Articles in this issue address the U.S. justice system and how to promote an equitable system that improves public safety for all Americans.
The NIJ Journal is published by the U.S. Justice Department’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ), with a focus on NIJ’s policy-relevant research results and initiatives. The journal issue begins with brief presentations of other NIJ publications, related news and events, a list of recent Justice Today podcast episodes, research findings, and newly shared data sets. Each journal issue focuses on a single theme, allowing the articles to dive into that specific topic from different scientific points of view. The articles in the current issue cover various aspects of the U.S. justice system, including policy innovations such as examining alternatives to incarceration for veterans; improving the collection of digital evidence; providing robust evidence for high-stakes decision-making; the history and legacy of the latent fingerprint black box study; the complexities of jails-based research; and criminal case processing and sentencing reform.