Corrections

More than 7 million people—3.2 percent of all American adults—were imprisoned or on parole in 2006.

NIJ funds efforts to make prisons safer for both inmates and prison staff, to assess alternative sentencing, and to help inmates more effectively reenter the outside world.

Safer Prisons. To make prisons safer, NIJ sponsors research, development, and evaluation initiatives designed to anticipate and prevent, or mitigate problems faced by corrections officers and administrators. 

Prisoner Reentry. NIJ seeks to improve corrections by helping offenders return to the community.

Science and Technology. Technology can improve the safety of prison staff. Technology is also useful in community corrections settings that offer inexpensive, humanitarian alternatives to imprisonment for offenders.