco, California (implementing neighborhood courts 

and a crime strategies unit); and Norfolk, Virginia (officewide 

community prosecution training). 

FY 2013 accomplishments include the following: 

■ The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office is successfully 

diverting cases from the formal criminal justice system under 

its Neighborhood Court Program. There are 10 neighborhood 

courts across the city, with more than 60 adjudicators serving 

on them and a waitlist of over 30 additional community 

members who wish to serve. In 2013, the District Attorney’s 

Office sent 651 cases to neighborhood court. Learn more 

about this program at the San Francisco District Attorney’s 

web site: www.sfdistrictattorney.org/index.aspx?page=178.

■ Portland, Oregon codified Brady v. Maryland, and APA 

has been requested to provide officewide and statewide 

training in an effort to educate prosecutors on their discovery 

obligations under the new law.
10 n Solutions for Safer Communities

To learn more about the HPP Framework, visit APA’s web 

site at www.apainc.org/programs/high-performanceprosecution or see BJA’s FY 2012 solicitation at www.bja.gov/

Funding/12EnsuringProceduralJusticeSol.pdf.

Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation

In FY 2013, BJA continued to support DOJ’s Coordinated Tribal 

Assistance Solicitation (CTAS) initiative, which enables tribes 

to submit a single application for all DOJ tribal governmentspecific competitive solicitations. The CTAS approach allows 

federally recognized tribes and tribal consortia to develop a 

comprehensive approach to public safety and victimization by 

responding to multiple “purpose areas.” BJA funds projects in 

three of the CTAS purpose areas: 

■ Purpose Area #2: Comprehensive strategic planning for tribal 

justice systems to improve public safety and community 

wellness.

■ Purpose Area #3: Develop and enhance the operation of 

tribal justice systems and prevent and reduce alcohol- and 

substance abuse-related crimes.

■ Purpose Area #4: Plan, renovate, or construct correctional 

and/or correctional alternative facilities.

In FY 2013, 219 tribes submitted applications, and 53 grant 

awards were approved for funding under the three BJA 

purpose areas, totaling more than $24 million. 

Purpose Area #2: Comprehensive Tribal Justice 

Strategic Planning Program

BJA’s Comprehensive Tribal Justice Strategic Planning Program 

(CTJSPP) supports federally recognized tribes as they engage 

in the tribal justice system planning process. Two BJA TTA 

providers, Fox Valley Technical College’s National Criminal 

Justice Training Center and the Center for Court Innovation, 

offer extensive CTJSPP guidance and support. This support 

equips grantees to conduct community needs assessments 

and develop comprehensive strategic plans that respond to 

the needs and strengths of their individual tribal communities. 

A central element of this TTA involves ongoing mentor 

relationships to facilitate the planning process. The mentorbased approach gives grantees consistent contact with experts 

familiar with their unique program needs. This method has 

proven successful over the past year. 

FY 2013 accomplishments include the following: 

■ The Northern California Intertribal Court System (NCICS) 

created a strategic plan to develop an overarching 

sustainable justice system for consortium member tribes. 

The consortium is composed of four member tribes: Hopland 

Band of Pomo Indians (Hopland Tribe), Cahto Tribe of the 

Laytonville Rancheria (Cahto Tribe), Coyote Valley Band of 

Pomo Indians (Coyote Valley Tribe), and Manchester-Point 

Arena Band of Pomo Indians (Manchester Point Arena). 

As part of the strategic plan, each member tribe will have 

its own set of ordinances and its own tribal court. In 2013, 

NCICS conducted community assessments, prepared 

community profiles, and examined the unique justice system 

requirements of each member tribe. The information 

gathered was reviewed and a written strategic plan was 

developed. 

To learn more about tribal strategic planning TTA, visit www.

ncjtc.org/TJSPP/Pages/default.aspx. 

Purpose Area #3: Tribal Court Assistance Program

BJA’s Tribal Court Assistance Program, as part of DOJ’s Indian 

Country Law Enforcement Initiative, administers grants to 

support the development, implementation, enhancement, and 

continuing operation of tribal judicial systems. BJA’s Tribal 

Courts TTA providers, including the National Tribal Judicial 

Center (TJC) at the National Judicial College, conducted 7 

trainings serving approximately 400 tribal court practitioners. 

FY 2013 accomplishments include the following: 

■ The Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Tribe designed and 

implemented a court-management software system to 

respond to a burgeoning drug problem on its reservation. 

The court-management system enables the tribe to 

streamline the prosecution of approximately 2,000 criminal 

proceedings, including approximately 50 jury trials, per 

year. The system maintains the criminal calendar, produces 

important documents, tracks criminal history, and enables the 

tribe to look at possible implementation of the Tribal Law and 

Order Act.
FY 2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS n 11

■ The Quileute Nation learned to address the challenge of 

providing substance abuse services for its members after 

the recent pullout of its on-reservation treatment provider. 

During a TJC Tribal Court Management of Alcohol and Drug 

Cases course, a team from the nation developed an action 

plan and then returned home to implement the plan. Within 

about 2 weeks, the nation started contracting for services 

with an off-reservation provider about 20 miles away.

Purpose Area #3: Indian Alcohol and Substance 

Abuse Program

BJA’s Indian Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program (IASAP) 

provides funding and TTA to help federally recognized tribal 

governments plan, implement, or enhance strategies to address 

crime issues related to alcohol and substance abuse. The IASAP 

TTA provider, Fox Valley Technical College’s National Criminal 

Justice Training Center, implemented online discussion boards 

and best practice webinars to enhance communications for 

IASAP grantees. 

FY 2013 accomplishments include the following: 

■ The Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Tribe expanded its adult drug 

court, working with South Dakota to accept tribal members 

convicted in state courts of nonviolent felony drug and 

alcohol offenses. Since this program started, the tribe has 

successfully diverted 150 tribal citizens from prison. 

■ The Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa 

Indians of Wisconsin developed a strategy to create a 

tribal community service program for young offenders. The 

Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Courts conducted community 

assessments to investigate the overall strengths and 

weaknesses of local systems, identify gaps in services, and 

plan improvements to existing programs. The tribal courts 

are using the information gathered through the needs 

assessments to develop a comprehensive 10-year Tribal 

Action Plan, and they will continue to work with other service 

providers to implement the plan.

To learn more about IASAP TTA, visit www.ncjtc.org/iasap.

Purpose Area #4: Tribal Justice System 

Infrastructure Program

The Tribal Justice System Infrastructure Program—formerly the 

Correctional Systems and Correctional Alternatives on Tribal 

Lands Program—provides site-based grants and funding for 

TTA projects to assist tribes with adult and juvenile detention 

and rehabilitative efforts. 

A total of 20 tribes received BJA grants for the construction 

and/or renovation of justice facilities in Indian Country under 

the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. During FY 2013, 

the following projects completed construction or activated 

facilities: 

■ Rosebud Sioux Tribe/Rosebud Sioux Adult Correctional 

Facility (156-bed adult detention): Construction complete 

October 2012.

■ Navajo Nation-Tuba City/ Tuba City Adult Correctional 

Facility (132-bed adult detention): Construction complete 

February 2013. 

■ Colorado River Indian Tribes/New Hope Youth Development 

Center (38-bed juvenile detention): Construction complete 

March 2013.

Tribal Drug Endangered Children Training

BJA funded the National Alliance for Drug Endangered 

Children (National DEC) to create the Tribal Drug Endangered 

Children (Tribal DEC) Training Program. The culturally tailored 

training curriculum raises awareness about issues and 

concerns of drug endangered children in Indian Country while 

fostering collaboration between practitioners at all levels 

of intervention. The training teaches law enforcement, child 

protection, prosecutors, judges, probation, medical personnel, 

treatment providers, teachers, and other professionals to 

use a collaborative approach to identify, protect, and serve 

drug endangered children and break the multigenerational 

cycles of neglect and abuse. Tribal DEC training is provided in 

approximately 25 tribal communities and at state, regional, and 

national conferences. 
12 n Solutions for Safer Communities

FY 2013 accomplishments include the following: 

■ Developed an online interactive Tribal DEC training that is 

available free of charge.

■ Completed the training and certification of more than 100 

Tribal DEC trainers representing more than 40 tribes and 

Alaska Native communities. 

