NIJs Research and Evaluation on Drugs and Crime Program

Deadline: 31-Mar-25

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Research and Evaluation on Drugs and Crime Program supports rigorous applied research on drugs and crime to inform the development of evidence-based tools, practices, and policies for state, tribal, and local law enforcement and other criminal justice agencies that address drug trafficking, drug markets, and drug-related violence.

NIJ’s drugs and crime research informs crime reduction through several approaches including:

Epidemiology: to increase the field’s understanding of patterns between drugs, alcohol, violence, and crime to inform communities and service providers.
Drug Markets: to increase the field’s understanding about the dynamics of drug production and distribution in domestic and international markets.
Market Disruption: to identify and evaluate strategies to disrupt drug markets at different levels and by type of market.

Goals

The goal of this NOFO is to provide objective and independent knowledge and tools that support law enforcement and other agencies in state, tribal, and local jurisdictions in their efforts to advance criminal justice system strategies with respect to drugs and crime.

Objectives

The objective of this NOFO is to support applied drugs and crime research that aids the understanding of critical intersections in trends, interdiction, and prosecution of drug crimes and firearm offenses and the efforts to disrupt those criminal activities and related violence.

Topics

NIJ seeks applications for funding rigorous applied research on the intersection of drug crimes and firearm3 offenses in trends, interdiction, and prosecution, and efforts to disrupt those criminal activities and related violence. Topics of interest include:
- Firearm seizure trends and variations according to drug markets and other variables and how firearms are obtained (robbery, burglary, etc.) and used to facilitate drug crimes (guns for drugs)
- Firearms distribution and trafficking trends related to drug markets, and effectiveness of law enforcement approaches to interdiction (locally or in transit, upon entering the U.S. or heading for U.S. borders).
- Crime gun trends in relation to drug distribution networks, key indicators to track information about the firearms and other aspects (time-to-crime, use of straw purchasers, or ballistic evidence case associations), and effectiveness of strategies to combat their proliferation.
- Case outcomes concerning sentencing enhancements, plea bargaining, and recidivism for individuals involved in drug markets and in possession of firearms (whether lawful or unlawful).

Funding Information

Total Amount to Be Awarded Under This Funding Opportunity: $2 million
Anticipated Award Ceiling: Approximately $700,000.

Duration

Anticipated Period of Performance Duration: Awards will normally not exceed a three-year (36 Months) period of performance.

Eligibility Criteria

The types of entities that are eligible to apply for this funding opportunity are listed below:
- Government Entities
  - State governments
  - County governments
  - City or township governments
  - Special district governments
  - Native American Tribal governments (federally recognized)
  - Native American Tribal governments (other than federally recognized)
- Educational Organizations
  - Independent school districts
  - Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education
  - Private institutions of higher education
- Public Housing Organizations
  - Public housing authorities
  - Indian housing authorities
- Nonprofit Organizations
  - Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), other than institutions of higher education
  - Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- For-Profit Organizations
  - Organizations other than small businesses
  - Small businesses
- Other
  - Other Units of Local Government

For more information, visit Grants.gov.