Justice System

The National Institute of Justice's CrimeSolutions website uses rigorous research to inform practitioners and policy makers about what works in crime victim services, as well as criminal and juvenile justice. Visit the Victims & Victimization section of the site to view research on program effectiveness reviewed and rated by CrimeSolutions Researchers and Reviewers.

Also visit the Office for Victims of Crime-funded Center for Victim Research. The Center provides access to victim research and data and seeks to improve the utility of research and data collection to crime victim services.

Agencies that receive Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funds also have complimentary access to the Center's collection subscription-based journal articles. Visit the Center for Victim Research Registration page and then click on “VOCA-Funded Agencies.” Once you are registered as a VOCA-Funded Agency, you will be able to search for both open-access and subscription resources.

Visit the Victims of Crime section of our site for additional publications and resources.

The Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, blends forensic science and computer technology into a tool for linking violent crimes. It enables federal, state, and local forensic laboratories to exchange and compare DNA profiles electronically, thereby linking serial violent crimes to each other and to known offenders. Using the National DNA Index System of CODIS, the National Missing Persons DNA Database also helps identify missing and unidentified individuals.

Learn more on the CODIS section of the Federal Bureau of Investigation website.

DNA has been used for forensic examinations since the late 1980s, with DNA testing advancing significantly since that time. Please view the following resources and websites to learn more about the use of DNA:

• National Institute of Justice (NIJ): Forensic DNA: This section of the NIJ website provides extensive information on DNA, including NIJ-sponsored research and development projects.
• Short Tandem Repeat DNA Internet Database (STRBase): This website brings together the abundant literature on forensic DNA.
• American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS): This organization is committed to the promotion of education and the elevation of accuracy, precision, and specificity in the forensic sciences.
• International Association for Identification (IAI): The IAI is the largest and oldest forensic organization.
• PubMed: PubMed is a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine that includes over 17 million citations from MEDLINE and other life science journals for biomedical articles dating back to the 1950s and includes links to full-text articles and other related resources.

Additionally, our Forensic Sciences Special Feature and a search of the Abstracts Database will also provide you with resources related to DNA and forensics.