Frequently Asked Questions

If you have a complaint regarding conditions within a federal correctional facility, please contact the facility directly with your concerns. You can conduct a search for the facility's contact information on the Federal Bureau of Prisons' Our Locations site.

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) sponsored publication, Offender Race and Case Outcomes: Do Crime Seriousness and Strength of Evidence Matter? Final Activities Report, examines the effect of race on a series of case processing decisions and compares case outcomes for offenders charged with a variety of felonies.

Studies on the effectiveness of police patrols can be found on the CrimeSolutions website. Once on the site, conduct a search for the term "patrol". The CrimeSolutions site uses rigorous research to inform practitioners and policy makers about what works in criminal justice, juvenile justice, and crime victim services and includes multiple program evaluations for hot spot policing initiatives.

Additional research on targeted police patrols is available in the following resources produced or sponsored by the National Institute of Justice:

• Reducing Firearms Violence Through Directed Police Patrol: Final Report on the Evaluation of the Indianapolis Police Department's Directed Patrol Project
• Does Crime Just Move Around the Corner? A Study of Displacement and Diffusion in Jersey City, NJ
• The Kansas City Gun Experiment

For information on crime victims with disabilities, visit the Victims with Disabilities section of the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) website.

Information on the use of pepper spray by law enforcement are available in the following resources produced or sponsored by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ):

• Pepper Spray: Research Insights on Effects and Effectiveness Have Curbed Its Appeal
• Police Use of Force, Tasers and Other Less-Lethal Weapons and in the NIJ-sponsored publications:
• Deaths in Police Confrontations When Oleoresin Capsicum is Used
• Evaluation of Oleoresin Capsicum (O.C.) Use by Law Enforcement Agencies: Impact on Injuries to Officers and Suspects, Final Activity Report

Additional information is available by doing a search of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service Abstracts Database/Virtual Library.

Victim compensation eligibility is determined by each State Victim Compensation Program. For additional information, visit the Victim Compensation section of the Office for Victims of Crime website.

Information about crack cocaine is available on the Cocaine section of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) website.

Information on cyberbullying is available on the Cyberbullying and Cyberstalking section of the Internet Safety Special Feature.

Visit the History of the Department of Justice webpage for information.

The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) funds civil legal aid programs around the nation to help Americans gain equal access to the judicial system. To find the nearest LSC program, visit the LSC Program Directory

You may also obtain a lawyer referral from the Find Legal Help section of the American Bar Association website. This site provides tools that can assist you in locating a lawyer based upon your specific legal need.