To learn more about National DEC, visit www.nationaldec.org. 
FY 2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS n 13

Chapter 2

Justice Systems Reforms, Recidivism 

Reduction, Prevention of Unnecessary 

Confinement, and Managing Offenders

BJA is committed to providing resources, training, and support to improve every 

stage of the criminal justice system, from corrections and probation/parole 

supervision to prosecutors, judges, and courts. Through BJA-funded programs, 

jurisdictions across the country are learning evidence-based, data-driven best practices 

and receiving assistance in applying these tools to test new ideas in their communities. 

The job of supervising offenders in the community and preparing them to return to their 

neighborhoods is critical to protecting public safety. An effective approach is the use of 

reentry programs, which provide a broad range of services for offenders while ensuring 

their accountability. BJA supports numerous reentry initiatives that focus on partnering 

with correctional, law enforcement, and social service agencies as well as faith-based 

and community organizations. In addition, BJA supports evidence-based programs that 

work to reduce recidivism, promote coordinated efforts among reentry stakeholders, 

lower corrections and related criminal justice spending, promote information sharing, 

and reimburse jurisdictions for expenses incurred when they incarcerate undocumented 

criminal aliens. 

Prosecutors, judges, and court personnel are also looking for evidence-based approaches 

to adjudicating offenders that will reduce recidivism rates, clear cases, lower costs, and 

decrease court dockets. Crimes involving violent and nonviolent offenders require special 

efforts to ensure that these offenders are held accountable and that they are returned to 

the community with the help and supervision they need to avoid reoffending. 

Justice Reinvestment Initiative

BJA launched the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) to help states and counties develop 

and implement cost-effective, evidence-based policies projected to generate meaningful 
14 n Solutions for Safer Communities

savings in corrections spending and then reinvest some 

portion of these savings into proven criminal justice programs 

that contribute to increased public safety. JRI also promotes 

enhanced accountability, systemwide collaboration, and justice 

system reform. JRI, which is a public/private partnership 

between BJA and the Pew Charitable Trusts, currently provides 

financial support and in-kind technical assistance to 19 states 

and 17 localities. 

Although each jurisdiction is unique, many JRI sites have 

learned that common issues affect their prison populations: 

parole and probation revocations, sentencing policies and 

practices, insufficient or inefficient community supervision 

and support, and parole system process delays and denials. 

Many of these sites respond to these issues with strategies 

that integrate evidence-based practices and data-driven 

decisionmaking into state justice system operations. Strategies 

include risk and needs assessments, accountability measures, 

earned-time credits, community-based treatment, intermediate 

and graduated sanctions, sentencing changes and departure 

mechanisms, mandatory supervision requirements, problemsolving courts, streamlined parole processes, and expanded 

parole eligibility. 

The Urban Institute released a BJA-funded report, Justice 

Reinvestment Initiative State Assessment Report, in January 

2014 assessing progress from the launch of JRI in 2010 through 

July 31, 2013. While the report recognizes that it is too soon to 

assess the full impact of justice reinvestment reforms, it notes 

that early results are promising. It found that states expect 

prison populations either to decrease (by 0.6 to 19 percentage 

points) or to grow more slowly (by 6 to 21 percentage points). 

Projected savings vary across states and time periods, ranging 

from a low of $7.7 million (over 5 years) to a high of $875 

million (over 11 years). 

South Carolina is one example of early success through JRI. 

In 25 years, the state’s prison population had tripled, and 

spending on corrections had increased 500 percent. In 2010, 

South Carolina enacted commonsense sentencing reform and 

strengthened probation. By reducing probation revocations 

alone, the state saved more than $12.5 million between 2011 

and 2013 and reduced prison usage by over 2,000 beds, all 

while the violent crime rate dropped by 17 percent between 

2010 and 2013.

Similarly, a rising prison population in Kentucky caused 

corrections spending to grow to $440 million in FY 2010, an 

increase of 214 percent over the past two decades. Kentucky 

passed legislation that directs resources toward serious 

offenders, strengthens community supervision, and makes 

systemwide improvements across Kentucky’s corrections 

system. As a result of JRI reforms, Kentucky has realized a total 

savings of $34.3 million: $25 million in averted jail costs and 

$9.3 million from its mandatory reentry supervision program. 

Kentucky has invested $13.9 million in evidence-based 

programs, including educational, substance abuse treatment, 

and sex offender treatment programs. The prison population 

declined 7.5 percent between January and September 2013.

Georgia’s prison population more than doubled between 2000 

and 2011. Without reform, the prison population would likely 

have grown 8 percent by 2018 at a cost of $264 million. In 

response, Georgia passed a law in 2011 that focused prison 

beds on serious offenders, expanded alternative sentencing 

options, and strengthened probation. Using anticipated 

savings from the reforms, Georgia has invested more than $17 

million into accountability courts and residential substance 

abuse treatment programs. Overall, prison commitments have 

decreased, indicating that Georgia’s prison population could 

soon decline as projected. And while prison commitments of 

white males dropped 1.5 percent, commitments of AfricanAmerican males dropped 19 percent from 2009 to 2013.

State and national leaders support JRI because they are seeing 

impacts—states are saving money and improving outcomes for 

people, families, and communities. A few quotes from state 

leaders who have seen JRI in action illustrate this support:

■ “These reforms will reduce recidivism, cut corrections costs, 

and increase public safety.” Governor Sam Brownback (R-KS)

■ “By reducing the number of prisoners in the justice system, 

we have been able to cut costs for the state and improve the 

safety of our communities.” Senator John Cornyn (R-TX)

■ “[Justice reinvestment is] transformational, profound 

change.” David Lust (R), majority leader of the South Dakota 

House of Representatives

■ “I hope other states will consider the justice reinvestment 

model to take a ‘smart on crime’ approach to prison 
FY 2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS n 15

overcrowding and public safety.” Governor Earl Ray Tomblin 

(D-WV)

■ “I look forward to seeing these [justice reinvestment] reforms 

have greater impact as the years go by.” Governor Tom 

Corbett (R-PA)

To learn more about JRI, visit www.bja.gov/jri.

Second Chance Act Programs and 

Recidivism Reduction Activities 

The Second Chance Act of 2007 (SCA) provides a 

comprehensive response to the increasing number of 

incarcerated adults and juveniles who are released from prison, 

jail, and juvenile residential facilities. Administered by the Office 

of Justice Programs (OJP) through BJA, the Office of Juvenile 

Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and NIJ, SCA programs 

JUSTICE REINVESTMENT INITIATIVE SITES AS OF SEPTEMBER 18, 2013

State Site Local Site

LEGEND

Santa Cruz County

Denver City 

and County Alachua County

Mecklenburg County

Charlottesville and 

Albemarle County

New York City

Allegheny

County

Eau Claire

County

Milwaukee

County

Grant

County

Yamhill County

San Francisco

City and County

Lane County

Yolo County

Johnson

County

Delaware

County

Travis

County
16 n Solutions for Safer Communities

(www.bja.gov/ProgramDetails.aspx?Program_ID=90) provide 

funding to eligible states, units of local government, federally 

recognized tribes, and nonprofit organizations. These funding 

resources help to ensure that the transition of adult and juvenile 

individuals from prison, jail, or juvenile residential facilities to 

their communities is successful and promotes public safety. 

Between FY 2009 and FY 2013, DOJ has supported reentry 

efforts in 49 states, awarding more than 600 SCA grants that 

total more than $312 million. These awards support various 

evidence-based activities that include programs for adult 

offenders with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health 

disorders; family-based substance abuse treatment; adult 

and juvenile demonstration (planning and implementation) 

projects; state, local, and tribal reentry courts; adult mentoring 

programs; technology careers training projects for incarcerated 

adults and juveniles; and the evaluation of adult and juvenile 

reentry demonstration projects.

In FY 2013, BJA made 92 awards totaling more than $52 million 

that included the following: 

■ New competitive site-based reentry program grants, 

including technology career training.

■ Supplemental continuation awards for special projects and 

for sites participating in NIJ evaluations of SCA.

■ Continued support for the Council of State Governments 

Justice Center’s National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC) 

(http://csgjusticecenter.org/nrrc/).

