NCJ Number
248381
Date Published
July 2015
Length
31 pages
Annotation
This report to Congress by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) describes the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative (CSSI), including its goals, guiding principles, activities, accomplishments, and future activities.
Abstract
CSSI was launched and funded in FY 2014 for the purpose of improving school safety nationwide by developing, supporting, and evaluating school safety programs, practices, and strategies. NIJ manages this initiative in collaboration with partners from multiple relevant disciplines, including other executive branch agencies and Congress. In FY 2014, NIJ established an interagency working group to provide advice on CSSI, released two solicitations to support pilot projects and research in the field, contributed to national data-collection efforts on school violence, and began assessments of technologies with potential to improve school safety. This report describes the features of each of these activities. In the future, NIJ will continue to identify unmet technology needs, develop and test school safety technologies, and provide information to practitioners and policymakers that will assist them in making informed choices about school safety technology. In the coming year, NIJ will expand activity in three areas. First, it will expand its level of engagement with experts in the field by hosting and participating in meetings with key constituencies and conducting surveys and key-informant interviews. Second, NIJ will expand efforts to develop and test comprehensive approaches to school safety. Third, it will expand support for shorter turn-around projects that can produce practical knowledge in a 12-24 month performance period. Appended supplementary details on CSSI activities