The NCJA Podcast National Criminal Justice Association

In this episode, learn about the pressing public safety priorities and criminal justice trends highlighted by governors in their annual state of the state speeches. Join National Governors’ Association (NGA) Program Director Ken Hardy and NCJA Program Manager Amanda Blasko as they chart the importance of the state of the state speeches, especially for the public safety community, and discuss how these public safety priorities and trends have evolved over the last several years. 

Key Resources: 


Find your governor’s state of the state speech and explore NGA’s key commentaries on the 2024 speeches here. 


Explore NGA’s Public Safety and Legal Counsel program page to find key resources and briefs on a variety of timely topics. 


Read additional state of the state speech highlights from the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO).  

Are you interested in knowing what participating in Community Violence Intervention (CVI) work is really like?Tune in to episode 32 of The NCJA Podcast and hear from NCJA Program Managers Demaxia Wray and Anica Stieve as they describe their unique expertise from the field and discuss the role of collaboration, the meaning of success in this work, the significance of shared language, and the importance of designing and implementing CVI programs that holistically respond to violence, including the systemic and social factors that drive crime. 

 Resources: 


Read about Group Violence Intervention (GVI). 


Explore recommendations for implementing outreach-based CVI programs. 


Check out this Bureau of Justice Assistance CVI glossary of terms. 

Interested in learning more about evaluating one of your funded programs? NCJA Center for Justice Planning Director Allison Badger and Program Manager Elisa Nicoletti discuss the basics of program evaluation, including how to balance equity concerns, common misconceptions about evaluation, how to support evaluation from a State Administering Agency (SAA) perspective and what to expect when undergoing a program evaluation. 

In this episode, Dr. Thaddeus Johnson and Dr. Natasha Johnson, professors at Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, speak with NCJA Program Manager Amanda Blasko about law enforcement’s use of facial recognition technology, or FRT. This engaging discussion begins with an overview of the use of FRT by law enforcement across the country, then delves into specific findings from the duo’s landmark study investigating FRT use and its impact on racial disparities in arrests. Learn about the dangers of FRT use as well as the potential public safety benefits and listen as Thad and Natasha describe the research still needed in this space, and what can and must be done to achieve equitable outcomes with this technology.

In this episode of the NCJA Podcast, we discuss the importance of involving faith-based leaders in gun violence prevention efforts. Join Program Manager Demaxia Wray as she speaks with Pastor Gilford T. Monrose, who, among other accomplishments, founded NYC-based gun violence prevention program the 67th Precinct Clergy Council, or “the GodSquad,” and organized Clergy for Safe Cities, a national coalition supporting clergy-based gun violence prevention efforts. This conversation covers the services provided by the GodSquad, the strong relationships faith-based leaders already have in their communities, and what effective collaboration between state agencies and faith-based leaders should look like.

In episode 28 of the NCJA Podcast, learn about the creation of Safe Night. Safe Night works with police departments, local and state enforcement agencies, economic development partners, business improvement districts, private businesses, and community groups and leverages public/private partnerships to improve the safety and vibrancy of communities. Listen as Program Manager Jessica Grisler speaks to co-founders Dimitrios (Jim) and Molly Mastoras about how they utilized their unique areas of expertise to create the Proactive Alliance relationship-based approach training. This approach, which is adapted from evidence-based psychological counseling therapy, teaches individuals how to create and maintain strong relationships with all relevant parties to solve complex public safety issues.