■ Two programs—the Comprehensive Statewide Adult 

Recidivism Reduction Planning Program and the Smart 

Probation: Reducing Prison Populations, Saving Money, and 

Creating Safer Communities Program—that were funded for 

the first time in 2012.

Significant FY 2013 results include the following: 

■ BJA, NRRC, and the Association of State Correctional 

Administrators released three Recidivism Reduction 

Checklists (http://csgjusticecenter.org/reentry/reentrychecklists/) to assist state corrections leaders with evaluating 

their reentry efforts and developing recidivism reduction 

plans. Each checklist is tailored to a specific audience: 

executive and legislative policymakers, state corrections 

administrators, and state reentry coordinators.

■ The What Works in Reentry Clearinghouse (http://whatworks.

csgjusticecenter.org) was expanded to include three new 

sections: substance abuse programs, family-based programs, 

and educational programs.

■ NRRC hosted a webinar for current and past Second Chance 

Act and Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program 

grantees on strategies for assisting justice-involved persons 

in accessing health care benefits to ensure access to 

treatment and services. 

■ BJA, NRRC, and the U.S. Department of Labor, with support 

from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, hosted a national forum 

on reentry and employment and released Integrated Reentry 

and Employment Strategies: Reducing Recidivism and 

Promoting Job Readiness.

To learn more about BJA’s SCA activities, visit www.bja.gov/

ProgramDetails.aspx?Program_ID=90.

Community Corrections

BJA’s Smart Probation Program entered its second year. Funded 

through SCA, the program provides resources to states, units 

of local government, and federally recognized Indian tribes to 

develop evidence-based probation practices that effectively 

address offenders’ needs and reduce recidivism. As part of 

the program, probation departments partner with researchers 

to develop strategies that address the needs of supervised 

populations, assess the effectiveness of the interventions, and 

ensure fidelity to evidence-based practices. 

The Smart Probation Program is a component of BJA’s Smart 

Suite of programs, which includes prosecution, policing, 

indigent defense, and pretrial initiatives. (See page 26 for more 

information about BJA’s Smart Suite.)

Significant FY 2013 results include the following: 

■ BJA made seven awards totaling more than $3.8 million. 

■ NRRC continues to provide technical assistance focused on 

planning and implementation for the six FY 2012 grantees.

■ BJA’s National Training and Technical Assistance Center 

(NTTAC) supports community corrections through targeted 

technical assistance engagements. For example, in FY 2013, 
FY 2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS n 17

NTTAC worked with the New York City Department of 

Probation as part of its comprehensive plan to implement 

evidence-based practices systemwide.

■ BJA supported the development and implementation of 

two practical tools—Skills for Offender Assessment and 

Responsivity in New Goals (SOARING2) and the RiskNeeds-Responsivity (RNR) Simulation Tool—that have been 

embraced by the community corrections field. (See chapter 3 

for more information about SOARING2 and RNR.)

Harold Rogers Prescription 

Drug Monitoring Program

The Harold Rogers Prescription Drug Monitoring Program 

(HRPDMP) combats nonmedical use of controlled substances 

by helping states to plan, establish, or enhance prescription 

drug monitoring programs (PDMP), which collect and 

analyze dispensed pharmaceutical controlled substance data, 

particularly at the retail level where no other automated 

information collection exists. PDMPs enhance the capacity of 

regulatory and law enforcement agencies and public health 

officials to prevent and detect the diversion and abuse of 

pharmaceutical controlled substances, while allowing for 

legitimate medical use. 

HRPDMP includes three funding categories: (1) PDMP 

implementation and enhancement; (2) tribal efforts to develop 

and implement the infrastructure to report data to state 

PDMPs; and (3) a new opportunity for counties and states to 

pilot tools that track prescription drug abuse and diversion 

data and to develop prevention, treatment, and enforcement 

responses. A portion of HRPDMP funds was also awarded 

to Brandeis University, which operates the PDMP Training 

and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC) and PDMP Center 

of Excellence (COE). TTAC provides direct TTA assistance 

to state PDMPs, compiles data on PDMP capabilities and 

services, conducts surveys, and facilitates regional and national 

meetings. COE operates as an information clearinghouse of 

PDMP best practices and related research and analysis. It also 

operates the Prescription Behavior Surveillance System, which 

conducts indepth analysis of de-identified PDMP dispensing 

data across state lines to identify trends, patterns, and links 

among various factors that contribute to drug abuse and 

diversion. 

In FY 2013, BJA created a new funding category for 

multidisciplinary responses to prescription drug abuse and 

diversion. BJA awarded funding to six sites: Fairfield County, 

Ohio; Florida Department of Health; Jackson County, Oregon; 

Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; New York 

County (New York) District Attorney’s Office; and the Norfolk 

County (Massachusetts) District Attorney. These innovative 

partnerships span a range of purpose areas, from enforcement/

investigations to prescriber education and outreach to 

overdose prevention and treatment support. The projects, 

which begin in FY 2014, complement and reinforce the mission 

of PDMPs by leveraging PDMP data with state and county data 

sources to better understand local prescription drug abuse and 

to formulate comprehensive strategies to minimize the impacts 

from both a public health and criminal justice perspective. 

Significant FY 2013 results include the following: 

■ Convened a series of well-attended meetings, including the 

annual Harold Rogers Prescription Drug Monitoring National 

Meeting in September 2013 and regional meetings in the 

South and West for PDMPs to develop strategies for tackling 

regional challenges.

■ Convened an interstate data-sharing summit with interested 

state PDMPs and stakeholders to create the Prescription 

Monitoring Information Exchange (PMIX) Architecture, a 

standards-based approach to sharing PDMP data across state 

lines.

■ Published guidelines for law enforcement use of PDMPs and 

a milestone document assessing the state-of-the-art best 

practices from across the country. 

For a full listing of TTAC and COE publications and resources, 

visit www.pdmpassist.org and www.pdmpexcellence.org. 

To learn more about HRPDMP and related BJA resources, visit 

www.bja.gov/ProgramDetails.aspx?Program_ID=72. 
18 n Solutions for Safer Communities

Justice and Mental Health 

Collaboration Program

BJA’s Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program 

(JMHCP) promotes public safety by fostering cross-system 

collaborations between criminal justice and mental health 

professionals that respond to the treatment needs of justiceinvolved individuals with mental illnesses or co-occurring 

mental health and substance abuse disorders. Through 

JMHCP, BJA funds collaborative planning projects as well as 

planning/implementation and enhancement projects. In FY 

2013, BJA awarded 34 JMHCP grants to state, local, and tribal 

jurisdictions to plan, implement, and expand initiatives between 

criminal justice and mental health agencies. Additionally, funds 

were awarded for the State-Based Capacity Building Program 

to deliver TTA resources and services to unfunded, eligible 

JMHCP applicants. 

Significant FY 2013 results include the following: 

■ BJA’s TTA provider, the Council of State Governments Justice 

Center, responded to more than 250 technical assistance 

requests from state, local, and tribal governments. 

■ A report, Improving Outcomes for People With Mental 

Illnesses Involved With New York City’s Criminal Court and 

Correction Systems, was released that presents the results 

of an unprecedented analysis of the mental health needs, 

criminogenic risk, and risk of failure to appear in court for 

individuals admitted to the New York City Department of 

Correction. New York City is responding to the report’s 

findings by creating court-based intervention and resource 

teams to serve more than 3,000 clients with mental health 

needs annually. 

■ A report, Adults With Behavioral Health Needs Under 

Correctional Supervision: A Shared Framework for Reducing 

Recidivism and Promoting Recovery, was widely disseminated 

and implemented over the course of FY 2013. This report 

reassesses the way that behavioral health care, services, and 

treatment are provided in correctional settings. 

■ BJA funded a new project with The Arc, a national advocate 

for people with disabilities. This project, the National Center 

on Justice and Disability, will create a national resource center 

to address challenges the justice system faces when law 

enforcement, courts, and corrections encounter people with 

disabilities. The center will provide information, evaluation, 

technical assistance, and training to justice professionals to 

build their capacity to meet the needs of victims, suspects, 

and offenders with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

To learn more about JMHCP, visit www.bja.gov/ProgramDetails.

aspx?Program_ID=66.

