Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 125 / Thursday, June 28, 2001 / Notices 34463

1 Includes American Indian jurisdictions,

reservations, tribal areas or tribal lands, in addition

to areas established as reservations or trust areas for

natives peoples of Alaska.

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Bureau of Justice Statistics

[OJP(BJS)–1321]

Criminal Victimization in Indian

Country

AGENCY: Bureau of Justice Statistics,

Office of Justice Programs, Justice.

ACTION: Notice of solicitation.

SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is

to announce a public solicitation to

make awards to conduct criminal

victimization surveys in Indian Country.

DATES: Proposals must be received at the

Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) on or

before 5 p.m. EST, Monday, August 13,

2001 or be postmarked on or before

August 13, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Proposals should be mailed

to Marika Litras, Statistician, Bureau of

Justice Statistics, 810 Seventh Street,

NW, Washington, D.C. 20531.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Marika Litras, Statistician, Bureau of

Justice Statistics, 810 Seventh Street,

NW, Washington, D.C. 20531; Phone:

(202) 514–4272 [This is not a toll free

number]; Email:

Marika.Litras@usdoj.gov

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Statutory Authority

The awards made pursuant to this

solicitation will be funded by the

Bureau of Justice Statistics consistent

with the provisions of 42 U.S.C. 3732.

Program Goals

The purpose of these awards is to

provide funding to conduct criminal

victimization studies in up to five

American Indian and Alaska Native

jurisdictions, reservations, tribal areas,

or tribal lands. Special emphasis will be

made to collect detailed information on

the role of alcohol in violent crime

victimizations and the characteristics of

domestic violence incidents. BJS

encourages the use of the Crime

Victimization Survey (CVS) software,

developed by BJS and the Office of

Community Oriented Policing Services

(COPS), which contains the survey

platform used by the National Crime

Victimization Survey (NCVS). The CVS

is designed to allow users to modify it

for local use for data collection via

telephone or in-person contact.

BJS anticipates making up to five

awards for a 12 month period under this

solicitation. A total of $500,000 will be

made available under this solicitation. It

is anticipated that one local criminal

victimization study can be completed

for approximately $100,000.

Background

The implementation of criminal

victimization surveys in Indian

Country1 is part of a muti-faceted effort

by BJS to expand statistical activities

related to American Indian and Alaska

Native crime and justice issues. To date,

little is known about the nature and

extent of violent victimizations among

American Indians and Alaska Natives

residing in Indian Country. Existing

knowledge has been gleaned largely

from nationally representative samples

of persons, households, or summary

compilations of national arrest data.

National level findings from the

National Crime Victimization Survey

(NCVS), for example, suggest that

American Indians experience per capita

rates of violence which are more than

twice those of the U.S. resident

population, that violent crime

committed against Indians may be

among the most interracial when

compared to crimes against Whites and

Blacks, and that there is a relatively

high rate of alcohol use among

offenders. Data from the Supplementary

Homicide Report of the Federal Bureau

of Investigation (FBI) further suggest

that American Indian murder victims

are more likely than non-American

Indian murder victims to have been

killed during a brawl involving alcohol

or drugs. Further information about

American Indians, victimization and

crime using nationally representative

samples and data collections can be

found in the BJS report, American

Indians and Crime (February 1999) at

<http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/

aic.htm> and Violent Victimization and

Race, 1993–98 (March 2001) at <http://

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/

vvr98.htm>.

Analyses of these national data

collections are significant, for they

provide initial estimates of crime and

victimization among American Indians

at the national level. They also provide

a baseline from which to compare other

estimates of crime and victimization in

Indian country. Because of their

national scope, however, nationally

representative sample surveys such as

the NCVS are limited in their ability to

describe small population subgroups

(such as American Indians and Alaska

Natives) in detail. Most importantly,

they have not provided separate

estimates of crime and victimization for

individual American Indian tribes,

Alaska Native villages, or those living in

Indian County.

