This special edition of the NIJ Journal commemorates the Institute's 50th anniversary, as articles highlight the history, evolution, and role of NIJ research over the past 50 years and look ahead to the next 50 years of research.
The article on "Employing Research to Understand Violence Against Women" notes and reviews NIJ's establishment and expansion of a strong research program over the past 50 years that has addressed violence against women, with just over $130 million spent for research on intimate partner violence, sexual violence, stalking, teen dating violence, and related topics. The article on "Identifying New Illicit Drugs and Sounding the Alarm in Real Time" focuses on NIJ's research role in addressing the opioid crisis in the United States, the identification and countering of early designer drug production and consumption, and the development of a real-time warning system regarding the identification of new designer drugs entering the United States. The article on "Fighting Stress in the Law Enforcement Community" notes that NIJ has a long history of supporting research related to stress for law enforcement personnel; however, in 2016, NIJ determined that a coordinated research agenda was needed to better respond to this persistent issue. This led to NIJ's development of the Safety, Health, and Wellness Strategic Research Plan, which promotes the safety, health, and wellness of persons who work in or are affected by the work of the criminal justice system.