[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 33 (Tuesday, February 19, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7398-7400]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-3872]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of Justice Programs

[OJP(BJS)-1347]


Bureau of Justice Statistics; 2002 Census of Law Enforcement 
Training Academies

AGENCY: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, 
Justice.

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ACTION: Notice of Solicitation.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to announce a public 
solicitation to obtain a data collection agent for the 2002 Census of 
Law Enforcement Training Academies.

DATES: Proposals must be received at the Bureau of Justice Statistics 
(BJS) on or before 5:00 p.m. EST, March 29, 2002 or be postmarked on or 
before March 29, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Proposals should be sent to Application Coordinator, Bureau 
of Justice Statistics, 810 Seventh Street, NW, Washington, DC 20531; T: 
(202) 616-3497 or fax (202) 307-5846 or e-mail [email protected]. Due 
to recent interruptions in mail service, it is recommended that 
applicants fax, e-mail, use a professional delivery service (e.g., 
FedEx, UPS, etc.), or personally deliver applications to ensure timely 
receipt. For parcel delivery service, please use the following address: 
Application Coordinator, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 810 Seventh 
Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Hickman, Statistician, Bureau 
of Justice Statistics, 810 Seventh Street, NW, Washington, DC 20531; 
Phone (202) 353-1631 [This is not a toll free number]; E-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Statutory Authority

    The awards made pursuant to this solicitation will be funded by the 
Bureau of Justice Statistics consistent with the provisions of 42 
U.S.C. 3732.

Program Goals

    The purpose of this award is to provide funding to administer the 
2002 Census of Law Enforcement Training Academies. The survey will 
obtain baseline information about national law enforcement training 
practices, and will be used to examine variation in the characteristics 
of training staff, recruits/trainees, training curricula, training 
facilities, and policies. The initial survey instrument and respondent 
list (approximately 800 respondents) will be provided by BJS.
    BJS anticipates making one award for a 12-month period under this 
solicitation. A total of up to $250,000 will be made available to 
complete the project pending OMB clearance.

Background

    The implementation of the 2002 Census of Law Enforcement Training 
Academies is part of an effort by BJS to expand statistical activities 
related to American law enforcement generally, and law enforcement 
training in particular. To date, there is no comprehensive data 
collection targeted at individual training academies, their training 
practices, staff, recruits, curricula, facilities, or policies. The 
survey will include special topic areas, such as instruction in 
community policing, use of force, and racial profiling. Findings from 
the Census are designed to provide a systematic understanding of the 
nature and extent of law enforcement training in America. The survey 
will provide important information for the development and expansion of 
law enforcement training, and the information may be useful for policy 
makers engaged in research, planning, and budgeting.

Performance Measurement

    Timeliness--The data collection will begin within three months of 
the award date. The project will be completed within twelve months of 
the start date.
    Response Time--The data collection agent should achieve a 100% 
survey response rate and a 100% survey item response rate.

Eligibility Requirements

    Both profit making and nonprofit organizations may apply for funds. 
Consistent with OJP fiscal requirements, however, no fees may be 
charged against the project by profit-making organizations.

