LAW SUBJECTS DIRECTORY

Criminal Justice

Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) - Premiere professional association devoted to scholarly study of criminal justice issues, composed primarily of college professors.

American Bar Association (ABA) - Lobby group composed primarily of lawyers working on solutions to the nation's crime problem.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) - Interest group that uses whatever means necessary to preserve human rights, especially in the face of justice systems.

American Correctional Association (ACA) - Premiere correctional employee association for those interested in professionalism, runs a program which accredits prisons.

American Council for Drug Education (ACDE) - Group dedicated to diminishing drug use and its impact through gathering and disseminating data.

American Judicature Society (AJS) - Nonpartisan group of judges, lawyers, and citizens working toward better judicial selection, ethics, and effectiveness in criminal justice.

American Society of Criminology (ASC) - Premiere professional association devoted to the scholarly study of crime, composed primarily of college professors.

American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) - Premiere professional association for the private security industry.

Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) - Dedicated to system-strengthening, a part of the LEAA-LEEP legacy, and their website contains a copy of the Omnibus Crime Control & Safe Streets Act of 1968.

Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) - Operates as a kind of government think tank, employing Ph.D. talent that would otherwise go into teaching.

Bureau of Justice Statistics/Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics - The federal government contracts out the Sourcebook to SUNY-Albany, which contains what are regarded as the most important data tables.

Center for Court Innovation - Research on community courts and community-based initiatives from this NYC agency; see the Center's courts page for how family and drug problems are handled.

Center on Crime, Communities, and Culture (CCCC) - Nonprofit agency looking for ways to turn crime debate into discussions about ways to improve social life in general.

Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ) - Nonprofit organization designed to reduce reliance on use of prison as solution to social problems.

Center for Public Integrity - Watchdog group for violations of public trust/ethical misconduct among officials.

Children's Defense Fund - Leading child advocacy group, concerned with every aspect of child safety, health, and crime.

Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants - A popular group interested in all things dealing with rehabilitation of criminals.

Community Policing Consortium - A partnership of various police-related organizations which plays a principal role in proliferating the philosophy and programs of community policing.

Crime Prevention Coalition of America - Nonpartisan group representing a number of different agencies which is devoted to greater freedom, security, and respect for the rights of all.

Criminal Justice Policy Foundation - Conducts surveys and research on solutions to criminal justice problems like drug policy and policing.

Federal Bureau of Investigation/Crime Statistics - The nation's oldest form of crime reporting, since 1935 with UCR, now NIBRS.

Heritage Foundation - Nation's major conservative think tank dedicated to preserving America's traditional values.

The Injustice Line - Web page by a private attorney who documents injustices, mostly racial injustices, in the criminal justice system.

Institute for Global Communication (IGC) - Group of radical-oriented social justice organizations with a variety of causes, many of which relate to criminal justice.

Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR) - Research organization specializing in law enforcement, juvenile and criminal justice issues.

Institute of Investigative Technology (IIT) - Division of Accuquest surveillance equipment Corp.

Institute for Forensics - Seattle-based group of professors and practitioners.

Institute for Law and Justice (ILJ) - Private, nonprofit research and consulting firm which reviews legislation for impact analysis.

International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) - One of the nation's oldest professional associations dedicated to police professionalism.

Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) - An institute at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor which for years has collected the nation's dissertations as well as datasets of other researchers on the criminal justice system.

Justice For All - An advocate for change group out of Houston aimed at making the criminal justice system better at protecting the lives and property of law-abiding citizens.

Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA) - National organization for all the state's Statistical Analysis Centers; each state must have a centralized information clearinghouse to receive federal funds.

Milton Eisenhower Foundation - continuation of the Kerner Commission's work.

Mitretek Systems, Inc.  - a former Dept. of Defense contractor who claims to provide an impartial, objective view of what's needed in the criminal justice system.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) - A group determined to stop drunk driving and support victims of this crime.

National Association of Attorneys Generals - Promoting cooperation, coordination, and communication among chief legal officers. 

National Center for Rural Law Enforcement - Dr. Lee Colwell's Institute in Arkansas. 

