Deaths in Custody Reporting Program and Annual Survey of Jails, 2016–2020

• BJS-2015-4151
  This solicitation covers research and data-collection activities for the Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP) and the Annual Survey of Jails (ASJ), two of the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) annual data collections on the U.S. correctional system. This award will cover project activities spanning 5 data collection years, 2016- 2020, and 5 fiscal years. Work will begin October 1, 2015, and end September 30, 2020.

  This marks the first time the two programs will be competed together.

  The ASJ and DCRP are BJS's flagship data collections measuring the size and composition of local jail populations each year. The two collections complement each other by obtaining administrative data to describe and compare the jail population over time. The ASJ, a sample survey, is conducted in years between the Census of Jail Facilities and is used to estimate the number and characteristics of jail inmates.

  The DCRP data collection has two components. From local jails, BJS collects individual-level data on inmates who died in jails and the circumstances of their deaths, as well as jail-level population data. The population component of the DCRP is used to produce jail population data and calculate jail mortality rates. From state prisons, BJS collects individual-level data on decedents only. Prison population data are obtained from existing BJS prison databases.

  BJS is authorized to issue this solicitation under 42 U.S.C. § 3732(c).
  
  Deadline: All applications are due to be submitted and in receipt of a successful validation message in Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on May 11, 2015.
  
  Eligibility: Eligible applicants are national, regional, state, or local public and private entities, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, faith-based and community organizations, and institutions of higher education, federally recognized Indian tribal governments as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, and units of local government that support initiatives to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system.
  
  Contact Information: For assistance with any other requirements of this solicitation, contact Margaret Noonan, BJS Statistician and Program Manager, by telephone at 202-307-0765, or by email at askbjs@usdoj.gov. Include "DCRP ASJ" in the subject line.
  
  Full solicitation in PDF format (PDF 580K) | Questions and Answers (PDF 63K) | Solicitation Change Sheet (PDF 220K)
  
  

Annual Surveys of Probation and Parole, 2015-2018

• BJS-2015-4155
  The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) seeks applications to conduct the collection, analysis, and dissemination activities of the Annual Surveys of Probation and Parole (ASPP) for the collection years 2015 through 2018.

  The ASPP are two separate data collections, independently referred to as the Annual Probation Survey and Annual Parole Survey. Since 1980, the ASPP have collected aggregate data on the number of persons supervised on probation or parole (i.e., post- custody community supervision), together referred to as the community supervision population. The ASPP obtain aggregate data from administrative records maintained by state probation and parole agencies; municipal, county, or court agencies; and the federal system. The ASPP are core BJS data collections and are the only national data collections that describe the size, change, movements, outcomes, and characteristics of the community supervision populations at the national, federal, and state levels. Together with data from the National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) Program, which collects counts of persons incarcerated in federal and state prisons, and data from the Annual Survey of Jails, which collects counts of persons held in local jails, ASPP data are used to estimate the total number of persons supervised by the adult correctional systems in the United States. Collectively, these data collections are also critical for tracking the level and change in the correctional populations over time and enhancing the understanding of the flow of offenders through and eventually out of the criminal justice system.

  Because of the needs for and uses of the ASPP data, it is imperative that these data are reliable, of high quality, and are representative of the entire targeted population. Therefore, through this award, BJS intends to enhance these aspects of the ASPP.

  BJS is authorized to issue this solicitation under 42 U.S.C. § 3732(c).
  
  Deadline: All applications are due to be submitted and in receipt of a successful validation message in Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on May 18, 2015.
  
  Eligibility: Eligible applicants are national, regional, state, or local public and private entities, including for-profit and nonprofit organizations, faith-based and community organizations, institutions of higher education (including tribal institutions of higher education), federally recognized Indian tribal governments as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, and units of local government that support initiatives to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system.
  
  Contact Information: For assistance with any other requirements of this solicitation, contact Laura Maruschak, BJS Statistician and Program Manager, by telephone at 202-307-0765, or by email at askbjs@usdoj.gov. Include "ASPP" in the subject line.
  
