The mission of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is to inform the decision-making of the criminal justice community to help reduce crime and advance justice. To accomplish this mission, we engage stakeholders to understand the key issues and challenges facing the feld, guide research to address these challenges, and disseminate the information to those who can benefit from its application.
NIJ has heard the call for the need to better understand, implement, and evaluate desistance-focused approaches in the criminal justice system. I am excited to present this collection of work that aims to bridge the gap between researchers and practitioners; provide a better understanding of how desistance is conceptualized, measured, and applied; and help the feld develop innovative ways to increase the use of desistance-focused approaches. In doing so, we will be better positioned to meet the needs of stakeholders across the criminal justice system, improve individual outcomes, and efectively reduce crime and promote public safety for communities across the United States.
