U.S. Department of Justice: Justice Accountability Initiative – Pilot Projects Using Data-driven Systems To Reduce Crime and Recidivism

The Justice Accountability Initiative (JAI) aims to reduce recidivism and reform the criminal justice system by improving the effectiveness of risk assessments and to be more data-driven system-wide. JAI’s objective, in part, is to increase communication, data sharing, and cooperative efforts among corrections, probation, and local law enforcement to better identify and monitor the behavior of released violent offenders. JAI will also help grantees to build data analysis capacity; diagnose and address problems as they arise or share dashboards; conduct social network analysis; and consistently gather and validate intelligence collected in jails and prisons (e.g., security threat groups). Additionally, the proactive sharing of this information will serve to augment the value of predictive policing models and intelligence gathering, and ultimately aid in the reduction of violent crime.

JAI is accepting applications under the following two categories:

• Category 1: Reduce crime by reducing the risk of recidivism, particularly violent recidivism, by developing, improving, and implementing automated risk prediction tools (algorithms) and capabilities (needs assessments and supervision plans). Automated risk prediction tools will also save in costs and operational efficiency by augmenting both law enforcement’s and probation’s capacities to monitor and prevent violent crime from re-occurring.
• Category 2: Develop comprehensive and integrated data-sharing and notification systems about violent offenders being released into their communities (e.g., between law enforcement and corrections authorities).

Amount: Dependent on each category, as follows:

• Category 1: A total of $10,000,000 is available to make five awards of up to $2,000,000 each. The period of performance is 24 months.
• Category 2: A total of $10,000,000 is available to make three awards of up to $3,300,000. The period of performance is 36 months.

Eligibility: Tribal, state, and local jails, prisons, and law enforcement agencies, national scope private and nonprofit organizations (including tribal nonprofit or for-profit organizations), and colleges and universities, both public and private (including tribal institutions of higher education). To the extent the applicant is a state or local government entity, in order to validly accept this award, the chief legal officer of that jurisdiction must properly execute, and the applicant must submit, the specific certifications regarding compliance with certain federal laws. See the solicitation for more details regarding eligibility.

Link: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=306680

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