  Full solicitation in PDF format (PDF 376K)
  
  

FY 2015 National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP)

• BJS-2015-4085
  BJS is publishing this notice to announce the continuation of the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) in Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, identify the program priorities, and provide information on application requirements.

  The goal of the NCHIP grant program is to improve the nation's safety and security by enhancing the quality, completeness, and accessibility of criminal history record information and by ensuring the nationwide implementation of criminal justice and noncriminal justice background check systems. Achieving this goal is contingent on accomplishing four objectives:

  • providing direct financial and technical assistance to states and tribes to improve their criminal records systems and other related systems in an effort to support background checks;
  • ensuring the infrastructure is developed to connect criminal history records systems to the state record repository or appropriate federal agency record system and ensuring records are accessible through the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) records systems;
  • providing the training and technical assistance needed to ensure that records systems are developed and managed to conform to FBI standards, and appropriate technologies, while ensuring that contributing agencies adhere to the highest standards of practice with respect to privacy and confidentiality; and
  • using systematic evaluation and standardized performance measurement and statistics to assess progress made in improving national records holdings and background check systems.
  
  
  Deadline: All applications are due to be submitted and in receipt of a successful validation message in Grants.gov by 11:59 time p.m. eastern time on April 20, 2015.
  
  Eligibility: The NCHIP application must be submitted by the agency designated by the governor to administer the NCHIP program or a federally recognized Indian tribe. States and tribes may choose to submit applications as part of a multi-state consortium, multi-tribe consortium, or other entity. In such cases, please contact your BJS program manager for further information.
  
  Contact Information: For assistance with any other requirements of this solicitation, contact Devon B. Adams, Chief, Criminal Justice Data Improvement Program, by telephone at 202-307-0765, or by e-mail at askbjs@usdoj.gov. Include "NCHIP15" in the subject line.
  
  Full solicitation in PDF format (PDF 590K)
  
  

State Justice Statistics Program for Statistical Analysis Centers, 2015

• This program announcement describes the guidelines and requirements of the FY 2015 State Justice Statistics (SJS) Program for Statistical Analysis Centers (SACs). Since 1972, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and its predecessor agency, the National Criminal Justice Information and Statistics Service, have provided support to state and territorial governments to establish and operate SACs to collect, analyze, and report statistics on crime and justice to federal, state, and local levels of government and to share state-level information nationally. The information produced by SACs and their involvement in criminal justice projects have been, and will continue to be, critical to federal, state, and local criminal justice agencies and community organizations as they develop programs and policies related to crime, illegal drugs, victim services, and the administration of justice.
  
  Deadline: All registrations and applications are due by 5:00 p.m. eastern time on March 31, 2015.
  
  Eligibility: State SACs are the only entities eligible to apply for funds under the SJS program. General applicants must meet the requirements for a SAC as specified in these guidelines.
  
  Contact Information: For assistance with any other requirements of this solicitation, contact Devon B. Adams, Chief, Criminal Justice Data Improvement Program, by telephone at 202-307-0765, or by e-mail at askbjs@usdoj.gov. Include SJSSAC15 in the subject line.
  
  Full solicitation in PDF format (PDF 538K)
  
  

Survey of Inmates in Local Jails (SILJ): Design and Testing

• BJS-2015-4131
  The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is seeking applications for funding to conduct research on the instrument and sampling design and to create and pilot test an instrument and sampling method for the next iteration of the Survey of Inmates in Local Jails (SILJ). BJS anticipates making one award for a 24-month period between October 2015 and October 2017. A separate solicitation for the national implementation of the SILJ will be announced after this project is completed.
  
  Deadline: All applications are due to be submitted and in receipt of a successful validation message in Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on May 4, 2015.
  
  Eligibility: Eligible applicants are units of local government (including federally recognized Indian tribal governments as determined by the Secretary of the Interior), national, regional, state, or local public and private entities, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, faith-based and community organizations, and institutions of higher education that support initiatives for improving the functioning of the criminal justice system.
  