Scope of Work

    The objective of this project is to complete data collection for 
the 2002 Census of Law Enforcement Training Academies. This includes 
extensive follow up, data verification, coding and data entry, and 
delivery of a final data set and documentation. The initial survey 
instrument and respondent list will be provided by BJS. Specifically, 
the recipient of funds will:
    1. Develop a detailed timetable for each task in the project. Data 
collection should begin within three months of the project start and be 
completed within twelve months. After the BJS project manager has 
agreed to the timetable, all work must be completed as scheduled.
    2. Provide a final review of the survey instrument drafted by BJS 
for form and content.
    3. Verify the names, addresses, and appropriate contact from the 
respondent list provided by BJS.
    4. Conduct a pre-test of the survey instrument in a minimum of two 
sites to assure that survey items are perceived by respondents as 
intended and can be provided in a timely manner.
    5. Mail surveys to respondents and provide extensive follow up to 
respondents that require help, clarification, or encouragement to 
complete the survey. This may involve multiple follow up telephone 
calls, re-mailing or re-faxing surveys, e-mail correspondence, and site 
visits where necessary.
    6. Implement and maintain an automated system to provide ongoing 
status of each survey respondent, complete documentation, and an 
inventory of follow up communication and procedures for each case. This 
automated tracking system should remain current and accessible to the 
BJS project monitor at all times.
    7. Identify techniques necessary to achieve a 100% survey response 
rate. This data collection is a comprehensive census of training 
academies.
    8. Identify techniques necessary to achieve a 100% survey item 
response rate. The data collection agent will have routine contact with 
the training academies and must be knowledgeable about the content of 
the instrument.
    9. Deliver to BJS electronic versions of the survey data, and 
documentation on diskette and in ASCII file format. Survey 
documentation should include, but is not limited to, a comprehensive 
codebook detailing variable positions, data coding, variable and value 
labels, any recoding implemented during the data cleaning process, 
methods used for dealing with missing data, any data allocations, 
imputation, or non-response adjustment, and copies of all program code 
used to generate data or published statistics. All data and 
documentation from this survey may be posted on the BJS Web site, and 
data archived at the Inter-University Consortium for Political and 
Social Research (ICPSR).

Award Procedures and Evaluation Criteria

    Proposals should describe the plan and implementation strategies 
outlined in the Scope of Work. Information on staffing levels and 
qualifications should be included for each task and descriptions of 
experience relevant to the project. Resumes of the proposed project 
director and key staff should be enclosed with the proposal.
    Applications will be reviewed competitively with the final award 
decision made by the Director of BJS. The applicant will be evaluated 
on the basis of:
    1. Demonstrated knowledge of applied survey research, including 
survey construction, interview techniques, data collection, data 
coding, entry and verification, and the production of public use data 
files. This

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includes availability of an adequate computing environment, knowledge 
of standard social science data processing software, and demonstrated 
ability to produce SPSS readable data files for analysis and report 
production.
    2. Demonstrated ability and experience in collecting data from law 
enforcement agencies or similar entities.
    3. Demonstrated fiscal, management, staff, and organizational 
capacity to provide sound management for this project. Applicant should 
include detailed staff resources and other costs by project tasks.

Application and Award Process

     An original and two (2) copies of the full proposal must 
be submitted including:
     Standard Form 424, Application for Federal Assistance
     OJP Form 7150/1, Budget Detail Worksheet
     OJP Form 4000/3, Program Narrative and Assurances
     OJP Form 4061/6, Certification regarding Lobbying, 
Debarment, Suspension, and Other Responsibility Matters; Drug Free 
Workplace requirements
     OJP Form 7120-1, Accounting System and Financial 
Capability Questionnaire (to be submitted by applicants who have not 
previously received Federal Funds from the Office of Justice Programs).
    These forms can be obtained online from www.ojp.usdoj.gov/forms.htm.
    In addition, fund recipients are required to comply with 
regulations designed to protect human subjects and ensure 
confidentiality of data. In accordance with 28 CFR part 22, a Privacy 
Certificate must be submitted to BJS. Furthermore, a Screening Sheet 
for Protection of Human Subjects must be completed prior to the award 
being issued. Questions regarding Protection of Human Subjects and/or 
Privacy Certificate requirements can be directed to the Human Subjects 
Protection Officer (HSPO) at (202) 616-3282 [This is not a toll free 
number].
    Proposals must include a project description and detailed budget. 
The project narrative should describe activities as discussed in the 
Scope of Work and address the evaluation criteria. The project 
narrative should contain a detailed time line for project activities, a 
description of the survey methodology to be used including defined 
geographic boundaries, data collection method, data entry, and data 
documentation procedures. The detailed budget must provide detailed 
cost including salaries of staff involved in the project and the 
portion of those salaries to be paid from the award, fringe benefits 
paid to each staff person, travel costs, supplies required for the 
project, sub-contractual agreements, and other allowable costs. The 
grant will be made for a period of 12 months.

    Dated: February 12, 2002.
Lawrence A. Greenfeld,
Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
[FR Doc. 02-3872 Filed 2-15-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-18-P