NIJ Journal Issue No. 256

• NCJ Number: 216522
• Journal: National Institute of Justice Journal Issue: 256 Dated: 2007 Pages: 1-26
• Date Published: January 2007
• Length: 29 pages
• Publication Series: NIJ Journal
• Agencies: NIJ
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research); Program/Project Description

Annotation

Five articles report on research and programs funded by the U.S. Justice Department's National Institute of Justice (NIJ).

Abstract

The first article presents a multifaceted strategy that NIJ is funding to improve procedures and resources for matching the DNA samples of unidentified human remains with DNA reference samples of missing persons or their family members. A second article reports on five research projects that have identified factors that influence citizens' satisfaction with the police. The research suggests that citizen satisfaction with police is shaped by demographic variables, neighborhood crime conditions, and experiences with the police, whether firsthand or indirect. Race was found to be an indirect rather than a direct factor in citizen satisfaction with police. A third article describes an online, 15-module training course on the use of DNA evidence in criminal cases. It is intended primarily for judges, prosecutors, and criminal defense attorneys, who regularly deal with DNA evidence and expert testimony. A fourth article reports on research that examined the prevalence and consequences of the sexual assault of intimate partners as part of a pattern of physical abuse. The study found a high incidence of such sexual assaults and its consequences for the mental and physical health of the victims and their children were found to be greater than for victims who experienced physical abuse alone. The fifth article summarizes the recommendations of the expert panel, the Kinship and Data analysis Panel (KADAP), that analyzed, advised, and drew lessons from the procedures used to identify victims of the September 11 World Trade Center terrorist attacks. The report's focus is on the matching of DNA samples from unidentified human remains with reference samples from known victims or their family members.