National Center on Institutions and Alternatives (NCIA) -- Nonprofit organization that publishes the "Safest Cities in America" reports, among other things.

National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics (aka SEARCH) - A clearinghouse for criminal justice shareware, online databases, and other means of information sharing and/or standardization.

National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) - Nearly a century of experience at consulting and giving expert opinion of criminal justice reform.

National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) - Home of McGruff the Crime Dog and a number of other crime prevention measures designed to promote greater public awareness about crime safety.

National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA) - A special interest group that represents states on crime control matters.

National Fraud Information Center - A group fighting to increase penalties for telemarketing scams, Internet abuses, and related crimes.

National Center for State Courts (NCSC) - Serves as a clearinghouse for information about modernizing the court, jury, and trial systems.

National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA) - Public interest group that represents the states whenever the federal government considers crime or justice-related legislation.

National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) - What's left of the LEAA-LEEP bureaucracy, which from 1969-1978 was the federal government's largest agency in the wars on poverty and crime.

National Institute of Corrections (NIC) - Research arm of the Dept. of Justice that looks at correctional practice and policy.

National Institute of Justice (NIJ) - The research and development arm of the Dept. of Justice.

National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) - Presents a unified voice about issues in the administration of justice and inner-city crime from black police chiefs across the nation.

National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) - Nonprofit organization working for victim's rights and services.

National Rifle Association (NRA) - Lobby group promoting the safer use of guns in our society and fighting gun control efforts of every variety.

National Sheriff's Association - Nonprofit organization dedicated to raising the level of professionalism among those in criminal justice.

National Victim's Center - Clearinghouse for much information about victim-related issues and advocacy, from stalking to domestic violence.

Office of International Criminal Justice (OICJ) - Institute at the University of Illinois-Chicago with ties to a number of different police and correctional interests, mostly scholarly, hosts The Keeper's Voice, the IACO newsletter.

Office of Justice Programs - Founded in 1984 to evaluate the effectiveness of various programs and promote comprehensive planning.

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) - Designed to provide comprehensive planning and control of the American juvenile justice system.

Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) - The nation's newest Cabinet-level agency, home of the "drug czar" in charge of strategic planning, tells the DEA what to do.

Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) - Nation's leading advocate for the fair treatment of victims, a resource coordination agency.

Partnerships Against Violence Netword (PAVNet) () - A group of seven separate federal agencies working together on the problem of violence and the reduction of redundant information.

Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) - Partnership organization of academics and chiefs from the nation's largest cities dedicated to innovative policing, professionalism, research, and involvement in public debate.

Public Agenda - Nonprofit, public opinion and citizen education agency that provides background information and discussion frameworks on many issues where public opinion could be misinterpreted.

Public Integrity Research Corporation (PIRC) - Nonprofit, public interest agency dedicated to exposing injustice and ethical misconduct.

Rand Corporation - Nonprofit insitution and nation's major think tank on policy decisionmaking, involved in a number of national security issues, including crime control, career criminals, drug laws, sentencing, prison management, and equity of criminal justice.

Research Triangle Institute - North Carolina-based think tank that conducts research on crime problem mostly from an environmental or epidemiological standpoint; drug research, and police systems.

Rule of Law Foundation - Dedicated to bringing American-style justice to the emerging democracies of the world.

The Sentencing Project - Group devoted to alleviating prison overcrowding by advocating alternative sentencing and corrections policy, hosts of the Campaign for an Effective Crime Policy.

Society of Police Futurists International - Partnership group between academics and practitioners which seeks to develop long-range forecasts about crime and the use of technology in crime fighting.

U.S. Census Bureau - Maintains the most commonly uses datafiles that agencies use for planning, etc.

Vera Institute of Justice - Nonprofit agency working to establish more humane alternatives to prison and the justice system in general; their 1961 Manhattan Bail Project introduced the concept of Release on Recognizance, for example.

Violence Policy Center - Nonprofit agency concerned with firearms violence, the number of guns manufactured in the U.S., and anything gun-related.