  Contact Information: For assistance with any other requirements of this solicitation, contact Todd D. Minton, Statistician and Program Manager, by telephone at 202-307-0765, or by email at askbjs@usdoj.gov. Include "SILJ" in the subject line.
  
  Full solicitation in PDF format (PDF 195K)
  
  

FY 2015 NICS Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP)

• BJS-2015-4103
  The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is publishing this notice to announce the continuation of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP) in Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, identify the program priorities, and provide information on application requirements.

  The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007, Pub. L. 110-180 (NIAA or the Act), was signed into law on January 8, 2008, in the wake of the April 2007 shooting tragedy at Virginia Tech. The Virginia Tech shooter was able to purchase firearms from a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) because information about his prohibiting mental health history was not available to the NICS, and the system was therefore unable to deny the transfer of the firearms used in the shootings. The NIAA seeks to address the gap in information available to NICS about such prohibiting mental health adjudications and commitments, and other prohibiting factors. Filling these information gaps will better enable the system to operate as intended to keep guns out of the hands of persons prohibited by federal or state law from receiving or possessing firearms. The automation of records will also reduce delays for law-abiding persons to purchase firearms.
  
  Deadline: All applications are due to be submitted and in receipt of a successful validation message in Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on May 7, 2015.
  
  Eligibility: Eligible applicants are limited to (a) the agency designated by the Governor to administer the NARIP, (b) the state or territory central administrative office or similar entity designated by statute or regulation to administer federal grant funds on behalf of the jurisdictions court system, or (c) federally recognized Indian tribal governments as determined by the Secretary of the Interior.
  
  Contact Information: For assistance with any other requirements of this solicitation, contact Devon B. Adams, Chief, Criminal Justice Data Improvement Program, by telephone at 202-307-0765, or by email at askbjs@usdoj.gov. Include "2015 NARIP" in the subject line.
  
  Full solicitation in PDF format (PDF 159K)
  
  

National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) program and National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP), 2015-2019

• BJS-2015-4106
  The Bureau of Justice Statistics' (BJS) seeks a data collection and analysis agent for the National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) program and the National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP) for the data years 2015 through 2019. This marks the first time the two programs will be competed together.

  The NPS and NCRP are BJS's flagship data collections measuring the size and composition of state and federal prison populations on an annual basis. The two collections complement each other by obtaining aggregate and detailed individual-level information on prisoners, which is used to describe and compare the prison population over time. The NPS collects aggregate counts of the male and female custody and jurisdictional prison populations as of December 31 each year. State departments of corrections (DOCs) and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) use their administrative records to tally their prison populations by jurisdiction, types of prison admissions and releases during the past year, race or Hispanic origin, and capacity of the facilities that hold prisoners in their custody. NPS also provides annual information on the number of confirmed cases of HIV/AIDS and current testing policies for these conditions. NPS has been collected annually since 1926, and these data are used in BJS's Prisoners series and Corrections Populations in the United States series bulletins.

  Through the NCRP, BJS collects individual (or offender) level data on prisoners entering or leaving the custody of state prison systems and post-custody community supervision programs (PCCS; formerly known as parole). The NCRP data, collected annually since 1983, are derived from state prison and PCCS administrative records and currently consist of five separate files for each year: prison admissions, census of state prisoners on December 31, prison releases, entry to PCCS programs, and exits from PCCS programs. A major improvement in NCRP data in the past 5 years has been to link the prison and PCCS records into terms for the majority of states submitting data. A term is defined as the period from admission to release. BJS uses these data to study a wide variety of special topics in corrections recidivism of state prisoners (by linking the NCRP data to criminal history records), prisoner reentry, aging of the prison population, trends in state PCCS, outcomes of PCCS supervision, and other issues. Additionally, BJS uses these data to support its ongoing efforts to study changes in the racial and offense composition of national corrections populations, to study movements and transitions between stages of the corrections process, and to compare differences among states correctional populations.

  BJS is authorized to issue this solicitation under 42 U.S.C. § 3732(c).
  
  Deadline: All applications are due to be submitted and in receipt of a successful validation message in Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on April 24, 2015.
  
