This report analyzes the most recent, reliable data about rape and sexual assault in our country. It identifies those most at risk of being victims of these crimes, examines the cost of this violence (both to survivors and our communities), and describes the response, too often inadequate, of the criminal justice system. The report catalogues steps this Administration has taken to combat rape and… (read more)

This guide is based upon a decade of research and collection of common practices among police departments throughout the world. It summarizes the results of several interviews with police and civilian practitioners involved in nightlife public safety and policing; a survey of participants from the Responsible Hospitality Institute's (RHI) Leadership Summits to identify operational tactics and… (read more)

This checklist helps to establish guidelines that institutions of higher education should consider for employees, volunteers, contractors, and other adults interacting with minors on campus or in connection with an institution-sponsored program to keep students safe. Topics include: strategies for preventing one-on-one access to minors; behaviors that should not be tolerated during interactions… (read more)

The NSVRC provides a variety of information and tools on the prevention of sexual violence. The resources include a primary prevention primer, webinars and videos, evaluation tools, online training courses, and more.

Prevention Innovations is a collaboration between researchers and practitioners that develops, implements and evaluates cutting-edge programs, policies and practices that will end violence against women. Their team is made up of researchers and practitioners who work collaboratively to develop and evaluate prevention strategies, evidence-based measures to document the problems of sexual and… (read more)

These webinars feature national leaders and experts discussing the extent and nature of the problem, lessons from recent research, and evidence-based strategies for addressing underage drinking. Webinars include: "Community Coalitions Working Collaboratively Across Secondary and Postsecondary Education to Address Underage Drinking," "The Role of Public Health in Preventing Underage Drinking and… (read more)

This special collection emphasizes collaborative and multi-level approaches to the prevention of and response to teen dating violence (TDV). It draws on the work of many organizations and organizes the resources on TDV prevention and responses by different populations. The first section of this special collection provides general information about teen dating violence. The next six sections… (read more)

The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness for Catastrophic Events held a workshop to examine the current capabilities of emergency response systems and the future opportunities to improve mass casualty response in rural communities. This report provides a summary of the workshop.

This resource is intended for use by colleges and universities that are affected by and/or want to be prepared for campus crises and campus deaths. Suicide postvention efforts address the need for predetermined strategies to effectively and sensitively respond to campus deaths after they occur and also contribute to improved prevention efforts. This resource defines specific areas of… (read more)

This publication provides a review of the available evidence on officer body-worn cameras. The goal is to provide a comprehensive resource that will help law enforcement agencies to understand the factors they should consider to make informed decisions regarding the adoption of body-worn camera technology.

The Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration has finalized the first operational rules for routine commercial use of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS or drones), opening pathways towards fully integrating UAS into the nation's airspace. These new regulations work to harness new innovations safely, to spur job growth, advance critical scientific research, and save lives.… (read more)

This study set out to investigate the current state of campus sexual assault programs and policies and uncovered multiple barriers to students with disabilities, from reporting crime to receiving needed assistance afterward. The report includes recommendations for Congress, federal agencies, and colleges to improve reporting requirements, training, and policies and procedures to better serve… (read more)

The NDPC is a partnership of several nationally recognized organizations whose membership is based on the urgent need to address the counter-terrorism preparedness needs of the nation's emergency first responders within the context of all hazards including chemical, biological, radiological, and explosive Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) hazards. The mission of the NDPC is to enhance the… (read more)

Established in 1972, the NCJRS is a federally funded resource offering justice and drug-related information to support research, policy, and program development worldwide.

PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center provides innovative resources for students, parents, educators, and others, and recognizes bullying as a serious community issue that impacts education, physical and emotional health, and the safety and well-being of students. PACER provides free, innovative web-based information, ideas and actions that can be shared in communities across the nation to… (read more)

The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services' (VA DCJS) Search and Rescue Model Policy is intended to serve as a structured template to assist law enforcement agencies that wish to adopt a comprehensive Search and Rescue policy. The DCJS Search and Rescue Model Policy additionally serves as a resource that identifies current best practices to those agencies with existing policies. The… (read more)

The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services' (VA DCJS) Missing Persons Model Policy is intended to serve as a structured template to assist law enforcement agencies that wish to adopt a comprehensive Missing Persons policy. The DCJS Missing Persons Model Policy additionally serves as a resource that identifies current best practices to those agencies with existing policies. DCJS model… (read more)

Mental Health First Aid is an 8-hour course that teaches you how to help someone who is developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. The training helps you identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders.

