Frequently Asked Questions

The Maps section of the National Drug Court Resource Center (NDCRC) website provides information about drug courts throughout the United States. NDCRC is a project supported by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). Also see Drug Courts, a resource produced by BJA, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Drug Courts Special Feature section of our site for additional information.

Statistics on individuals sentenced to death in the United States may be accessed from the Capital Punishment section of the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) website.

Less-lethal technology devices serve to minimize the risk of death and injury to public safety officers, suspects, detainees, and the public. Information about less-lethal technologies can be found on the Less-Lethal Technologies section of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) website. This page captures information about the topic and provides links to NIJ resources and reports concerning these technologies.

Also see the Less Lethal Technologies section of our website for additional resources.

Data on indigent defense is available on the Indigent Defense Systems section of the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) website.

Information on the use of DNA to exonerate inmates postconviction can be found on the Wrongful Convictions and the Exonerations Resulting from NIJ Postconviction DNA Testing Funding sections of the National Institute of Justice website.

Through grant funding, the Office of Justice Programs has provided millions of dollars to state and local forensic science laboratories to increase casework capacity, reduce backlogs, and improve quality. For example, grants obtained through the Postconviction Testing of DNA Evidence program can be used to help defray the costs associated with postconviction DNA testing for violent felony offenses in which actual innocence might be demonstrated.

State court information is available on the National Center for State Courts website. See the Courts section of our site for additional resources.

The Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative serves as a Federal Advisory Committee (FAC) and advises the U.S. Attorney General on justice information sharing and integration initiatives. It represents more than thirty independent organizations spanning the spectrum of law enforcement, judicial, correctional, and related bodies. For further information, visit the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative website.

Information on the types of juvenile court cases that have been waived to criminal court is available in the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) fact sheet, Delinquency Cases Waived to Criminal Court, 2018. Additional information is available on the Juveniles in Court section of the OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book.

The National Institute of Justice's CrimeSolutions website provides results of rigorous research to inform practitioners and policy makers about what works in criminal justice, juvenile justice, and crime victim services.

Go to CrimeSolutions to find:

• Research on the effectiveness of programs and practices as reviewed by CrimeSolutions.gov researchers and reviewers
• Easily understandable ratings (Effective, Promising, No Effects) based on the evidence that indicates whether a program or practice achieves its goals
• Key program and practice information and research findings

For youth programs, see the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Model Program Guide.