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Washington State Institute for Criminal Justice History

The Washington State Institute for Criminal Justice is the organizational successor to two successful institutes with a long history of providing valuable linkages to the University for criminal justice practitioners in the Northwest.

The first of these, the Washington State Institute for Community Oriented Policing Services (WSICOPS) was created nearly 30 years ago, in response to requests from practitioners including the Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) and the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC). In 2009, WSICOPS was officially renamed the Washington State Institute for Criminal Justice (WSICJ).

The Division of Governmental Studies and Services (DGSS) and the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology (DCJC) established a partnership in 2013 to enhance the capacity of the Institute and to better manage the mechanisms by which the services and research activities of their respective entities are applied to questions and activities of interest in the criminal justice arena. In 2018, the oversight of the Institute fell under the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology.

As a part of this collaborative effort, the Institute’s scope was divided into two divisions – Policing & Security and Courts & Corrections. WSICJ has been working with and providing research and technical assistance services to the Washington criminal justice community since that formal change.

Divisions

Policing and Security

Directed by David Makin
The Division of Policing and Security provides training and research services to both state and local policing in the state of Washington and consults on projects nationally. Current projects and publications can be found by clicking the respective links in the navigation at left.

Courts and Corrections

Directed by Zachary Hamilton, Ph.D.
The Division of Courts and Corrections provides research, expertise, and training in collaboration with its partners to improve the quality of evidence-based programming, offender change, and sentencing equality. Partnering with the Washington State Department of Corrections (WADOC), the Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), and the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP), this division has evaluated programming and created instrumentation that continues to inform and assist Correctional and Court practitioners. Publications and current projects can be found under their respective links in the navigation at left.