Corrections Information Sharing

BJA’s Correctional Agency Information Sharing (CIS) initiative 

seeks to improve reentry outcomes by leveraging technology 

to bridge information sharing gaps among stakeholders—

corrections, law enforcement, and community-based service 

providers—who manage the successful return of offenders to 

communities across the nation. Sharing critical information such 

as offender status and reentry attributes across agencies in a 

timely, secure, and accurate manner improves recidivism rates 

and reduces crime and victimization.

BJA’s CIS initiative has provided funding to implement reentry 

information exchanges in three pilot sites—two at the state 

level (Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional 

Services and Rhode Island Department of Corrections) and 

one at the county level (Hampden County, Massachusetts, 

Sheriff’s Department). To facilitate this initiative, BJA identified 

four partners on this project: Association of State Correctional 

Administrators, IJIS Institute, American Probation and Parole 

Association (APPA), and SEARCH (The National Consortium for 

Justice Information and Statistics). 

Significant FY 2013 results include the following: 

■ BJA coordinated with the IJIS Institute to develop 

standardized correction reentry service specifications, 

which will be implemented at three state departments of 

corrections to demonstrate the effectiveness of electronic 

exchanges of information that comply with national 

standards. 

■ A Global Strategic Solutions Working Group task team 

identified 10 high-priority exchanges for correctional 

agencies and identified partners in the health and human 

services area where coordination is necessary to provide 

continuity of care for incarcerated individuals and to promote 

effective reentry strategies. This effort will maximize the 
FY 2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS n 19

national impact of this work and will ensure that it meets 

the needs of local practitioners who deal with both criminal 

justice and health care services for incarcerated individuals. 

■ Technical standard and reusable policy templates were 

developed to simplify the process of establishing information 

sharing between justice and health organizations, while also 

promoting consistency and reuse of grant-funded projects. 

■ Maryland’s Department of Public Safety and Correctional 

Services implemented a two-way reentry information 

exchange in the state’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse 

Administration’s “SMART system,” which connects more than 

360 community-based substance abuse treatment providers. 

This included implementation of a consent-management 

capability to address consent-to-share and confidentiality 

requirements under 42 CFR Part 2.

■ The CIS Project Advisory Board was created to guide projects 

and ensure successful adoption of the offender information 

sharing exchange standards. 

Problem-Solving Courts

Problem-solving courts take a holistic approach to justice 

reform by accommodating offenders with specific needs 

(drug abuse, mental illness, domestic violence) that are not 

adequately addressed in traditional courts. In general, problemsolving courts tend to be less adversarial than typical criminal 

justice processing and focus on positive case outcomes—for 

not only the offender, but also the victim and society. 

Community Courts

The overall goal of BJA’s Problem-Solving Justice TTA Program 

is to help judges, court administrators, prosecutors, defense 

attorneys, and other innovators around the country to plan, 

implement, sustain, and evaluate problem-solving initiatives. 

BJA’s partner in this program, the Center for Court Innovation, 

provides hands-on consulting services to jurisdictions seeking 

to implement community-based problem-solving justice reforms 

that aim to reduce recidivism, cut the use of jail, and effectively 

link offenders to services. The center currently works with more 

than 20 jurisdictions across the United States. 

Significant FY 2013 results include the following:

■ Contributed to the planning and implementation of the North 

Las Vegas Justice Court after Nevada enacted legislation 

authorizing community court pilot projects throughout the 

state. 

■ Assisted the Seattle Municipal Court and its partners 

in strategic planning to revise practices at the Seattle 

Community Court. As a followup to this activity, the court 

modified its eligibility criteria and sentencing options to focus 

primarily on defendants at higher risk for recidivating.

■ Helped Detroit’s 36th District Court launch an initiative based 

on community court principles that seeks to reduce the use 

of fines and shorten jail sentences for lower level risk cases 

by instituting community service mandates and addressing 

defendants’ social service needs.

■ Worked with stakeholders in promoting countywide 

coordination of problem-solving courts in El Paso County, 

Colorado, and created an advisory board that now meets 

regularly. 

■ Added content to www.courtinnovation.org, including 

interviews, articles, podcasts, and publications such as Testing 

the Cost Savings of Judicial Diversion, The Public Wants To 

Be Involved: A Roundtable Conversation about Community 

and Restorative Justice, and Prostitution Diversion Programs. 

Traffic to the center’s web site increased by nearly 40 percent 

compared to the previous year. 

Drug Courts

Drug courts help reduce recidivism and substance abuse 

and increase the likelihood of successful rehabilitation by 

integrating the coercive power of the criminal justice system 

with substance abuse treatment, mandatory drug testing, 

community supervision, and other habilitation services. BJA’s 

Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program provides financial and 

technical assistance to communities seeking to implement and 

enhance drug courts. In FY 2013, BJA awarded 51 grants to 

state, local, and tribal jurisdictions, in addition to TTA awards, 

totaling just under $34 million.
20 n Solutions for Safer Communities

Significant FY 2013 results from BJA TTA providers include the 

following:

■ The Center for Court Innovation’s Statewide Drug Court TTA 

Program began training drug court practitioners to serve as 

peer facilitators of local drug court assessment and training. 

Known as peer-assisted learning, this approach helps to 

effectively translate national drug court standards into local 

practice by combining the cost-effectiveness of web-based 

learning with hands-on assistance from local peers. The 

center has also created a peer-assisted learning toolkit to 

guide peer facilitators in this work.

■ The National Drug Court Institute launched The Beat: A Law 

Enforcement Officer’s Guide to Drug Courts curriculum. This 

self-paced course educates law enforcement officers on drug 

court programs and the role law enforcement plays on a drug 

court team. The institute also published a special edition of 

the Drug Court Review that focused on best practices.

■ American University convened more than 30 drug court 

judges and other practitioners for the Drug Court Judicial 

Leadership initiative. The initiative supports the critical 

leadership role of drug court judges in promoting and 

sustaining drug courts.

To learn more about BJA’s Drug Court Discretionary Grant 

Program, visit www.bja.gov/ProgramDetails.aspx?Program_

ID=58.

Veterans Treatment Courts

The first Veterans Treatment Court (VTC) was founded in 

Buffalo, New York, in January 2008 in response to an increasing 

number of veterans appearing on the drug and mental health 

court dockets. As this increase was felt nationally, BJA’s TTA 

provider, the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, 

established the Justice for Vets (JFV) professional services 

division in 2010 to support the increasing demand and growth 

of VTCs. 

To assist new VTC program development, BJA funded JFV 

to launch the Veterans Treatment Court Planning Initiative 

(VTCPI), which offers TTA for local jurisdictions to prevent and 

control substance abuse and crime. Since 2010, BJA funding 

has provided VTCPI training for drug court practitioners at 87 

jurisdictions and has assisted 5 local VTCs with federal grant 

funding. Each of the 87 jurisdictions receiving training was 

required to complete pre-training worksheets, participate 

in pre-training webinars, attend a 3-day training program, 

maintain routine correspondence with program staff, and 

submit a VTC implementation plan and draft policy and 

procedure manual. As of December 2013, 188 VTCs and more 

than 20 jurisdictions receive federal assistance to support VTCs 

operating in 35 states.

Tribal Healing to Wellness

BJA supports problem-solving courts in Indian Country, 

particularly Healing to Wellness Courts (HTWC). HTWCs are 

adaptations of the drug court model that reflect tribal culture 

and values. Tribes can apply for funding to establish HTWCs 

through the Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program. BJA 

funds the Tribal Law and Policy Institute (TLPI) to provide TTA 

for tribes to develop, implement, and enhance their HTWCs. 

Significant FY 2013 results include the following:

■ TLPI updated the popular Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts: 

The Key Components, which provides information to tribes 

seeking to implement an HTWC, HTWCs seeking to enhance 

their services, and any HTWCs applying for or managing a 

federal grant. This updated second edition, available in 2014, 

will also highlight current drug court research and how it may 

or may not apply to tribes. 

■ TLPI hosted the Second Annual Tribal Healing to Wellness 

Court Enhancement Training at the Agua Caliente Indian 

Reservation. With more than 90 attendees, this training event 

offered comprehensive and multidisciplined workshops for 

operational HTWCs, including adult, juvenile, family, and 

driving-under-the-influence wellness courts. Tribal Healing to 

Wellness Courts: The Key Components was also successfully 

pilot tested at the training.

