This report identifies the most pressing challenges that prosecutors currently face and prioritizes future research needs that could assist in mitigating some of the challenges.
The report features priority areas that a panel of prosecutorial experts recommended for new or continuing research. The workshop panel was convened in March 2018. The workshop covered many topics relevant to a prosecutor's functions and objectives. The panel examined academic and law review articles on emerging and evolving areas of law and used a short survey of participants before the meeting that defined topic areas for the workshop. One area workshop participants identified for research is ways to improve staff recruitment, training, and retention. Another area for research pertains to the challenge of inadequate or inconsistent collection of data and other information shared among agencies, their partners, and the community, as well as emerging digital and forensic technologies. The workshop also recommended identifying promising practices to prevent and respond to witness intimidation and tampering, which are pervasive in the criminal justice system. Also recommended is research into the most promising practices for collecting and disclosing officer misconduct and discipline issues, as well as reporting disclosure obligations related to the "Brady" and "Giglio" standards. Another workshop recommendation is for more research on engaging the community and determining whether various combinations of problem solving and litigation strategies can reduce crime.