Special Data Collections and Statistical Studies

Program goal(s) name: Produce and share justice data for data-driven policy making.

Program goal(s) description: To produce and disseminate relevant, accurate, timely, reliable, and objective information about the justice system at the Federal, State, local, and tribal levels. These data are critical to federal, state, local, and tribal policymakers in addressing crime and ensuring that justice is both efficient and evenhanded.

Program objective(s) name: Collect and share justice data.

Program objective(s) description: Collect, analyze, publish, and disseminate information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government; Adhere to rigorous principles and practices to support the quality of BJS’s statistical activities; and protect the privacy and confidentiality of respondents and the trust of data providers, and adhere to applicable federal laws, regulations, policies, and other authorities that govern BJS data.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics is authorized to award grants and cooperative agreements to State and local governments, private nonprofit organizations, public nonprofit organizations, profit organizations, institutions of higher education, and qualified individuals. Applicants from the Territories of the United States and federally recognized Indian Tribal Governments are also eligible to participate in this program.

All final award decisions will be made by the Assistant Attorney General, unless a statute explicitly authorizes award decisions by another official or there is written delegation of authority to another official. For successful applicants, JustGrants will send a system-generated email to the Application Submitter, Authorized Representative, and Entity Administrator with information on accessing their official award package in JustGrants. The award package will include key information (such as funding amount and period of performance) as well as award conditions that must be followed. The Authorized Representative for the entity should accept or decline the award within 45 days of the notification.

The review procedure for applications is specified in the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) and generally includes eligibility and responsiveness, merit, programmatic, budget, and risk reviews.