■ The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, a FY 2013 Adult Drug 

Court Enhancement grantee, identified a need to address 

enablement issues through education and counseling for 

families and community members. The community also 

implemented the Positive Peer Culture process (a form of 

peer group support adapted to cultural norms) and the 

Enabling Program (a family support service). 
FY 2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS n 21

To learn more about BJA’s Tribal Healing to Wellness Court TTA, 

visit www.tlpi.org. 

Prison Rape Elimination Act

The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) of 2003 required the 

U.S. Attorney General to promulgate regulations that adopt 

national standards for the detection, prevention, reduction, and 

punishment of prison rape. On June 20, 2012, DOJ published 

the Notice of Final Rule, which created the National Standards 

to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Prison Rape (standards) 

as required by PREA. The standards apply to adult prisons 

and jails, juvenile facilities, police lockups, and community 

confinement facilities. Under the standards, one-third of each 

facility type operated by an agency, or by a private organization 

on behalf of the agency, must be audited within each year of 

a 3-year audit cycle. The first audit cycle began on August 20, 

2013. 

In general, the implementation of the standards and the 

creation, implementation, and ongoing management of the 

auditing process are assigned to BJA. Through congressional 

appropriations and DOJ authorization, BJA has been actively 

engaged in providing various PREA resources to the field, 

including state, local, and tribal confinement facilities across the 

nation. Resources provided to the field include: 

■ Numerous 40-hour PREA auditor trainings, which are a 

key component of the process established by the PREA 

Management Office (PMO) for DOJ to certify PREA auditors.

■ Comprehensive audit tools—for use by agencies, facilities, 

and auditors—that cover the four confinement facility types 

defined in the standards. 

■ Targeted TTA for state, local, and tribal jurisdictions on issues 

related to establishing “zero tolerance” cultures regarding 

sexual abuse in confinement facilities, and to achieving 

compliance with the standards. 

■ An array of training curricula, webinars, and other materials 

designed to support the PREA-related efforts of agencies and 

confinement facilities nationwide. 

■ Interpretative guidance—issued in the form of FAQs on the 

National PREA Resource Center (PRC) web site—related to 

the standards that is developed by the DOJ PREA Working 

Group, an entity convened by the PMO and composed of 

representatives from numerous DOJ components. 

These resources have been provided through three main 

mechanisms: PRC, BJA’s PREA competitive grant program, 

and the PMO. 

Funded through an FY 2010 competitive award to the National 

Council on Crime and Delinquency, PRC provides TTA and other 

resources to help the field better identify and disseminate 

best and promising practices, assist correctional agencies in 

the implementation of the standards, and advance the overall 

PREA goal of establishing zero-tolerance confinement cultures 

with respect to sexual assault and misconduct. Since FY 2010, 

PRC has collectively received award totals of approximately $24 

million. 

Originally released in FY 2011, BJA’s PREA competitive 

solicitation—Demonstration Projects to Establish “Zero 

Tolerance” Cultures for Sexual Assault in Correctional 

Facilities—provides funding to eligible applicants (states, 

units of local government, and federally recognized tribes) for 

demonstration projects within confinement settings. From FY 

2011 through FY 2013, BJA has awarded 49 grants totaling 

more than $17.7 million. In addition, in April 2013, PRC made 

43 subawards from its existing BJA funding that totaled nearly 

$5 million.

In August 2013, the Deputy Attorney General approved 

the formation of the PMO, which is administered by BJA. 

Key examples of PREA activities tasked to the PMO include 

overseeing PRC’s strategic direction and activities; conducting 

outreach to correctional authorities and other key stakeholder 

groups affected by PREA and the standards; certifying and 

recertifying PREA auditors; developing and enhancing PREA 

auditor training materials; convening and facilitating DOJ’s 

PREA Working Group; and managing the process associated 

with the submission of certifications of full compliance with 

the standards and assurances related to the standards by the 

nation’s state and territorial governors. 

For more information on PREA, go to www.prearesourcecenter.

org.
22 n Solutions for Safer Communities

Wrongful Conviction (Best Practices 

for Conviction Integrity)

BJA’s Wrongful Conviction Review Program funds public and 

nonprofit entities that work to exonerate people who have 

been wrongfully convicted. In addition, BJA funds the National 

Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) to provide 

TTA to grantees and other innocence projects/defender 

offices. Activities include direct TTA on issues related to postconviction claims of innocence; hosting a national training 

event; and conducting an indepth assessment of FY 2010 

grantees to examine the impact of program funds on improving 

representation and increasing efficiency in post-conviction 

innocence claims. 

In FY 2013, NACDL made significant contributions toward 

correcting errors in microscopic hair comparison analysis 

evidence. In addition to providing direct support and training 

to defense lawyers, NACDL collaborated with the FBI and the 

Innocence Project in a comprehensive review of capital cases 

potentially affected by this issue. This collaborative project is 

examining every case set for execution since late 2012 where 

hair comparison may have been used. To date, the grant-funded 

project attorney has reviewed approximately 600 capital cases 

to determine whether microscopic hair comparison evidence 

was used, giving urgent priority to cases with a scheduled 

execution. This review resulted in the stay of an execution to 

obtain DNA testing in a case where erroneous hair microscopy 

testimony was given by an FBI examiner at trial.

NACDL also trained 561 people at 3 events, with an additional 

175 lawyers trained under NACDL’s first grant award; 

distributed 500 DVD/CD sets from the 3 trainings; and provided 

60 travel scholarships, with an additional 11 under the first 

award.

To learn more about NACDL, visit www.nacdl.org.

BJA Prosecution Fellowship

BJA has sponsored a Prosecution Fellowship devoted 

to developing statewide best practices committees for 

prosecutors. These committees have proven to be an effective 

mechanism for prosecutors to take the lead in responding 

to emerging issues and identifying ways to enhance the 

procedures. The BJA Fellow, Kristine Hamann, meets with 

prosecutors to encourage the development of best practices 

committees, works collaboratively with national prosecutor 

associations to address emerging issues, and provides technical 

assistance to prosecutors on policy issues and committee 

development.

Accomplishments to date include the following:

■ Thirty states are exploring or developing a prosecutors’ best 

practices committee, and 15 of these states have formed a 

committee and started meeting. 

■ Best practices committees in six states have received BJA 

funding: California, Colorado, Missouri, North Carolina, 

Tennessee, and Virginia. 

■ Four regional best practices meetings will be held in 2014 for 

senior prosecutors from 27 states. These meetings will be 

held in Denver, St. Louis, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.

Pretrial Reform

BJA’s Pretrial Justice TTA Initiative coordinates and provides 

mentor opportunities for jurisdictions that are currently 

engaged in pretrial reform. BJA’s TTA provider, the Pretrial 

Justice Institute (PJI), provides regional training and peer-topeer mentoring opportunities for criminal justice professionals 

(including law enforcement, the judiciary, prosecution, victims’ 

rights, defense, jail administrators, and state and local 

government officials) throughout the country. 

Significant FY 2013 results from PJI include the following:

■ Continued to work with the Pretrial Justice Working 

Group (PJWG) and its subcommittees to address the 

recommendations of the 2011 National Symposium on 

Pretrial Justice (www.pretrial.org/infostop/pjwg/nationalsymposium-pretrial-justice). The 2012 PJWG progress report 

was published in early 2013 (www.pretrial.org/download/pjireports/PJI-PJWG-ProgressReport.pdf).

■ Promoted the evidence-based Colorado Pretrial Assessment 

Tool (CPAT). Activities included creating a guide for 

administering CPAT throughout the state and training 

local program directors and other stakeholders about 

implementing and using CPAT. PJI also published Pretrial 
FY 2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS n 23

Performance Measurement: A Colorado Example of Going 

From the Ideal to Everyday Practice.

■ In partnership with the National Judicial College, 

developed a model curriculum for judges on pretrial release 

decisionmaking. The curriculum was piloted in Delaware to 

the entire bench of bail-setting magistrate judges. 

■ PJI’s Pretrial Justice TTA Initiative also supports an online 

help desk (www.pretrial.org) that organizes materials 

related to learning the what, why, and how of pretrial justice 

challenges and improvements and includes a bibliography 

on pretrial research. In September 2013, PJI launched a 

completely revamped version of this web site. PJI also shares 

information through social media and a biweekly newsletter 

(www.pretrial.org/blog/newsletter-archive) with a readership 

of about 300 that is regularly featured in publications of 

organizational partners.