  Eligibility: Eligible applicants are national, regional, state, or local public and private entities, including for-profit and nonprofit organizations, faith-based and community organizations, institutions of higher education, federally recognized Indian tribal governments as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, and units of local government that support initiatives to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system.
  
  Contact Information: For assistance with any other requirements of this solicitation, contact Elizabeth Ann Carson, Ph.D., BJS Statistician, by telephone at 202-616-3496, or by e-mail at askbjs@usdoj.gov. Include NPS NCRP 2015-2019 in the subject line.
  
  Full solicitation in PDF format (PDF 225K)
  
  

FY 2015 Graduate Research Fellowship Program for Criminal Justice Statistics

• 2015-BJS-4216
  The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is seeking applications under its Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) Program. This program provides awards to accredited universities for doctoral research that uses criminal justice data or statistical series and focuses on crime, violence, and other criminal justice-related topics. BJS invests in doctoral education by supporting universities that sponsor students who demonstrate the potential to complete doctoral degree programs successfully in disciplines relevant to the mission of BJS, and who are in the final stages of graduate study. The ultimate goal of this solicitation is to increase the pool of researchers using criminal justice statistical data generated by BJS, thereby contributing solutions that better prevent and control crime and help ensure the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States.

  Applicant institutions sponsoring doctoral students are eligible to apply only if the doctoral research dissertation has direct implications for criminal justice policy and practice in the United States. BJS encourages institutions to consider doctoral students from social and behavioral sciences, mathematics, or statistics academic disciplines for their applications. Applicant institutions are strongly encouraged to sponsor minority and female student candidates. Awards are anticipated to be made to successful applicant institutions in the form of a cooperative agreement to cover a fellowship for the sponsored doctoral student. Each fellowship potentially provides up to 3 years of support, usable over a 5-year period. For each year of support, BJS provides the degree-granting institution a stipend of $35,000, usable toward the student's salary and related costs, and up to $15,000 to cover the student's tuition and fees, research expenses, and related costs. If the doctoral student's dissertation is not completed and delivered to BJS within the 5-year period, the academic institution will be required to return the full award amount to BJS. Final award decisions will be made by the Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
  
  Deadline: All applications are due to be submitted and in receipt of a successful validation message in Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on June 10, 2015.
  
  Eligibility: Eligible applicants are limited to degree-granting educational institutions in the United States. To be eligible, the institution must be fully accredited by one of the regional institutional accreditation agencies recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. Historically Black Colleges and Universities are encouraged to consider applying.
  
  Contact Information: For assistance with any other requirements of this solicitation, contact Gerard F. Ramker, Deputy Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics by telephone at 202-307-0765, or by email at askbjs@usdoj.gov. Include "2015GRFPCJS" in the subject line.
  
  Full solicitation in PDF format (PDF 500K)
  
  

FY 2015 State Justice Statistics Program for Statistical Analysis Centers Technical Assistance Program

• BJS-2015-4223
  The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is publishing this notice to announce the Technical Assistance Program to support activities under the State Justice Statistics Program for Statistical Analysis Centers (SJS-SAC) in fiscal year 2015. The SJS-SAC program is designed to maintain and enhance each state's capacity to coordinate statistical activities in the state, conduct research on relevant criminal justice issues, and serve as a liaison to help BJS gather data from state agencies.

  Under section 302 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act, BJS is authorized to "provide for the development of justice information systems programs and assistance to the States and units of local government relating to the collection, analysis, or dissemination of justice statistics."
  
  Deadline: All applications are due to be submitted and in receipt of a successful validation message in Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on May 26, 2015.
  
  Eligibility: Eligible applicants are limited to for-profit (commercial) organizations, nonprofit organizations, faith-based and community organizations, institutions of higher learning, and consortia with demonstrated organizational and community-based experience working with American Indian and Alaska Native communities, including tribal for-profit (commercial) and nonprofit organizations, tribal colleges and universities, and tribal consortia.
  
  Contact Information: For assistance with any other requirements of this solicitation, contact Stephanie L. Burroughs, Program Manager, by telephone at 202-307-0765, or by email at askbjs@usdoj.gov. Include "2015 SJSSACTA" in the subject line.
  