In 2016, Women In Government seated the National Task Force on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders after hearing from members about the growing epidemic in their states. The group met over the course of the year to collaborate, develop state policy responses and fresh ideas, and create effective partnerships. The task force, which includes state legislators, mental health professionals and… (read more)

This report analyzes mass shootings for a 15-year period (1999-2013). CRS analysis of the FBI Supplementary Homicide Reports dataset and other research indicates that offenders committed at least 317 mass shootings, murdered 1,554 victims, and non-fatally wounded another 441 victims entirely with firearms during that 15-year period. The prevalence of mass shooting incidents and victim counts… (read more)

Between January and December 2017, 28 incidents of mass attacks, during which three or more persons were harmed, were carried out in public places within the United States. These acts violated the safety of the places we work, learn, shop, relax, and otherwise conduct our day-to-day lives. The resulting loss of 147 lives and injury to nearly 700 others had a devastating impact on our nation as a… (read more)

Interactions between officers and individuals with mental illnesses are infrequent and can be complex in nature. These calls for service are often time-consuming and difficult to resolve, and, on relatively rare occasions, result in tragic injuries or deaths. Such cases typically involve repeat contacts with the same individuals, who live in the community with unresolved mental health needs. Law… (read more)

This roll call training video, narrated by Brett Parson, features scenarios of three of the most common ways police officers encounter members of the transgender community and provides information, tools, and techniques to help ensure your interactions with them are mutually respectful and professional.

A goal of the Houston Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) Action Research Project was to collaborate across disciplines to create an innovative, sensitive, and trauma-informed model of victim notification. Thus, members of an interprofessional working group developed and implemented the Complainant Notification and Information Line Protocols (herein after referred to as Protocols). The Protocols outline the… (read more)

The threat of gun violence in schools necessitates attention across the spectrum of emergency management mission areas: prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery. While mitigation, response, and recovery represent critical aspects of emergency management, this guide focuses on considerations for schools specifically in the areas of prevention and protection. This resource… (read more)

This white paper is intended to offer high-level guidance to law enforcement agencies on how to assess unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations within their jurisdictions and suggest actions to interdict and mitigate unauthorized, illegal or risky operations. This publication also presents an overview of, and addresses concerns about, the proliferation of small UAS throughout U.S. communities.

The Justice Technology Information Center (JTIC) disseminates the information that decision makers need on innovations in the sustainable technology that is transforming the criminal justice system. The News Center features summaries of the latest technology, equipment, strategies and news releases of interest to law enforcement, corrections and courts professionals. In addition, they offer a… (read more)

The purpose of this on-line video library is to provide a single, easy to search source in which individuals, agencies and organizations can access Just In Time Disaster Training videos.  The videos found in this library cover disaster related mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery training for a wide variety of areas.

This document provides information on how to identify a vendor partner that can help your agency comply with new federal security standards for accessing criminal justice information.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health problem. In addition to the immediate impact, intimate partner violence has lifelong consequences. This document is intended for use by individuals and organizations interested in gathering public health surveillance data on IPV in order to promote and improve consistency across the board. The three major sections of this document are… (read more)

Many prevention activities focus on changing individual's knowledge and attitudes and developing new skills that redefine relationships such as promoting healthy intimate relationships and empowering bystanders to intervene in situations that are either high risk for sexual violence or reinforce rape culture. However, focusing on individual behavior alone will not prevent sexual violence. Efforts… (read more)

The way campus sexual misconduct policies are communicated to students varies at colleges and universities across the country. Many students receive information about sexual misconduct policies during new student orientation. However, various methods are used to deliver this information (e.g., online websites, in-person discussions) and little is known about how the delivery method impacts what… (read more)

This report describes how agencies have fared against established performance measures and highlights accomplishments, including illustrative examples of ISE progress toward the responsible information sharing goals derived from IRTPA, presidential guidelines in support of the ISE, and the National Strategy for Information Sharing. It covers PM-ISE's reporting responsibilities pertaining to the… (read more)