Right to Counsel/Holistic Defense

BJA funded the Center for Holistic Defense, a project of The 

Bronx Defenders. The center is a national TTA resource center 

for public defender offices, individual advocates, policymakers, 

and others who seek to adopt a more holistic approach to 

the defense of indigent clients who have been arrested and 

criminally charged. Holistic defense broadens the scope of 

public defense beyond criminal representation to also address 

the circumstances driving clients into the criminal justice 

system and the devastating consequences of criminal justice 

involvement.

Significant FY 2013 results include the following:

■ Provided 12 months of indepth technical assistance to the 

Alameda County Public Defender in Oakland, California; the 

Shelby County Public Defender in Memphis, Tennessee; the 

Public Defender for the City of Atlanta, Georgia; the Santa 

Clara County Public Defender in San Jose, California; the 

Arch City Defenders in St. Louis, Missouri; and the Jefferson 

County Public Defender in Birmingham, Alabama.

■ Provided shorter term TTA to defender offices and at 

conferences and symposia across the county.

For more information about the center and to view a detailed 

report on the 2014 Holistic Defense Symposium, visit www.

bronxdefenders.org.

Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal 

Assistance Program

The Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal Assistance (TCCLA) Program 

provides grants, policy leadership, and TTA to support federally 

recognized tribes in improving their justice systems and 

access to those systems. The grants are targeted to nonprofit 

organizations with a 501(c)(3) tax status and serve to strengthen 

the representation of indigent defendants in criminal cases 

and indigent respondents in civil causes of action under the 

jurisdiction of Indian tribes. These services also target tribes 

that meet the federal poverty guidelines. A third category 

funds TTA that supports the development and enhancement of 

tribal justice systems. 

In FY 2013, the TCCLA Program received 18 applications, and 

5 awards were made totaling almost $2 million: 2 awards for 

Category 1, Civil Legal Assistance, and 3 awards for Category 

2, Criminal Legal Assistance.

Significant FY 2013 results include the following:

■ In the Civil category, the Native American Disability Law 

Center partnered with the Navajo Nation Council to develop 

the Tribal Guardianship Code Development Project, a tribal 

guardianship code project that preserves tribal sovereignty 

while protecting the due process rights of indigent American 

Indians with disabilities facing tribal court systems. The 

project expanded the role and involvement of the family 

inherent in many tribal communities. Navajo families provided 

input to development of a draft code, which was circulated 

to the Navajo judicial community and DOJ for comment and 

review. 

■ In the Criminal category, New Mexico Legal Aid’s Native 

American Program (NAP) participated in the development of 

the Zuni Pueblo Healing to Wellness Court. NAP advocated 

to agencies participating in development that a public 

defender should be included as part of program services. The 

Zuni Tribal Constitution Revision Committee requested NAP’s 

input into the revision of its constitution. NAP developed a 
24 n Solutions for Safer Communities

pro se packet for criminal defense in the Zuni Tribal Court 

outlining rights under the current Zuni constitution and tips 

for defending oneself.

To learn more about the TCCLA Program, visit www.bja.gov/

ProgramDetails.aspx?Program_ID=102.

Tribal Law and Order Act

The Tribal Law and Order Act (TLOA) provides legislative 

authorities and resources to tribes to expand felony sentencing 

for certain crimes, establishes new minimum standards for 

protecting defendants’ rights in the tribal court system, and 

encourages federally recognized Indian tribes to consider 

using alternatives to incarceration or correctional options 

as a justice system response to crime in their communities. 

BJA has implemented a number of these authorities. This 

year, BJA expanded allowable activities in CTAS to include 

TLOA activities such as the implementation of the enhanced 

sentencing authority. (See page 10 for more information on 

CTAS.) In addition, BJA continues to offer a range of TTA 

to support TLOA initiatives, including regional meetings of 

criminal justice policymakers, joint law enforcement training, 

technical assistance for tribal-state court forums, and pilot 

initiatives such as joint jurisdictional courts and national web 

sites to share information. BJA also implemented new TTA 

support through its TCCLA Program to Indian tribes and tribal 

justice systems in their work toward enhanced sentencing and 

indigent defense activities.

Significant FY 2013 TTA results include the following:

■ The first four installments of a six-part webinar series on 

TLOA implementation was released by BJA, APPA, the Tribal 

Justice Institute, and National Judicial College’s National 

Tribal Judicial Center. The webinars provide information 

to tribes moving forward with TLOA planning and 

implementation, including assistance with identifying impacts 

on tribal resources and dispelling myths. The webinars can be 

found on APPA’s web site. 

■ The Western Community Policing Institute offers joint 

jurisdictional law enforcement awareness training for line 

officers and their supervisors who are responsible for 

building, implementing, and sustaining tribal-state-local 

collaborative partnerships on public safety. 

■ The Walking on Common Ground web site (www.

walkingoncommonground.org) provides news, updates, and 

resources for promoting and facilitating tribal-state-federal 

collaborations.

Tribal Justice Exchange

BJA funds the Center for Court Innovations’ Tribal Justice 

Exchange, which provides TTA for tribal communities to 

address community-based practices; encourage formal 

collaborations between traditional tribal justice systems and 

state and local court systems; and identify and disseminate best 

practices developed in Indian Country that could be applied to 

public safety initiatives elsewhere in the United States. 

Significant FY 2013 results include the following:

■ The Pascua Yaqui Tribe launched the Attendance 

Achievement Program to combat truancy among tribal youth. 

During the first year, the program enrolled 58 tribal members 

in grades 1–8 who had been cited for chronic absenteeism. 

By providing coordinated services to students and families, 

the program reduced the average number of missed school 

days by 39.7 percent. 

■ The Colorado River Indian Tribes initiated changes to its 

court system to develop a community court model. Changes 

include using evidence-based tools to identify offenders’ 

risks and needs, expanding community-based alternatives 

to incarceration, and promoting accountability through 

improved case management technology and ongoing judicial 

monitoring. 

■ The Navajo Nation continued to implement and enhance 

the Aneth Community Court, the first community court 

in Indian Country. The tribe hired a resource coordinator 

who is responsible for assessing the needs of defendants, 

linking defendants to individualized services, leading courtsupervised community service projects, and monitoring 

defendants’ compliance with court orders. 

To learn more about TTA through the Tribal Justice Exchange 

project, visit www.courtinnovation.org/tribal.
FY 2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS n 25

Chapter 3

Integration of Evidence-Based, 

Research-Driven, and Field-Initiated 

Strategies into the Programs 

BJA Administers and Supports

Programs based on solid research and data benefit every aspect of the criminal 

justice system. They make law enforcement safer and more effective, they improve 

court and corrections outcomes by lowering recidivism and introducing efficiency, 

and they improve communities by deterring crime and enhancing public safety. They 

also save taxpayers money by ensuring that every dollar goes to programs proven to 

work. BJA has a history of piloting innovative approaches, especially in the areas of drug 

courts, reentry, community corrections, and smart policing. In these areas, BJA staff have 

reviewed, summarized, and translated the latest research for the field. They have also 

identified the key model components and included these requirements, along with the 

translated research, in funding solicitations. BJA continues to systemically integrate and 

translate research knowledge and methods, as well as data, into its everyday processes 

and procedures. 

Encouraging Innovation: Field-Initiated Programs

BJA’s Encouraging Innovation: Field-Initiated Programs is designed to support programs 

that seek to prevent and reduce crime and enhance the criminal justice system through 

collaboration, working with the field to identify, define, and respond to emerging or 

chronic crime problems and systemic issues. The strategies funded under this program 

include trying new approaches, addressing gaps in responses, building or translating 

research knowledge, and building capacity to address field-defined issues. The program 

provides an opportunity for a small number of local, state, tribal, and national projects to 

bring fresh perspectives and ideas to enhance practices and prevent crime in the field.