  Full solicitation in PDF format (PDF 554K)
  
  

Census of Tribal Law Enforcement Agencies

• BJS-2015-4210
  The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is seeking applications to work with BJS to design and implement a national census of tribal law enforcement agencies. As the principal statistical agency within the DOJ, BJS is responsible for the collection, analysis, publication, and dissemination of statistical information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operations of criminal justice systems at all levels of government. This program furthers the Department's mission to identify the most pressing challenges confronting the justice system and to provide information in support of innovative strategies and approaches for dealing with these challenges.
  
  Deadline: All applications are due to be submitted and in receipt of a successful validation message in Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on June 8, 2015.
  
  Eligibility: Eligible applicants are national, regional, state, or local public and private entities, including for-profit and nonprofit organizations, faith-based and community organizations, institutions of higher education, federally recognized Indian tribal governments as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, and units of local government that support initiatives to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system.
  
  Contact Information: For assistance with any other requirements of this solicitation, contact Steven W. Perry, BJS Statistician and Program Manager, by telephone at 202-307-0765, or by email at askbjs@usdoj.gov. Include "CTLEA-16" in the subject line.
  
  Full solicitation in PDF format (PDF 556K)
  
  

Survey of State Attorney General Offices

• BJS-2015-4195
  The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) seeks applications for the design and implementation of survey instruments for its new Survey of State Attorney General Offices (SSAGO) program. This is the first BJS effort to systematically assess and describe the organization, structure, responsibilities, and activities of state attorney general (AG) offices. In addition, the surveys will ask about various criminal and civil enforcement activities conducted by the offices, such as investigations, prosecutions, and criminal proceedings, as well as participation in task forces and policy development. BJS expects the award recipient to develop three surveys of all state AG offices on topics of interest to BJS, such as the criminal prosecution and civil handling of cybercrime and human trafficking.

  The award recipient will develop three surveys for assessing activities in state AG offices and will field the first two surveys. For each survey, the successful applicant will (1) develop a survey instrument on the topics of interest, (2) pretest the instrument, (3) administer the first two surveys, and (4) provide the resulting research database and all accompanying documentation to BJS. In addition, near the end of the project period, the successful applicant will produce a report that assesses the relevance, validity, and utility of the data collected compared to the cost of collecting it. The report should present recommendations to BJS regarding the future content of the SSAGO program and the frequency of its data collections.
  
  Deadline: All applications are due to be submitted and in receipt of a successful validation message in Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on June 1, 2015.
  
  Eligibility: Eligible applicants are national, regional, state, or local public and private entities, including for-profit and nonprofit organizations, tribal for-profit and tribal nonprofit organizations, faith-based and community organizations, institutions of higher education, tribal institutions of higher education, federally recognized Indian tribal governments as determined by the Secretary of the Interior.
  
  Contact Information: For assistance with any other requirements of this solicitation, contact Tracey Kyckelhahn, BJS Statistician, by telephone at 202-307-0765 or by email at askbjs@usdoj.gov. Include "SSAGO" in the subject line.
  
  Full solicitation in PDF format (PDF)
  
  

FY 2015 National Criminal History Improvement Technical Assistance Program (NCHIP TA)

• BJS-2015-4188
  The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is publishing this notice to announce the continuation of the Technical Assistance Program to support activities under the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) and the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP) in fiscal year 2015. BJS is authorized to issue this solicitation under 42 U.S.C. 3731, et seq. The NCHIP program was initiated in 1995 and has encompassed evolving efforts to support state activities for the establishment of records systems and the collection and use of criminal history and related records. The NARIP program was implemented in 2009 resulting from the passage of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (Pub. L. 110- 180).
  
  Deadline: All applications are due to be submitted and in receipt of a successful validation message in Grants.gov by 11:59 time p.m. eastern time on May 26, 2015.
  
  Eligibility: Eligible applicants are limited to for-profit commercial organizations, nonprofit organizations, faith-based and community organizations, institutions of higher learning, and consortia with demonstrated organization and community-based experience working with American Indian and Alaska Native communities, including tribal for-profit (commercial) and nonprofit organizations, tribal colleges and universities, and tribal consortia.
  
