General operational and educational information for corrections professionals. Not legal, medical, or compliance advice, and not a certification of compliance with any law or standard. Policies and standards vary by agency and jurisdiction; follow your facility's policy and your own legal, medical, and professional advisors. The library is reviewed and updated monthly; see the changelog.
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the research arm of the U.S. Department of Justice. Its work on in-custody deaths and jail safety is among the most credible in the field. This page points to the resources we find most useful and explains how they connect to day-to-day practice. VPT is independent and not affiliated with NIJ.
NIJ funds and publishes rigorous research on crime and justice, including corrections. For jail leaders, it is a source of evidence on what actually reduces harm in custody, separate from any vendor.
A few starting points:
NIJ's findings line up with what practitioners see: risk concentrates early in custody and in unobserved time, and earlier awareness plus an honest record change outcomes. VPT's library reflects that evidence; NIJ is where the underlying research lives.
See how the evidence shows up in practice across the VPT library.
The Library Preventing In-Custody DeathsVirtual Patrol Technologies builds on the evidence NIJ and others document. See the method, or request a Safety Intelligence Audit.
