5 May April 1999
Source: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/fr-cont.html

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[Federal Register: May 5, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 86)]
[Notices]               
[Page 24187-24188]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05my99-88]

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

National Institute of Justice
[OJP (NIJ)-1225]
RIN 1121-ZB58

 
National Institute of Justice Announcement of the Availability of 
the Solicitation for Safe School Technologies

AGENCY: Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice, 
Justice.

ACTION: Notice of solicitation.

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SUMMARY: Announcement of the availability of the National Institute of 
Justice ``Solicitation for Safe School Technologies.''

DATES: Due date for receipt of proposals is close of business, Monday, 
June 7, 1999.

ADDRESSES: National Institute of Justice, 810 Seventh Street, NW, 
Washington, DC 20531.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For a copy of the solicitation, please 
call NCJRS 1-800-851-3420. For general information about application 
procedures for solicitations, please call the U.S. Department of 
Justice Response Center 1-800-421-6770.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority

    This action is authorized under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968, sections 201-03, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 3721-23 
(1994).

Background

    This solicitation seeks proposals to develop new or improved 
technologies and/or implement appropriate technologies in an innovative 
manner

[[Page 24188]]

into the nation's schools. Proposals should focus on the research, 
development, testing, evaluation, adoption, and implementation phases 
of new technology; or you may propose innovative modifications to 
existing technology.
    Important themes to be addressed in proposals are: How important is 
the new technology to school safety? How much will the technology cost 
to purchase and maintain? Are there hidden costs? What are the net 
savings on labor? How much training is required to use or maintain the 
technology? And, how will courts view the technology in terms of 
liability and interference with personal freedoms? Proposals should 
address these general themes, however, it is not necessary to 
explicitly answer each question.
    Multiple awards totaling $950,000 will be made available under this 
solicitation. This solicitation is not intended to fund the purchase 
and installation of existing commercial systems.
    Interested organizations should call the National Criminal Justice 
Reference Service (NCJRS) at 1-800-851-3420 to obtain a copy of 
``Solicitation for Safe School Technologies'' (refer to document no. 
SL000338). For World Wide Web access, connect either to either NIJ at 
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/funding.htm, or the NCJRS Justice 
Information Center at http://www.ncjrs.org/fedgrant.htm#nij.
Jeremy Travis,
Director, National Institute of Justice.
[FR Doc. 99-11241 Filed 5-4-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-18-P

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Source: http://ncjrs.org/txtfiles1/sl000338.txt

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Title: Solicitation for Safe School Technologies.
Series: Solicitation
Author(s): NIJ
Published: National Institute of Justice, April 1999
Subject(s): Crime in schools, less than lethal technologies, technology in
law enforcement, law enforcement communications, police training, crime
mapping
11 pages
21,000 bytes

-------------------------------

This is an ASCII plain-text file. To view this document in its graphic
format, download the Adobe Acrobat graphic file available from this Web
site or order a print copy from NCJRS at 800-851-3420 (877-712-9279 for
TTY users)

-------------------------------

U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
National Institute of Justice

National Institute of Justice
Solicitation

SOLICITATION FOR SAFE SCHOOL TECHNOLOGIES

APPLICATION DEADLINE: June 7, 1999

-------------------------------

U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
810 Seventh Street NW
Washington, DC 20531

Janet Reno
Attorney General

Raymond C. Fisher
Associate Attorney General

Laurie Robinson
Assistant Attorney General

Noel Brennan
Deputy Assistant Attorney General

Jeremy Travis
Director, National Institute of Justice

-------------------------------

For funding and grant information contact:
Department of Justice Response Center:
800-421-6770

Office of Justice Programs
World Wide Web Site:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov

National Institute of Justice
World Wide Web Site:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij

-------------------------------

Safe School Technologies

I. Introduction

This solicitation seeks proposals to develop new or improved technologies
and/or implement appropriate technologies in an innovative manner into
the nation's schools, thus assisting in the goal of creating safer and more
secure environments that will enhance the learning process.

II. Background 

The majority of our Nation's schools are very safe and even those with
higher levels of crime than the typical school may be safer than the
neighborhoods in which they reside. However, reducing the levels of
violence in schools and assuring that students can learn in a safe, non-
threatening environment is a national goal that has received renewed
interest from the public after several tragedies in 1998 involving multiple
homicides at or near schools.

Many programs, encouraged or funded by a variety of Federal and State
government agencies have been implemented in the Nation's schools in
recent years to promote an atmosphere of non-violence and mutual respect
for persons and property and to encourage conflict resolution by means
other than violence and disruptive behavior. While the use of security
technology to complement or supplement these efforts has already been
incorporated into some schools, especially to address the most serious
threats of violence, e.g. metal detectors and closed circuit television
cameras, little focused national attention has been given to the possible
role of technology as an effective aid or force multiplier in creating safer
and more secure schools. 