Given the lack of high-quality

estimates of violent victimization at the

tribal level, localized studies are needed

to examine, in more detail, issues

revealed in national surveys such as the

characteristics and circumstances of

violent victimization in Indian Country,

the role of alcohol in violent

victimizations, the characteristics of

domestic violence incidents, and the

types of crime that go unreported to

tribal law enforcement authorities. Such

specific information would help tribes

develop tailored and effective crime

prevention strategies in Indian Country.

Scope of Work

The objective of this project is to fund

criminal victimization studies in up to

five American Indian and Alaska Native

jurisdictions in the U.S. Specifically,

recipients of funds will:

1. Conduct a criminal victimization

survey measuring the incidence,

prevalence and characteristics of

criminal victimization in one or more

selected Indian Country locations.

Special emphasis should be placed on

the role of alcohol in violent crime

victimization and the characteristics of

domestic violence incidents. Use of the

Crime Victimization Survey (CVS)

software developed by BJS and the

Office of Community Oriented Policing

Services (COPS) is preferred.

Information about this Windows-based

software can be obtained on the BJS

website at <http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/

bjs/abstract/cvs.htm>. The software and

technical assistance can be obtained by

contacting the BJS Clearinghouse at 1–

800–732–3277 or by e-mail to

<ASKBJS@ncjrs.org>. The Crime

Victimization Listserv is also available

for CVS users. Contact

<ASKBJS@ncjrs.org> for more

information about joining the Listserv.

2. Produce a final publication that

reports findings from the survey as well

as appropriate methodological detail

necessary for others to replicate the

survey findings. In addition to the

statistical analysis, the publication

should include a brief profile of the

tribal jurisdiction surveyed, the tribal

(and state, if applicable) criminal justice

system, and existing crime prevention

programs.

3. Conduct a presentation of the

survey findings and disseminate related

publications at two tribal meetings (one

national and one local or regional) and

at BJS along with other funded

recipients under this grant.

Presentations should focus on the

planning, methodology, and

implementation of the survey and

should demonstrate the utility of the

survey in documenting crime and

34464 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 125 / Thursday, June 28, 2001 / Notices

identifying priorities for crime

prevention in the tribe surveyed.

4. Deliver to BJS electronic versions of

the survey data, documentation and

related publications on diskette and in

ASCII text file format. Survey

documentation should include, but is

not limited to, a description of the

sampling plan, respondent selection,

weighting, a comprehensive codebook

detailing variable positions, data coding,

variable and value labels, any recoding

implemented during the data cleaning

process, methods used for dealing with

missing data, any data allocation,

imputation, or non-response

adjustment, and copies of all program

code used to generate published

statistics. All reports from this survey

data may be posted on the BJS website,

and data archived for public use at the

Inter-University Consortium for Political

and Social Research (ICPSR).

Award Procedures and Evaluation

Criteria

Proposals should describe the plan

and implementation strategies outlined

in the Scope of Work. Applications will

be reviewed competitively by a panel

comprised of members selected by BJS

which will make recommendations to

the Director of BJS. The applicant will

be evaluated on the basis of:

1. Demonstrated knowledge of the

theoretical and practical issues related

to criminal victimization and its

measurement through the use of sample

surveys. Applicants should demonstrate

applied knowledge of sampling and

sample designs, survey construction,

interview techniques, validity and

reliability of indicators, weighting, and

significance testing. In addition,

applicants should be well versed in the

issues related to existing victimization

surveys, including but not limited to,

the National Crime Victimization

Survey (NCVS), the BJS City-Level

Survey of Crime Victimization and

Citizen Attitudes, and the National

Violence Against Women Survey.

Applicants should be familiar with

related material contained in websites

maintained by BJS, the Violence Against

Women Office (VAWO), and other

Office of Justice Programs’ bureaus and

offices.

2. Specific knowledge of issues

related to collecting victimization data

about less reported crimes such as rape,

domestic and intimate partner violence,

and the role of alcohol for both

offenders and victims in criminal

victimization incidents.

