The report concludes that BJS's data collection portfolio is a solid body of work, well justified by public information needs or legal requirements and a commendable effort to meet its broad mandate given less-than-commensurate fiscal resources. Identified were some major gaps in the substantive coverage of BJS data, such as white-collar crime, civil justice, juvenile justice, and contextual factors, such as the interaction between drugs and crime. However, the methodological challenges involved in filling these major gaps preclude doing so under BJS's current funding; it would require increased and sustained support in terms of staff and fiscal resources. Two strong organizational measures are suggested to reduce the likelihood that BJS and its officials are inappropriately treated in the future: 1) BJS's current administrative position within the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is detrimental to the agency's function, it is recommended that BJS be moved out of OJP; and 2) that the position of BJS director be made a fixed-term presidential appointment with Senate confirmation. BJS's NCVS has unique value in providing insight on the etiology, as well as the characteristics, of crime not reported to police. It is critically important for the NCVS to continue to provide annual estimates of levels and changes in criminal victimization, and be funded commensurately, but also that the NCVS's substantive reach grow through the use of topic supplements. This report suggests a mix of short- and long-term ideas for improving the evidence with which crime and justice policy in the United States is developed. The strategic goals suggested through this report provide BJS a set of principles against which the content of its data collection portfolio can be assessed.