This book documents Virginia Tech's experience in developing and implementing a behavioral threat assessment process in the time following the campus shootings on April 16, 2007. In the course of building its behavioral threat assessment capacity, Virginia Tech created considerable documentation to support its Threat Assessment Team and related efforts. This documentation, which appears in… (read more)

In May 2015, a Federal interagency Working Group, established by Executive Order 13688 and co-chaired by the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and Defense with members from several other Federal agencies, delivered a report to the President entitled, "Recommendations Pursuant to Executive Order 13688: Federal Support for Local Law Enforcement… (read more)

Food insecurity the lack of reliable access to sufficient quantities of affordable, nutritious food is common at colleges and universities across the country, potentially undermining the educational success of untold thousands of students. Given its potential impact, the collective understanding of this issue is still far too limited. The existing studies on campus food insecurity have almost… (read more)

This report describes research on victim and professional perspectives on the delivery of victim notification procedures, implementation of new victim notification processes, victim engagement within the criminal justice system, and recommendations for improvements.

The Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drug Misuse Prevention and Recovery (HECAOD) is a premier alcohol and drug misuse prevention and recovery resource for colleges and universities across the nation. It is the mission of the HECAOD, in partnership with the nation's colleges and universities, to promote student success nationally by providing data-driven solutions to alcohol and drug… (read more)

The Healthy Minds Network for Research on Adolescent and Young Adult Mental Health (HMN) is dedicated to improving the mental and emotional well-being of young people by addressing the connection between their mental health and their health behaviors, physical health, and social, educational, and economic outcomes. Taking a public health approach, HMN focuses on 3 main objectives: (1) producing… (read more)

Campus hazing can have far-reaching negative consequences for individual students and their families; student organizations, groups, and teams; and the broader campus community. Because hazing is a complex issue that reflects campus culture, there is no one size fits all solution. The purpose of this Hazing Prevention Toolkit for Campus Professionals is to describe components of a data-driven… (read more)

The goal of this document is to provide guidance and share best practices to local officials on planning, training, equipping (including personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as the stages of response and recovery. It includes recommendations on all the phases of response. Community involvement is integral in planning, mitigation, response, and recovery, but this document is specifically… (read more)

"This report represents the progress countries have made in implementing the recommendations of the 2002 World report on violence and health. The specific aims of the report are to:
• Describe the state of the problem of interpersonal violence worldwide and the extent to which countries are collecting data on fatal and non-fatal violence to inform planning and action
• Assess the current… (read more)

Restrictions on legal gun owners carrying firearms in public places have been removed or greatly weakened in most states over the past three decades. Eight states now have laws that, generally, allow individuals who can legally carry guns elsewhere to bring guns onto college campuses. In 24 states, colleges and universities have the authority to allow or forbid civilians from having firearms on… (read more)

In the last several years, U.S. Law Enforcement has seen a dramatic increase in the availability of dangerous synthetic opioids. A large majority of these synthetic opioids are structural derivatives of the synthetic drug fentanyl. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid currently listed as a Schedule II prescription drug that mimics the effects of morphine in the human body, but has potency 50-100 times… (read more)

These recommendations are the result of a Federal Interagency Working Group coordinated by the White House National Security Council. Stakeholder associations and organizations representing the medical, public health, law enforcement, Fire/EMS, and occupational safety and health disciplines provided invaluable input to inform the Interagency Working Group's efforts, and their feedback helped… (read more)

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) factsheet highlights the Act's current successes.

This is the Association for University College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD) documented list of mental health needs changes on campuses.

Every Choice is a program designed to inspire and motivate students to take action when faced with a potential act of sexual violence, dating or domestic violence, or stalking. Every Choice is aimed at reducing campus violence and stalking by equipping students with realistic, actionable bystander intervention tools.

This document explains the legal requirements for establishing penetration in sexual assault prosecutions and offers strategies for effectively identifying, evaluating, and presenting evidence of penetration. First, it summarizes the categories of criminal sex offense statutes and outlines the legal requirements to establish penetration. Second, it provides strategies to prepare for and try… (read more)

When incidents of school violence occur, they leave a profound and lasting impact on the school, the community, and our nation as a whole. Ensuring safe environments for elementary and secondary school students, educators, administrators, and others is essential. This operational guide was developed to provide fundamental direction on how to prevent incidents of targeted school violence, that is… (read more)