There is established within the Department of Justice, under the general authority of the Attorney General, a National Institute of Justice (hereinafter referred to in this subchapter as the “Institute”).

The Institute shall be headed by a Director appointed by the President. The Director shall have had experience in justice research. The Director shall report to the Attorney General through the Assistant Attorney General. The Director shall have final authority over all grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts awarded by the Institute. The Director shall not engage in any other employment than that of serving as Director; nor shall the Director hold any office in, or act in any capacity for, any organization, agency, or institution with which the Institute makes any contract or other arrangement under this chapter.

The Institute is authorized to—

(1) make grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements or contracts with, public agencies, institutions of higher education, private organizations, or individuals to conduct research, demonstrations, or special projects pertaining to the purposes described in this subchapter, and provide technical assistance and training in support of tests, demonstrations, and special projects;

conduct or authorize multiyear and short-term research and development concerning the criminal and civil justice systems in an effort—

(A) to identify alternative programs for achieving system goals;

(B) to provide more accurate information on the causes and correlates of crime;

(C) to analyze the correlates of crime and juvenile delinquency and provide more accurate information on the causes and correlates of crime and juvenile delinquency;

(D) to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system;

(E) to develop new methods for the prevention and reduction of crime, including the development of programs to facilitate cooperation among the States and units of local government, the detection and apprehension of criminals, the expeditious, efficient, and fair disposition of criminal and juvenile delinquency cases, the improvement of police and minority relations, the conduct of research into the problems of victims and witnesses of crime, the feasibility and consequences of allowing victims to participate in criminal justice decisionmaking, the feasibility and desirability of adopting procedures and programs which increase the victim’s participation in the criminal justice process, the reduction in the need to seek court resolution of civil disputes, and the development of adequate corrections facilities and effective programs of correction; and

(F) to develop programs and projects to improve and expand the capacity of States and units of local government and combinations of such units, to detect, investigate, prosecute, and otherwise combat and prevent white-collar crime and public corruption, to improve and expand cooperation among the Federal Government, States, and units of local government in order to enhance the overall criminal justice system response to white-collar crime and public corruption, and to foster the creation and implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to prevent and combat white-collar crime and public corruption.

(3) evaluate the effectiveness, including cost effectiveness where practical, of projects or programs carried out under this chapter;

(4) make recommendations for action which can be taken by Federal, State, and local governments and by private persons and organizations to improve and strengthen criminal and civil justice systems;

(5) provide research fellowships and clinical internships and carry out programs of training and special workshops for the presentation and dissemination of information resulting from research, demonstrations, and special projects including those authorized by this subchapter;

(6) collect and disseminate information obtained by the Institute or other Federal agencies, public agencies, institutions of higher education, and private organizations relating to the purposes of this subchapter;

(7) serve as a national and international clearinghouse for the exchange of information with respect to the purposes of this subchapter;

(8) after consultation with appropriate agencies and officials of States and units of local government, make recommendations for the designation of programs or projects which will be effective in improving the functioning of the criminal justice system, for funding as discretionary grants under subchapter V;

(9) encourage, assist, and serve in a consulting capacity to Federal, State, and local justice system agencies in the development, maintenance, and coordination of criminal and civil justice programs and services; and

(10) research and development of tools and technologies relating to prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of crime; and

(11) support research, development, testing, training, and evaluation of tools and technology for Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies.

To insure that all criminal and civil justice research is carried out in a coordinated manner, the Director is authorized to—

(1) utilize, with their consent, the services, equipment, personnel, information, and facilities of other Federal, State, local, and private agencies and instrumentalities with or without reimbursement therefor;

(2) confer with and avail itself of the cooperation, services, records, and facilities of State or of municipal or other local agencies;

(3) request such information, data, and reports from any Federal agency as may be required to carry out the purposes of this section, and the agencies shall provide such information to the Institute as required to carry out the purposes of this subchapter;

(4) seek the cooperation of the judicial branches of Federal and State Government in coordinating civil and criminal justice research and development; and

(5) exercise the powers and functions set out in subchapter VII.

(Pub. L. 90–351, title I, § 202, as added Pub. L. 96–157, § 2, Dec. 27, 1979, 93 Stat. 1172; amended Pub. L. 98–473, title II, § 604(b), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2078; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330001(h)(1), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2139; Pub. L. 107–296, title II, § 237, Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2162; Pub. L. 112–166, § 2(h)(3), Aug. 10, 2012, 126 Stat. 1285.)