| Notes |
On April 8, approximately two and a half months after the IRC was to have been established, NIJ announced the organization it has appointed to appoint and host the IRC: the Hudson Institute. The selection of the Hudson Institute appears to be inconsistent with the requirement that the NIJ appoint “a nonpartisan nonprofit organization with expertise in the study and development of risk and needs assessment tools.” The Hudson Institute is known and described as a “politically conservative” think tank, whose research and analysis promotes global security, freedom and prosperity.[5] More specifically, its policy work and publications related to “legal affairs and criminal justice” seem to be solely focused on antitrust and national security public policy. There is no evidence on its website, in the form of research publications or otherwise, which remotely suggests the organization has any expertise or experience in the study and development of risk and needs assessment systems.[6] The only relevant evidence appears to be a single blog post, written on January 18, 2019.[7] Absent other evidence, the suggestion that the Hudson Institute has “expertise in the study of development of risk and needs assessment tools” strains credulity, especially given the variety and number of organizations that have this exact expertise. Further, the Hudson Institute has selected six members for the IRC, only three of whom may meet the required criteria for membership in the IRC outlined in the statute. The NIJ must immediately appoint a new nonpartisan nonprofit organization with expertise and experience in the study and development of risk and needs assessments systems to host the IRC and select its members. |