The Research Division also strives to promote science-based research, rigorous and informative evaluations of demonstration programs, and meaningful statistics. The Research Division's overall mission is to generate credible and useful information for improved decisionmaking to prevent and reduce juvenile delinquency and victimization. The Research Division sponsors empirical studies on an array of topics related to juveniles and delinquency, from the roots of violence to the impact of victimization.
Studies range from exploratory and descriptive to rigorously analytical.
One of the Research Division's important functions is to identify what works. Evaluations measure the impact of programs that are geared to preventing or reducing juvenile delinquency and victimization. The Research Division sponsors the Nation's primary efforts in gathering data and statistics on juveniles and crime, including studies on juvenile detention and corrections populations, probation caseloads, and court activities. To identify solutions to juvenile crime and delinquency, it is necessary to rely on what has been learned. The Research Division collaborates with a number of other Federal agencies to carry out research and evaluation efforts from which the findings will be useful to an interdisciplinary audience.