The purpose of this solicitation is to encourage technology developers to
be creative in working with schools and those individuals in the schools
responsible for safety and security and the law enforcement agencies
which serve the schools, to propose new or improved technologies that
have promise for wide implementation.

Technologies that may have a positive impact on creating safer school
environments for students, teachers, and administrative staff may include
the general categories of simulation and training, communication and
information, officer protection and crime prevention, less-than-lethal
technology, graphical information systems, and crime mapping.

Successfully implemented products from this solicitation should help meet
the national goals of the Safe Schools Initiative set out by Congress in the
Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY 99, H11060.

III. Areas of Research Required

In your proposal, please describe efforts to advance technology in support
of safe schools beyond the current state-of-the-art. Documented
knowledge of your understanding of the current state-of-the-art is very
important. Your proposals should focus on the research, development,
testing, evaluation, adoption, and implementation phases of new
technology; or you may propose modifications of existing technology in
new or innovative ways.

Your proposed technological solutions should serve as work force
multipliers that relieve school security and other personnel responsible for
safety of excess burdens in order to enhance their ability to perform their
duties. Such research, development, testing, evaluation, adoption, and
implementation projects should address real and significant problem areas.
Applicants should remember that the resulting technological solutions
should be affordable to acquire as well as to maintain and not require
special expertise or excessive training to operate.

The solicitation also seeks proposals that will assess the effective uses of
technology for school security. 

Innovative solutions are the focus of this solicitation. This solicitation is
not intended to fund the purchase and installation of existing commercial
systems. 

NIJ encourages you to submit proposals that link public and private
sectors. For example, partnerships between a school or school district and
a company with technological expertise, or a consortium which may
include a police department and one or more companies or academic
institutions, would receive favorable consideration. Partnership groups
should include an active member of a recognized law enforcement agency
or school.

This solicitation focuses on near-term (one to three years) development
and implementation projects. It is open to a wide variety of proposals in
order to achieve a balanced portfolio of product development,
implementation and assessment projects. Utilization of enhanced
technologies can change the way school security is managed, and
ultimately, how a safe school environment is achieved in communities
throughout the country.

You are encouraged to use the resources and expertise of the NIJ National
Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC) located
in Rockville, Maryland, and the regional NLECTC's located in Rome,
New York; Charleston, South Carolina; Denver, Colorado; El Segundo,
California; and the Border Research and Technology Center (BRTC)
located in San Diego, California. More information about the NIJ
NLECTC system is available on the Internet at <http://www.nlectc.org>.

Please keep in mind that cost considerations of resulting technology
development products are a major concern. Most schools have very little
money for school security. These and related factors all influence the
timeliness and the degree to which new technologies will be accepted by
school administrators. Please consider the questions below when
determining the usefulness of your proposed new technology development
effort. In your proposal, you should incorporate information that addresses
the general themes posed by these questions; however, it is not necessary
to explicitly answer each question.

o How important is the new technology to the overall security of schools?
What will be its impact on organizational structure and personnel
requirements?

o How much will the technology cost to purchase, customize to fit local
needs (if necessary), and maintain?

o How many units will be needed?

o What are the hidden costs? For example, new computers used for
acquisition, storage, and analysis of security related data may require
additional data input personnel, or a single metal detector may be totally
inadequate for rush hour needs in the morning or at lunch times.

o What, if any, are the net savings in labor or other costs?

o How much training is required to use and maintain the technology?

o How will the courts view the technology in terms of liability and
interference with personal freedom? What constitutional or other legal
issues may arise from utilization of the technology?

Within the following technical areas that NIJ is already supporting, there
may be specific topics that could meet critical school security and safety
needs. These topics are not considered to be exclusive; you may submit
proposals in other areas. 

A. Simulation and Training 

The operational duties and tasks of school personnel charged with school
safety and security, whether they are law enforcement officers, school
principals, or others, are becoming increasingly complex, diverse,
situation-dependent, and highly interactive. Traditional classroom training
techniques to address this responsibility can be limited because they lack
the realism and interpersonal tension that can exist in resolving conflict
and violence in a school environment. While live exercises and role
playing can provide more of the desired realism, they are expensive,
manpower intensive, and sometimes not feasible. New methods of training
are required to address areas such as: (1) event modeling and simulation;
(2) policy and procedures training; (3) interpersonal skill development; (4)
officer safety; (5) use of force or judgment training; and (6) supervisor,
management, and resource allocation training. Please consider training
technologies, such as computer-based training, interactive/multi-media,
video-based, distributed, and virtual reality.

Simulation and statistical modeling technology can also be used to
enhance operational capability and capacity. Technology can improve: (1)
geo-coded information that may provide a basis for new safety and
violence reduction strategies; (2) statistical modeling, neural network, or
expert-based methods to classify students needing special supervision or
other attention; (3) general crime prevention practices; and (4) other areas
that will improve strategies and procedures to more efficiently and
effectively use all the resources available or potentially available to
schools. The simulation and modeling technologies should be inexpensive
to procure, easy to learn, and sufficiently flexible to adapt to specific needs
of individual school systems.