In FY 2013, BJA piloted a new two-phase solicitation process aimed at improving the 

quality of grant applications while saving applicant and federal agency time. In phase one, 

applicants submitted a concept paper that briefly described the criminal justice problem 
26 n Solutions for Safer Communities

to be addressed and the applicant’s innovative or strategic 

proposal to address the issue. Subject matter experts on staff 

reviewed the concept papers and recommended which papers 

should move forward. In phase two, applicants submitted full 

applications, which were then reviewed and selected according 

to the standard OJP peer review process. 

In FY 2013, BJA made 11 awards in two categories to state, 

local, and national organizations totaling more than $4 million. 

Four awards were made to category 1 applicants, which 

proposed to test a strategy at the state, local, or tribal level; 

document implementation; and develop tools to support 

national replication. Category 1 awards totaled approximately 

$1.5 million. Seven awards were made to category 2 applicants, 

which proposed to develop national or regional strategies that 

address a critical need or gap in the field. 

FY 2013 funded projects include the following:

■ A category 1 project in Ohio in the amount of $372,705 

will develop a formal statewide mechanism through which 

researchers can partner with practitioners to conduct 

evaluations of promising programs and share information 

and expertise to provide evidence-based solutions to crime 

problems. The awarded organization will provide research, 

evaluation, data analysis, and other technical support directly 

to local Ohio agencies that seek assistance in solving local 

crime and justice problems.

■ A category 2 project in South Dakota in the amount of 

$399,244 will focus on administration segregation reform 

in the South Dakota Department of Corrections (SDDOC). 

The project will assess current administrative segregation 

practices within the SDDOC and use those assessment results 

to implement data-driven alternative strategies to safely and 

effectively reduce administrative segregation bed days and 

reduce the safety risks posed by inmates during and after 

their time in special housing. The project will share lessons 

learned with other states.

For more information on BJA’s Encouraging Innovation: 

Field-Initiated Programs, visit www.bja.gov/ProgramDetails.

aspx?Program_ID=105.

Smart Suite Programs

BJA’s Smart Suite of programs promotes strategic partnerships 

between criminal justice practitioners and local research 

partners to identify and implement the most effective strategies 

to reduce and prevent crime in their communities. This model is 

evident in the following BJA programs: 

■ Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to 

reduce gun, gang, and crime violence by networking with 

existing local programs that target these issues and providing 

them with the tools necessary to be successful. 

■ The Smart Policing Initiative assists police departments in 

identifying effective tactics for addressing specific crime 

problems based on rigorous analysis and promoting 

organizational change using evidence-based strategies. (To 

learn more about SPI, see page 7.) 

■ The Smart Prosecution Program will fund county and city 

prosecutors to develop initiatives that use local criminal 

justice data to develop effective and economical prosecution 

strategies regarding specific crime problems in their 

jurisdictions. 

■ The Smart Pretrial Program will test the cost savings 

and public safety enhancements that can be achieved 

when jurisdictions move to a pretrial model that uses risk 

assessment to inform decisionmaking and employs best 

practice strategies for risk management (such as supervision 

and diversion).

■ The Answering Gideon’s Call Program (Smart Defense) 

will contribute to indigent defense by encouraging and 

providing TTA for the development of innovative, data-driven 

approaches to indigent defense delivery systems. 

■ The Smart Supervision Program is designed to develop 

more effective and evidence-based probation programs that 

effectively address offenders’ needs, reduce recidivism, and 

improve probation and parole success rates, which will in turn 

improve public safety and save taxpayer dollars. 

■ The Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program, part of 

the Obama Administration’s Neighborhood Revitalization 

Initiative, works to improve community safety through 

communitywide partnerships that target neighborhoods with 

serious crime hot spots and employ data-driven, cross-sector 
FY 2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS n 27

strategies to reduce crime and violence. (To learn more about 

BCJI, see page 2.)

Demonstration Field Experiments

BJA and NIJ are jointly conducting two demonstration field 

experiments (DFE) in the areas of probation and post-release 

community supervision. DFEs produce new knowledge in 

key areas of criminal justice by applying the rigor of science 

to program implementation and then (1) evaluating those 

programs through randomized controlled experiments, 

(2) tracking and coaching for program fidelity, and (3) 

strengthening data collection and analysis. In both cases, BJA 

funds the demonstration sites and NIJ funds evaluation efforts. 

The first project, the Honest Opportunity Probation with 

Enforcement (HOPE) DFE, is replicating the Hawaii Opportunity 

Probation with Enforcement model. The four sites selected 

for this DFE are being rigorously tested to determine whether 

the HOPE model can promote the successful widespread 

completion of probation for high-risk probationers. 

The second project, the Changing Attitudes and Motivation 

in Parolees DFE, plans to significantly expand the body of 

evidence associated with improving the outcomes for offenders 

reentering the community. Based on a crime desistance-based 

reentry model, this multisite DFE will examine how postrelease interactions, programs, services, and activities affect 

parolees. The results from this DFE are expected to enhance 

the knowledge base for working with post-release offenders 

in the community. BJA and NIJ are currently working with the 

National Institute of Corrections to finalize the curricula and 

TTA plan for this effort.

Risk-Needs-Responsivity Simulation Tool

BJA collaborated with George Mason University (GMU) and 

the University of Massachusetts-Lowell to develop a RiskNeeds-Responsivity (RNR) Simulation Tool. The simulation 

tool is designed to help federal, state, and local agencies and 

nonprofit organizations use the evidence-based RNR approach 

to define the types and nature of correctional options available 

in their jurisdictions. The tool has three goals: “Assess Your 

Jurisdiction” helps practitioners define the type and nature 

of correctional options available in their jurisdictions; “Assess 

Your Program” enables practitioners to assess existing 

programs based on intensity of liberty restrictions, treatment 

offered, content, implementation, and quality; and “Assess 

an Individual” enables practitioners to assess an individual’s 

programming needs based on risk and criminogenic needs. 

This customizable tool uses a database compiled from national, 

state, and local data to assess reductions in recidivism. It is 

currently being piloted in multiple U.S. jurisdictions.

To view the final version of the RNR Simulation Tool, visit www.

gmuace.org/research_rnr.html. 

Skills for Offender Assessment and 

Responsivity in New Goals

BJA partnered with GMU to develop Skills for Offender 

Assessment and Responsivity in New Goals (SOARING2), 

a web-based training system for building knowledge and 

skills associated with evidence-based practices for the 

effective management of offenders. SOARING2 training 

consists of five modules—Risk-Need-Responsivity, Motivation 

and Engagement, Case Planning, Problem Solving, and 

Desistance—that are designed to encourage the use and 

sustainability of evidence-based practices, which in turn can 

improve offender management outcomes. Individuals can 

complete the online training at their own pace and return to 

the material as needed. A number of probation offices have 

requested and administered the SOARING2 training. A module 

for tribal-focused use is currently in development.

To learn more about SOARING2, log in to the system at http://

soaring2.gmuace.org.

Science Advisory Board

BJA continued to work with the OJP Science Advisory Board 

BJA subcommittee, which consists of a group of experienced 

criminal justice researchers tasked with reviewing BJA programs 

and making recommendations to encourage evidencebased principles and greater relevance to practitioners. This 

subcommittee focuses on helping BJA improve its strategies 

and capacity for program evaluations, program implementation, 

and methods to foster strong researcher-practitioner 
28 n Solutions for Safer Communities

partnerships. The subcommittee also provides information and 

suggestions to help BJA clarify models of change, enhance 

data collection and measurement in the field, strengthen 

organizational arrangements at the local level, and translate 

research for grantees and practitioners to use.

To learn more about the OJP Science Advisory Board, visit 

http://ojp.gov/sab.htm. 

Research-Practitioner Partnerships

BJA is partnering with Michigan State University to develop 

and test the Violence Reduction Assessment Tool (VRAT). 

VRAT assists communities with (1) assessing their local 

violent crime problems; (2) identifying evidence-based and 

promising strategies for reducing violent crime; and (3) linking 

communities to resources to reduce violence. VRAT will also 

assist communities in assessing their capacity to effectively 

implement these measures and identifying concrete steps to 

maximize the likelihood of effective implementation.

