For example, our Breaking the Cycle initiative tests a hypothesis regarding the impact of a system wide use of drug treatment and other interventions to reduce drug use. Another project asks what would happen if judges became involved in managing interventions and sanctions for batterers as a way to reduce violence within intimate relationships. Another example involves efforts to apply the lessons learned from the Boston Gun Project that puts researchers and practitioners into very different relationships in which research partners help define the strategies for intervention in an ongoing, symbiotic way with a practitioner team that is trying different approaches. NIJ has done this in five other cities. What we are learning are very important lessons on deterrence tied to government and private actions.
Drugs are another area where research has made a major impact on policy and practice.
Through ADAM, NIJ has been able to describe drug use, users, and markets in ways that we previously could not. Finally, NIJ keys its technology development portfolios directly to the expressed needs of practitioners. Its Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Advisory Council sets priorities. NIJ has been able to achieve this standing because the Institute remains faithful to the high expectations established by Congress and reflects the high aspirations of researchers and practitioners alike.