This article reviews the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC) system, a program of the National Institute of Justice offers technological assistance and expertise to law enforcement and corrections officers.
The NLECTC system’s regional centers and specialty offices work directly with Federal, State, and local government agencies; community leaders; and scientists to foster technological innovations that result in new products, services, systems, and strategies for the Nation’s criminal justice professionals. The NLECTC system stands ready to serve the public safety community with its unique technology expertise and capabilities. There are six technology program areas identified as critical to the practitioner community: crime prevention, protective system technologies, less-than-lethal technologies, investigative and forensic sciences, communications inoperability/information sharing, and learning technology tools. The NLECTC is committed to providing timely information and assistance that is tailored to the specific needs of law enforcement and corrections personnel. The NLECTC works with the Office of Law Enforcement Standards (OLES) to ensure that law enforcement and corrections equipment is safe and reliable. It sets minimum performance standards for specific devices, tests commercially available equipment against those standards, and shares the standards and test results with criminal justice agencies nationwide. As the technology needs of the criminal justice community change, NLECTC will continue to assess those needs, monitor and help facilitate the development and commercialization of new technology, demonstrate new advances, evaluate new tools, and make equipment and techniques more widely available to those who dedicate their lives to public safety.