BJA FY 14 Smart Prosecution Initiative

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The Smart Prosecution Initiative, administered by BJA, is part of BJA’s “Smart Suite” of crime fighting programs—Smart Policing, Smart Supervision, and now Smart Prosecution. BJA established the first program within this Smart Suite over 4 years ago with the launch of the Smart Policing Initiative (SPI). SPI supports law enforcement agencies in building evidencebased, data-driven law enforcement tactics and strategies that are effective, efficient, and economical. Smart Policing represents a strategic approach that brings more “science” into police operations by leveraging innovative applications of analysis, technology, and evidencebased practices. The goal of the SPI is to improve policing performance and effectiveness while containing costs; an important consideration in today’s fiscal environment. For more information on SPI, see the program’s most recent fact sheet, available at: www.smartpolicinginitiative.com/sites/all/files/SPI_One_Pager_2013.pdf BJA’s Smart Prosecution Initiative is designed to promote effective data-driven, research-based approaches to prosecution and prosecutor-led justice systems innovations and reforms. The Smart Prosecution model will build off of the lessons learned from BJA’s “Smart Suite” of crimefighting programs described above. Smart Prosecution will seek to pair an operational, resultsfocused researcher with a prosecutor’s office to develop data-driven solutions which create effective, efficient, and just prosecution strategies which will ultimately improve public safety. It will provide other valuable resources to equip a prosecutor’s office to access data across various criminal justice and non-criminal justice information systems to improve results for communities. BJA hopes that the lessons learned will develop a rich body of evidence for use by prosecutors nationally as they seek to work with communities to solve chronic problems and fight violent crime.

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