This solicitation will support field-initiated, methodologically rigorous research and/or evaluations focused on interactions between law enforcement and youth, with practical implications for the identification and development of programs and policies that ensure officer, youth, and community safety.
The proposed research should consider the variety of settings and contexts where law enforcement and youth interactions occur. OJJDP is particularly interested in proposals that include partnerships between researchers, local law enforcement, and communities that generate relevant and actionable findings. Examples of some of OJJDP's topics of interest are outlined below. Applicants may propose research projects that focus on these topics, or they may choose to justify their own area of investigation focused on law enforcement and youth interactions.
The objectives of the program include the following:
- Identify one or more research questions that will address a gap or need around law enforcement and youth interactions in order to identify and develop strategies that ensure law enforcement, youth, and community safety
- Document a structure for conducting and managing the proposed research or evaluation project that ensures research independence and integrity
- Investigate the research question(s) via a scientifically valid, rigorous, research design and methodology
- Translate the research findings into practical information for policymakers and practitioners as they strive to enhance law enforcement and youth interactions.
NOTE: Because of NIJ's ongoing school safety work, this research is intended to focus exclusively on youth interactions with patrol or street-level officers (sworn officers assigned to patrol duties within the community); applications focused on youth interactions with school resource officers will not be considered under this solicitation.