Bureau of Justice Statistics – Statistical Support Program (BJS-SSP)

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is the principal federal statistical agency in the Department of Justice and conducts more than 70 statistical collections about victimization, victim service providers, policing, prosecution, courts, and institutional and community corrections. Through these collections, BJS analyzes and publishes official national and subnational statistics about crime, criminal justice systems, and the flow of individuals through these systems. The data produced through these collections are critical to our nation’s efforts to (1) accurately produce key statistics on the amount and distribution of crime; (2) understand the various systems and processes that investigate, prosecute, punish, and manage criminal justice-involved individuals, and (3) mitigate the prospective risk and harm they pose to society. As an objective, independent statistical agency, BJS must constantly adapt to the changing landscape in how criminal justice statistics are collected, analyzed, and disseminated to continue producing the accurate and trustworthy information that the nation expects.

The purpose of the BJS Statistical Support Program (BJS-SSP) is to undertake critical statistical and methodological research to support new and existing collections as BJS continues to modernize its statistical programs to meet the nation’s needs for timely and accurate criminal justice data. In collaboration with BJS, RTI will conduct the following objectives: (1) provide the project management infrastructure necessary for the BJS-SSP to ensure it operates efficiently, (2) perform statistical project work, including special and ad hoc analysis that address emerging issues or high priorities that require quick turnaround, and (3) design and conduct sample projects on specific topics to further existing or new data collections. The BJS-SSP will be conducted by RTI International’s staff of technical specialists and nationally recognized subject matter experts with experience across the criminal justice system. Expected outcomes include one to two BJS-directed statistical or methodological tasks per year. For each assigned task/project will be documented through and analysis plans, data and documentation, interim and final reports, and presentations.