Partnerships with Other Countries
Forging formal and informal agreements with counterpart agencies.
The International Center relies on partnerships to carry out much of its mission. These may involve international researchers, the United Nations, other U.S. government agencies, or foreign governments.
International Researchers
NIJ funds may only be issued to U.S.-based institutions or individuals; however the U.S.-based organization may arrange to partner with non-U.S. entities. This should be indicated in the grant proposal submitted by the U.S. researcher. In some cases, the International Center specifically seeks the support of the international research community to resolve a research question.
The International Center has funded research partnerships in the following countries:
- Burma—Research project on drug smuggling.
- China—Studies on the social organization of human trafficking.
- El Salvador —Studying the extent of international networking by the MS-13 gang.
- Mexico and Canada— Research project on the commercial sexual exploitation of children.
- SouthAfrica Exploratory research on smuggling of natural resources.
United Nations (UN)
The Chief of the International Center has a very important duty as the criminal justice advisor to the U.S. Department of State's annual delegation to the UN Crime Commission. This is the United State's primary means of influence on the criminal justice policies of the UN.
- Program Network Institutes (PNI). Additionally, NIJ is the agency that represents U.S. criminal justice interests to the UN's PNI. Member institutes conduct research into crime and justice issues and, in some cases, provide training in specific criminal justice-related fields to organizations within their geographic region.
Other government agencies
The International Center co-funds research projects with other government agencies. Some of these projects involve other agencies within the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), such as the Office for Victims of Crime and the Office for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. In addition to these agencies, NIJ also co-funds projects with the Department of State, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Homeland Security.
Foreign Governments
Research Institute Director's Network
NIJ formed the Research Institute Directors Network in 1998. During four annual meetings from 1998 to 2001, representatives from different research institutes met to discuss areas of mutual concern.
International Center Research Project In South Africa
The National Institute of Justice worked on a project with the South African Institute of Strategic Studies (ISS) and Medical Research Council (MRC) to provide South African police, policymakers, and researchers with new tools to fight and study crime.
The project synthesized the results of a 2-year drug testing program that MRC carried out on arrestees in three South African sites (Capetown, Durban, and Gauteng Province, which contains the cities of Pretoria and Johannesburg, as well as the township of Soweto). The data from this program were augmented by other crime data.
The synthesis delineates the criminal and socioeconomic characteristics for each drug user type, based on the drug testing and crime study results. The end result was made available to South African law enforcement personnel in the form of a pocket-sized handbook. This handbook should enhance police awareness of drug issues and the social context from which they arise. More detailed results were made available to researchers and disseminated within the criminal justice policymaking community in South Africa. The data was compared with similar data from other countries.
This research project builds on the results of the MRC research on drug testing for arrestees, which took place as part of NIJ's I-ADAM program. Funding for this project was provided by the U.S. State Department.
Partnership with the Home Office, United Kingdom
Building on existing relationships with NIJ, such as a memorandum of understanding between the Police Scientific Development Branch (PSDB) and NIJ's Office of Science and Technology (see below), the United Kingdom Home Office invited NIJ participation in advisory committee meetings, which were set up as part of the United Kingdom's 3-year plan to reduce crime (begun in 1998). This plan used NIJ-sponsored research findings as a model for its strategies and policies.
NIJ's Office of Research and Evaluation and the Home Office's Research Development and Statistics Directorate and Policing and Reducing Crime Unit have established a strong working relationship.
In 2001, staff from the Research Development and Statistics Directorate visited NIJ and met with their counterparts working in the fields of violence against women and drugs. Higher ranking Home Office staff also visited NIJ and attended broader based discussions.
Memoranda of Understanding
NIJ has formal agreements with Israel and the United Kingdom. Agreements with additional countries are pending approval and signature.
- Israel—On February 10, 1999, representatives from the National Institute of Justice and the Ministry of Public Security of Israel signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The agreement provides a framework of for cooperation and collaboration between the two organizations in scientific research, knowledge, development, evaluation, and operational use of law enforcement scientific knowledge and technologies. Each side has identified staff to coordinate any exchanges of personnel or collaborative projects under the agreement. This MOU was renewed at a 2003 meeting and is not set to expire until 2009.
- United Kingdom—Signed February 19, 1997, by representatives from NIJ and the Home Office Police Scientific Development Branch (PSDB) of the United Kingdom. The MOU is a framework for cooperation and collaboration in research, development, evaluation, and operational use of law enforcement technologies. Four staff exchanges have been conducted under this agreement. The most recent saw Chris Miles of the Office of Science and Technology go to the PSDB. Tara Donnelly, a researcher with the PSDB, was at the Office of Science and Technology, conducting research on less-lethal weapon technology.
Partnership with Ukraine
The National Institute of Justice is overseeing a multiyear partnership initiative between researchers and practitioners in the United States and Ukraine. Funded by the U.S. State Department, this partnership links research and practice in the two countries' response to the challenge of crime.