  Contact Information: For assistance with any other requirements of this solicitation, contact Devon B. Adams, Chief, Criminal Justice Data Improvement Program, by telephone at 202-307-0765, or by e-mail at askbjs@usdoj.gov. Include "NCHIP15 TA" in the subject line.
  
  Full solicitation in PDF format (PDF)
  
  

Annual Survey of Jails in Indian Country, 2016-2019

• BJS-2015-4166
  This award will provide funding through a cooperative agreement to administer annually the Survey of Jails in Indian Country (SJIC) data collection and analysis activities for four iterations of the survey: 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. The SJIC is used to describe changes in the inmate population of jails in Indian country and how these facilities are staffed and operated. Intermittently, via addenda, the SJIC also is used to collect data on the programs and services these facilities provide, such as those related to inmate health care, medical assessments, mental health screening procedures, counseling programs, and education programs.

  Authorizing Legislation: Under section 302 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act, BJS is authorized to "make grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements or contracts with public agencies, institutions of higher education, private organizations, or private individuals" to collect and analyze criminal justice statistics. BJS is also authorized to "collect and analyze statistical information, concerning the operations of the criminal justice system at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels."
  
  Deadline: All applications are due to be submitted and in receipt of a successful validation message in Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on May 26, 2015.
  
  Eligibility: Eligible applicants are national, regional, state, or local public and private entities, including for-profit and nonprofit organizations, faith-based and community organizations, institutions of higher education, federally recognized Indian tribal governments as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, and units of local government that support initiatives for improving the functioning of the criminal justice system.
  
  Contact Information: For assistance with any other requirements of this solicitation, contact Todd D. Minton, BJS Statistician, by telephone at 202-307-0765, or by email at askbjs@usdoj.gov. Include "SJIC" in the subject line.
  
  Full solicitation in PDF format (PDF)
  
  

2015 National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS-X) Implementation Assistance Program: Phase I - Support for State Programs

• BJS-2015-4247
  The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is seeking proposals from state Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) programs to expand the state's capacity to report incident-based crime data to the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). BJS has the support of the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division, which established and maintains the NIBRS program, for this project. The FBI is developing a plan to establish NIBRS as the law enforcement crime data reporting standard for the nation, with a complementary plan to phase out the Summary Reporting System of the UCR Program.

  This will result in an increase in the number of local law enforcement agencies reporting data to NIBRS. The typical mechanism by which a local agency contributes data to NIBRS is through its "state pipeline," whereby agencies report their incident-based crime data to the NIBRS-certified UCR program in their respective state, and the state agency then sends the data from all the state's contributing agencies to the FBI. The FBI advocates the use of the "state pipeline" for crime data reporting. The plan to transition local agencies to NIBRS reporting requires enhancing the "state pipeline" to ensure state Uniform Crime Reporting programs are capable of receiving and processing local incident-based crime data. Enhancing states' capacity to receive and transmit NIBRS data is an effort jointly supported by BJS and by the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division (CJIS). Funding under this solicitation will support (1) state programs that are transitioning from a Summary Reporting System to a system capable to receive state-specific incident-based crime data and report it in the NIBRS format to the FBI, (2) the establishment of a new state program capable of receiving state-specific, incident-based crime data and reporting it in the NIBRS format to the FBI, or (3) the expansion of the capabilities of an NIBRS-certified state program to receive and process more incident-based crime data.
  
  Deadline: All applications are due to be submitted and in receipt of a successful validation message in Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on June 30, 2015.
  
  Eligibility: Eligible applicants are limited to (1) the 28 state Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Programs identified in the appendix to this solicitation or (2) a state agency in Indiana, Mississippi, or New Mexico (states that currently do not have a state UCR program) that will be officially designated as responsible for collecting incident-based data from local law enforcement agencies and reporting those data to the FBI's NIBRS.
  
