Application deadline: July 3, 2008
OVC is accepting applications for a Victim Justice Program Specialist position. Responsibilities include reviewing the activities of grantees and contractors to ensure compliance and identifying successful activities for replication in other areas. For more information, visit Job Opportunities at OVC. (OVC)

Application period: May 30 to July 31, 2008
The Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor is the highest national award for valor by a public safety officer. The medal is awarded by the President to public safety officers who have exhibited exceptional courage in protecting or saving human lives. Submit an online application at the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Web site. (BJA)

National Crime Victims' Rights Week will be observed April 26-May 2, 2009. Save the date for the National Observance and Candlelight Ceremony on April 23 and the Attorney General's Crime Victims' Service Awards Ceremony on April 24. (OVC)

Application deadline: Open (contingent upon fund availability)
Helping Outreach Programs Expand (HOPE) grant awards help recipients improve their outreach and services to crime victims. Funds may be used by grassroots, nonprofit, community-based, and faith-based victim services organizations and coalitions to develop programs, aid networking, build coalitions, and deliver services. (OVC)

Application deadline: November 21, 2008
The NIJ Graduate Research Fellowship 2009 grant provides dissertation research support to outstanding doctoral students undertaking independent research on issues related to crime and justice. Students from academic disciplines are encouraged to apply and propose original research that has direct implications for criminal justice. (NIJ)

Application deadline: July 18, 2008
The "Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement - Inmate Behavior Management: Implementation and Evaluation, offered by NIC's Jails Division, focuses on (1) assistance to selected jails in implementing the six elements of inmate behavior management and (2) evaluation of the process and impact of the implementation. The project award will be for a 2-year period. (NIC)

"Effective Police Communications Systems Require New 'Governance'" (NCJ 222362, 2 pp.) describes how police departments effectively communicate with each other to protect and serve citizens. To do that, police departments create "governance" agreements to jointly own, operate, and manage communications systems for the benefit of all participating agencies, which may be in different counties or states. (NIJ)

Findings from "Study of Deaths Following Electro Muscular Disruption: Interim Report" (NCJ 222981, 21 pp.) show that the risk of death or serious injury is low when police use conducted energy devices (CEDs) on healthy adults. Certain groups of people, including children, the elderly, pregnant women, and people who have heart disease, may be at higher risk of injury or death from CEDs. (NIJ)

"Jail Inmates at Midyear 2007" (NCJ 221945, 11 pp.) presents data on numbers of jails and inmates at midyear 2007 and analyzes patterns of growth from 2000 through 2007. This report includes data on rated capacity of jails, percent of capacity occupied, and capacity added. It provides estimates of admissions to jails and details movement among the jail population. (BJS)

The COPS Office's latest issue of Community Policing Dispatch is available online. Articles include stories about police recruitment challenges, California's gang prevention network, a new COPS program to combat child sexual predators, and the murder prevention star strategy for preventing homicides. (COPS)

"Police Enforcement Strategies to Prevent Crime in Hot Spot Areas" (NCJ 223196, 36 pp.) is the second report in the Crime Prevention Research Review series. Using advances in mapping technology, it investigates whether focused police efforts in targeted areas help to control crime or merely relocate it, and concludes that police focus on high-crime areas can have a positive effect on lowering crime. (COPS)

"Prison Inmates at Midyear 2007" (NCJ 221944, 24 pp.) presents data on prisoners under jurisdiction of federal or state correctional authorities on June 30, 2007, collected from the National Prisoner Statistics series. It describes changes in the prison population during the first six months of 2007, compared to changes from yearend 2000 through yearend 2006. (BJS)

"Crime Prevention Research Reviews No. 1: Disrupting Street-Level Drug Markets" (NCJ 219956, 32 pp.) summarizes the findings from academic studies evaluating a range of street-level drug law enforcement interventions. The report finds that strategic crime-control partnerships with a range of third parties are more effective at disrupting drug problems than law enforcement-only approaches. (COPS)

"Best Practices To Address Community Gang Problems: OJJDP's Comprehensive Gang Model" (NCJ 222799, 74 pp.) guides communities responding to a gang problem in implementing OJJDP's Comprehensive Gang Model. It describes best practices learned from practitioners experienced in planning and implementing the model and notes findings from evaluations of programs demonstrating the model. (OJJDP)

"The Evaluation of the Judicial Oversight Demonstration: Findings and Lessons on Implementation" (NCJ 219077, 28 pp.) reports on an effort to improve the provision of services to victims of intimate partner violence (IPV), increase victim safety, and hold offenders more accountable. The report discusses some of the findings of an evaluation of the initiative and presents lessons learned about implementing court-involved IPV prevention programs. (NIJ)

"Sexual Victimization in Local Jails Reported by Inmates, 2007" (NCJ 221946, 12 pp.) presents data from the 2007 National Inmate Survey (NIS), conducted in 282 local jails between April and December, with a sample of 40,419 inmates. It includes national-level and facility-level estimates of nonconsensual sexual acts, abusive sexual contacts, inmate-on-inmate and staff-on-inmate victimization, and level of coercion. (BJS)

OVC invites you to add your summer and fall 2008 events to the National Calendar of Crime Victim Assistance-Related Events. The National Calendar helps you locate, plan, and promote victim assistance-related events nationwide, allowing you to connect with a larger victim service audience and gain national exposure. Add your conferences, trainings, observances, and other activities today. (OVC)

Visit OVC's Help for Victims of Identity Theft Web page to learn about the latest OVC-funded programs and the help they provide to crime victims of identity theft and fraud. The grantees featured range from national, regional, and state resources to local service providers. (OVC)

OJJDP offers complementary online resources to inform subscribers. OJJDP's JUVJUST listserv provides information weekly on juvenile justice and other youth service-related publications, funding opportunities, and events; the bimonthly newsletter OJJDP News @ a Glance provides indepth coverage. Subscribe to both to keep informed. (OJJDP)

The 18th International Association of Forensic Sciences Triennial Meeting will be held July 21-25, 2008, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Since 1998, this is the first time the conference is being held in the United States. Session topics include expert witness testimony techniques for forensic scientists, cyberspace: civil and criminal collaboration and enforcement, and the international forensic summit. (NIJ)

On July 16-18, 2008, in St. Louis, Missouri, BJA will host the G.R.E.A.T. National Training Conference. Goals include preventing youth crime, violence, and gang involvement; developing positive relationships with youth; and improving the delivery of the middle school curriculum, elementary school curriculum, summer program, and G.R.E.A.T. Families program. (BJA)

Registration is open for the Technology Institute for Rural Law Enforcement, to be held October 26-30, 2008, in Coronado, California. This institute is designed for the command staff of rural and small law enforcement agencies containing less than 50 sworn officers. Registrants will learn about and discuss technology initiatives and issues affecting the rural and small law enforcement community. (NIJ)

Register now for OVC's upcoming training workshops, including Providing Culturally Competent Services to Victims of Crime, September 16-18, 2008, in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Enforcing Victims' Rights, October 29-30, 2008, in Charleston, South Carolina. To view course descriptions and learning objectives or to register, visit the OVC TTAC Web Site. (OVC)

Closing Overt Drug Markets: "The High Point Initiative" will be held September 22-23, 2008, in Greensboro, North Carolina. The High Point Police Department will discuss its Drug Market Intervention strategy, which has been successful in reducing violent crime in several local neighborhoods, specifically the West End neighborhood. Law enforcement department heads, prosecutors, and community and government leaders should attend. (BJA)