Additionally, BJA began working with the Ohio Office of 

Criminal Justice Services (OCJS) to support its development 

of a formal mechanism for criminal justice practitioners to gain 

access to, and funding for, experts in the field who are willing to 

provide practical, evidence-based solutions to obstacles faced 

by communities. OCJS is encouraging the use of evidencebased principles by providing research, evaluation, data 

analysis, and other technical support at no cost to local Ohio 

agencies that seek assistance. OCJS currently consists of 38 

criminology and criminal justice researchers from 12 colleges 

and universities across Ohio. 

BJA’s National Training and 

Technical Assistance Center

NTTAC facilitates the delivery of high-quality, strategically 

focused TTA to support the broad range of BJA program areas. 

NTTAC also reinforces BJA’s commitment to evidence-based 

strategies. It provides guidance to grantees and non-grantee 

criminal justice professionals to replicate model programs and 

approaches, increase knowledge and the use of best practices, 

promote emerging technologies and proven strategies, and 

assist agencies and jurisdictions in identifying and addressing 

their unique operational and programmatic needs. 

NTTAC services include curriculum development, data analysis, 

onsite and distance learning training, peer-to-peer visits, 

research and information requests, and strategic planning 

assistance. In FY 2013, NTTAC coordinated 78 TTA requests 

across 6 topics areas, which represented an 11 percent increase 

from FY 2012. 

Significant FY 2013 results include the following:

■ NTTAC designed and launched its web site (www.bjatraining.

org), which had more than 10,000 visitors and nearly 93,000 

page views, 137 news and event postings, 7 TTA spotlights, 

and 5 TTA Today blog posts.

■ The Boston Police Department (BPD) requested TTA to 

address reentry challenges using Geographic Information 

Systems (computerized mapping technology). The 

mapping results helped determine neighborhoods with 

high concentrations of returning inmates, the risks and 

needs of those inmates, and gaps in service. The Criminal 

Justice Institute (CJI) worked with BPD, the Massachusetts 

Department of Correction, and various service providers to 

gather data, discuss strategies, and make recommendations. 

Ultimately, CJI equipped BPD and the community with 

the tools necessary for managing returning inmates more 

effectively.

■ The Washington State Department of Corrections requested 

TTA to implement a probation model of community 

supervision that employs “swift-and-certain” sanctions, an 

evidence-based response to probation violations mandated 

by Washington State law in 2012. Though the full impact 

of this request will not be evaluated until it is completed, 

updates from the TTA provider, Pepperdine University, have 

demonstrated some immediate impact. For example, through 

onsite meetings with the implementation team, Pepperdine 

University was able to proactively troubleshoot barriers to 

implementation of swift-and-certain sanctions and develop 

coaching and training materials for problem-solving concerns. 

To learn more about NTTAC’s services and resources, go to 

www.bjatraining.org.
FY 2013 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS n 29

Chapter 4

Increase in Program Effectiveness 

With a Renewed Emphasis on Data 

Analysis, Information Sharing, and 

Performance Management

BJA believes that effective program management starts with meaningful performance 

measurement. Performance measurement is a research technique and tool used 

by BJA to collect and assess individual grantee output and outcome data, which is 

then synthesized and analyzed to inform program management decisions. Well-executed 

performance measurement improves program outcomes, makes more cost-effective use 

of grant funding, and helps BJA meet the requirements of the Government Performance 

and Results Modernization Act (Public Law 111-352). 

BJA uses performance measures to track grantee progress toward program goals and 

objectives and serves as an accountability tool. Program performance measures are 

indicators, outputs, statistics, or metrics used to gauge program activity, processes, and 

performance, conveying the extent to which each program’s activities or goals are being 

met. BJA uses performance measures for setting or adjusting program and TTA priorities, 

allocating resources, adopting new program approaches or changing processes, and 

sharing these with appropriate stakeholders. 

In addition, BJA continued to emphasize its GrantStat process to continuously analyze 

and monitor grant and program performance. GrantStat is based on the CompStat 

model, which is often used in policing to identify emerging trends, discuss these trends 

regularly among staff, and deploy resources based on these trends.

Performance Measurement

In FY 2013, BJA continued to invest in the Performance Measurement Tool (PMT), www.

bjaperformancetools.org, for its grantees to report performance measurement data. BJA 

uses a comprehensive analysis process to produce performance reports on grantee data 

to increase accountability and transparency. With the help of TTA partners, BJA analyzes 

data and targets strategies that address issues identified from the data. These analyses 
30 n Solutions for Safer Communities

are compiled in a series of performance reports published by 

BJA, fostering transparency about the use of taxpayer funds. 

Significant FY 2013 results include the following: 

■ BJA added new performance measures in PMT for the 

following programs:

− PREA (Zero Tolerance) Program.

− BCJI.

− Smart Supervision Program.

− Consolidated Tribal Assistance Solicitation Program for 

certain tribal initiatives.

− Affordable Care Act (for programs providing direct 

services).

■ BJA now collects comprehensive performance measurement 

data in PMT for 21 programs. 

■ BJA worked with stakeholders, practitioners, and the U.S. 

Government Accountability Office to refine performance 

measures for the following programs to ensure continued 

relevancy, consistency, and accuracy: 

− Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Program.

− Adult Drug Court Program.

− Harold Rogers Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.

− Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal Assistance. 

− Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program.

■ BJA published reports based on grantee performance data 

to increase transparency and accountability. Examples include 

the following:

− Grant Activity Report: Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) 

Program (April 2012–March 2013), available at www.bja.

gov/Publications/JAG_LE_Grant_Activity_03-13.pdf.

− Program Performance Report: Smart Policing Initiative 

Grant Program (January–June 2013), available at www.bja.

gov/Publications/SPI_PPR_Jan-Jun2013.pdf.

− Program Performance Report: Enhancement Grantees 

of the Adult Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program

(Federal Fiscal Year 2012 Report: October 2011–

September 2012), available at www.bja.gov/Publications/

DrugCtEnhancement_PPR_09-12.pdf.

− Program Performance Report: Implementation Grantees 

of the Adult Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program

(Federal Fiscal Year 2012 Report: October 2011–

September 2012), available at www.bja.gov/Publications/

DrugCtImplementation_PPR_09-12.pdf. 

− Program Performance Report: Residential Substance 

Abuse Treatment (RSAT) Program (April–September 2012), 

available at www.bja.gov/Publications/RSAT_PPR_09-12.

pdf. 

− Fact Sheet on Second Chance Act Grant Program 

Accomplishments (October 2009–September 2013), 

available at www.bja.gov/Publications/SCA-FS-Oct09-

Sep13.pdf. 

GrantStat

Through GrantStat, BJA uses programmatic, performance, 

and other grant-level information to closely scrutinize its 

grant programs. Using this model, BJA holds accountable 

those involved with BJA-funded grants, including grantees, 

BJA staff, and TTA partners. The analysis assesses whether 

grantees are implementing the program model with fidelity and 

reaching the intended target population and identifies how the 

solicitation guidelines and TTA strategy can enhance program 

implementation.

GrantStat’s overall goal is to increase the success of the 

program and all grantees by proactively identifying areas 

of concern and success and taking action to address those 

concerns. 

Significant FY 2013 results include completing a GrantStat 

review of the following programs: 

■ Adult Drug Court Program.

■ SCA Co-Occurring Disorder Program.

■ Intellectual Property Enforcement Program.
Bureau of Justice Assistance Information

BJA’s mission is to provide leadership and services in grant administration and criminal justice policy to 

support local, state, and tribal justice strategies to achieve safer communities. For more information about 

BJA and its programs, contact:

Bureau of Justice Assistance

810 Seventh Street NW.

Washington, DC 20531

Phone: 202–616–6500

www.bja.gov/contactus.aspx

Web site: www.bja.gov

The BJA Clearinghouse, a component of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, shares BJA 

program information with local, state, tribal, and federal agencies and community groups across the country. 

Information specialists provide reference and referral services, publication distribution, participation and 

support for conferences, and other networking and outreach activities. The clearinghouse can be contacted at:

Bureau of Justice Assistance Clearinghouse

P.O. Box 6000

Rockville, MD 20849–6000

Toll free: 1–800–851–3420

Fax: 301–240–5830

Questions/comments: www.ncjrs.gov/App/ContactUs.aspx

Web site: www.ncjrs.gov

Clearinghouse staff are available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. eastern time.
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Assistance

Washington, DC 20531

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use $300

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POSTAGE & FEES PAID

DOJ/BJA

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