  Contact Information: For assistance with other requirements of this solicitation, contact Erica Smith, Chief, Law Enforcement Statistics by telephone at 202-307-0765, or by e-mail at askbjs@usdoj.gov. Include "NCS-X" in the subject line.
  
  Full solicitation in PDF format (PDF 648K) | Audio of Teleconference 5/12/2015 (Other) | Transcript of Teleconference 5/12/2015 (PDF 92K)
  
  

FY 2015 Law Enforcement Core Statistics Program (LECS)

• BJS-2015-4248
  The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is seeking proposals for assistance in developing, designing, and administering the Law Enforcement Core Statistics Program (LECS). In the past, the goal of the program was to provide accurate and timely national statistics about the personnel, operations, policies, and procedures of federal, state, county, and local law enforcement agencies (LEAs) in the United States. However, in this program, BJS is seeking to reshape the content and focus toward measuring agency performance. This shift will represent part of BJS's effort to respond to the challenge posed by the National Research Council's Committee on National Statistics, which commented:
  BJS's work in law enforcement is hindered by a sharp and overly restrictive focus on management and administrative issues; its analysis of law enforcement generally lacks direct connection to data on crime, much less providing the basis for assessing the quality and effectiveness of police programs. It is also in the area of law enforcement, with the proliferation of numerous special agency censuses and little semblance of a fixed schedule or interconnectedness of series, where the need for refining the conceptual framework for multiple data collections is most evident.

  The LECS will incorporate 3 of BJS's core law enforcement programs: the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey, the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies (CSLLEA), and the Census of Federal Law Enforcement Officers (FLEO). The development and implementation of these collections will be guided by a framework that integrates concepts of police performance into an establishment survey context.

  As part of the LECS program, this 51-month project includes (1) fielding the LEMAS in 2016, (2) fielding a LEMAS supplement in 2017 on LEAs' use of body-worn cameras, (3) fielding the CSLLEA and the FLEO in 2018, (4) developing and testing a set of LEMAS supplemental survey instruments, and (5) disseminating findings to the public through research reports and a BJS web-based analytic data tool.
  
  Deadline: All applications are due to be submitted and in receipt of a successful validation message in Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on June 22, 2015.
  
  Eligibility: Eligible applicants are national, regional, state, or local public and private entities, including for-profit and nonprofit organizations, faith-based and community organizations, institutions of higher education, federally recognized Indian tribal governments as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, and units of local government that support initiatives to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system.
  
  Contact Information: For assistance with any other requirements of this solicitation, contact Shelley S. Hyland, Statistician and Program Manager, by telephone at 202-307-0765, or by email at AskBJS@usdoj.gov. Include "LECS" in the subject line.
  
  Full solicitation in PDF format (PDF 575K)
  
  

2015 Visiting Fellows: Criminal Justice Statistics Programs

• BJS-2015-4232
  The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is publishing this notice to announce that it is seeking applications for funding for one or more BJS Visiting Fellows to work in its Criminal Justice Statistics Program. The purpose of this program is to address substantive, methodological, and analytic issues to enhance or inform BJS statistical programs; support the scholarly use of BJS data collections; and expand the body of policy-relevant research that uses these data to further knowledge about and understanding of the operation of the criminal justice system.

  Under section 302 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act, BJS is authorized to "make grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements or contracts with, public agencies, institutions of higher education, private organizations, or private individuals" for purposes of collecting and analyzing criminal justice statistics or programs.
  
  Deadline: All applications are due to be submitted and in receipt of a successful validation message in Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on June 16, 2015.
  
  Eligibility: Eligible applicants are individuals who have a nationally recognized research portfolio and considerable expertise in their area of proposed research. They should be willing to commit a substantial portion of their time over at least a 12-month period to undertake analyses of BJS data or statistical programs and produce at least one publishable-quality report summarizing their analysis.
  
  Contact Information: For assistance with any other requirements of this solicitation, contact Gerard F. Ramker, Deputy Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics, by telephone at 202-307-0765, or by email at askbjs@usdoj.gov. Include "2015VFCJSP" in the subject line.
  
  Full solicitation in PDF format (PDF 542K)
  
  

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