3. Knowledge of the tribal justice

issues and impediments to

implementing a criminal victimization

survey in the selected Federally

recognized tribe. Applicants must

demonstrate the ability to coordinate

and facilitate trust and cooperation

among tribal members participating in

the survey, and must detail the

appropriate survey methods to access

the tribal population (e.g., sampling

plan, telephone or in-person interviews)

that will ensure a statistically sound and

representative sample. Applicant should

submit a letter of support from an

authorized tribal official to demonstrate

prior approval to carry out the survey in

the selected tribal jurisdiction.

4. Demonstrated ability to analyze,

publish, and disseminate professional

reports using complex survey data.

Demonstrated ability to make effective

oral presentations of survey findings

and ability to convey the utility of

survey results to the development of

crime prevention strategies and

programs.

5. Demonstrated fiscal, management,

staff, and organizational capability to

provide sound management for this

project.

Application and Award Process

An original and five (5) copies of the

full proposal must be submitted

including:

• Standard Form 424, Application for

Federal Assistance

• OJP Form 7150/1, Budget Detail

Worksheet

• OJP Form 4000/3, Program

Narrative and Assurances

• OJP Form 4061/6, Certification

Regarding Lobbying, Debarment,

Suspension, and Other Responsibility

Matters; Drug Free Workplace

Requirements

• OJP Form 7120–1, Accounting

System and Financial Capability

Questionnaire (to be submitted by

applicants who have not previously

received Federal Funds from the Office

of Justice Programs).

These forms can be obtained online

from www.ojp.usdoj.gov/forms.htm.

In addition, fund recipients are

required to comply with regulations

designed to protect human subjects and

ensure confidentiality of data. In

accordance with 28 CFR Part 22, a

Privacy Certificate must be submitted to

BJS. Furthermore a Screening Sheet for

Protection of Human Subjects must be

completed prior to the award being

issued. Questions regarding Protection

of Human Subjects and/or Privacy

Certificate requirements can be directed

to the Human Subjects Protection

Officer (HSPO) at (202) 616–3282 [This

is not a toll free number].

Proposals must include a project

description and detailed budget. The

project narrative should describe

activities as discussed in the Scope of

Work and address the evaluation

criteria. The project narrative should

contain a detailed time line for project

activities, a description of the

questionnaire and survey methodology

to be used including defined geographic

boundaries, sampling plan and sample

size, data collection method, data entry,

analysis, and report production

procedures. The detailed budget must

provide detailed costs including salaries

of staff involved in the project and the

portion of those salaries to be paid from

the award, fringe benefits paid to each

staff person, travel costs, supplies

required for the project, sub-contractual

agreements, and other allowable costs.

The grant award will be made for a

period of 12 months.

Dated: June 21, 2001.

Lawrence Greenfeld,

Acting Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

[FR Doc. 01–16253 Filed 6–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4410–18–P

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Mine Safety and Health Administration

Petitions for Modification

The following parties have filed

petitions to modify the application of

existing safety standards under section

101(c) of the Federal Mine Safety and

Health Act of 1977.

1. Primrose Coal Company #2

[Docket No. M–2001–051–C]

Primrose Coal Company #2, 475 High

Road, Ashland, Pennsylvania 17921 has

filed a petition to modify the

application of 30 CFR 75.1200(d) and (i)

(mine maps) to its Buck Mountain Vein

Slope (I.D. No. 36–08698) located in

Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. The

petitioner proposes to use cross-sections

instead of contour lines through the

intake slope, at locations of rock tunnel

connections between veins, and at 1,000

foot intervals of advance from the intake

slope; and to limit the required mapping

of the mine workings above and below

to those present within 100 feet of the

veins being mined except when veins

are interconnected to other veins

beyond the 100-foot limit through rock

tunnels. The petitioner asserts that due

to the steep pitch encountered in

mining anthracite coal veins, contours

provide no useful information and their

presence would make portions of the

map illegible. The petitioner further

asserts that use of cross-sections in lieu

of contour lines has been practiced

since the late 1800’s thereby providing