B. Communication and Information Technology 

NIJ solicits proposals that examine information technology needs and
methods for information database integration or to improve analysis of the
safety environment in individual schools and to plan new approaches to
reduce violence and create a safer environment.

NIJ solicits proposals that would (1) delineate current school security
information systems; (2) provide brief descriptions that characterize the
current data bases; (3) describe the common needs and new or modified
requirements for a school security information system; (4) provide a
technical, organizational, and operational system that permits schools to
share or acquire relevant security information; (5) describe which of the
current information systems could or should be linked together, and how
this should be accomplished; (6) describe any new or novel applications of
information technology and the cost effectiveness of any proposed shared
information system; and (7) provide a plan for implementation of any
proposed information systems or technologies.

Proposals should consider the viability of facilitating increased
information flow between security and other school functions as well as
increased information flow among schools. This effort could include the
ongoing assessment or evaluation of the information on the systems
currently available to schools. Assessment or evaluations should focus on
how information technology can be better applied to sharing among
schools and with the law enforcement community.

NIJ is also looking for technology to enhance communication such as
interagency communications interoperability, secure communications,
video/data capture, transmission (including video conferencing), and/or
compression (including noise and false alarm reduction).

C. Officer Protection and Crime Prevention 

Law enforcement needs techniques, materials, and methods to improve the
protective and safety equipment used by school officials. Your application
addressing officer protection should emphasize improving the degree of
protection, ease of use, and cost of the equipment.

Innovative sensor, detection, monitoring, surveillance, communications,
and processing techniques and products have the potential of preventing
crime and enhancing school safety. Your application in this area should
develop systems that are easy to use, require low power (primarily for
man-portable or unattended applications), and are inexpensive to purchase
and operate. Examples where these technologies may be applied are: (1)
perimeter/physical security; (2) theft prevention; and (3) explosives/drug
detection.

Although CCTV is already being used in some schools, the development,
adaptation of new or existing commercial CCTV systems, and their
appropriate deployment, is an area of technology that may benefit from
further research and development. Image processing, enhancement and
analysis may also be useful. For some types of safety threats to a school
(e.g. telephoned bomb scares), speaker identification might have some
value. However, it is incumbent on the applicant to articulate the expected
benefits and cost trade-offs with existing approaches for dealing with the
problems that the technology seeks to address.

D. Less-Than-Lethal (LTL) Technology

NIJ seeks technologies that provide new or significantly improved options
to conventional use-of-force methods. Scenarios where LTL technologies,
devices or techniques might be appropriately employed include, but are
not limited to, confrontation with subjects who assault officers, who refuse
to comply with lawful orders or who become violent or uncooperative and
may be armed with a weapon.

You must consider all aspects of the safety of proposed LTL devices, from
the effect produced on the subject to the effect on bystanders and on
security officers. Any disabling or otherwise incapacitating effect must be
of a short duration and completely reversible. You must clearly articulate
the expected reduction in the incidence of injury to officers and combative
students or adults by implementing the device. You must make cogent
arguments to demonstrate the likelihood of the proposed technique or
device being quantitatively more effective or safer than that currently used
to achieve the same objective.

E. GIS and Crime Mapping 

The National Institute of Justice encourages proposals that advance the use
of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to monitor and assess
issues of crime and safety in and around schools, as well as routes to/from
school. Students' journeys to and from school might be analyzed in the
context of environmental factors such as street lighting, "dark corners",
and the proximity of public transportation. Other important contextual
factors that might be spatially analyzed with a GIS include places
frequented by known offenders and drug markets that are proximate to
school grounds. In addition, proposals that utilize "high definition" GIS
technology to map problem areas within and around school buildings are
welcomed. Applicants must demonstrate the uniqueness and utility of
proposed GIS applications and it is encouraged that partnerships between
school administrators and local police are explored toward this end.

F. School Technology Assessment 

Proposals that will assess the effective uses of technology for school
security will also be considered. In your proposal, please describe your
assessment plan in sufficient detail to demonstrate your ability to capture
and document school security needs and to identify strategic uses of
technology to meet these needs. Proposed assessments should be
comprehensive in nature taking into account regional, national, and
demographic concerns. Once again, applicants should remember that
identified technology solutions should be affordable to acquire as well as
to maintain. 

G. Creative Technology Solutions in Other Areas

The intent of this category is to serve as an "open window" to encourage
the submission of research, development, and application proposals which
will result in creative, innovative technologies to benefit school security.
All proposals in technology application, assessment, or practice areas not
addressed in the above technical areas will be considered in this category.
You must explain the benefit derived from your proposal that will lead to
safer schools.

IV. How to Apply 

Those interested in submitting proposals in response to this solicitation
must complete the required application forms and submit related required
documents. (See below for how to obtain application forms and guides for
completing proposals.) Applicants must include the following
information/forms to qualify for consideration:

o Standard Form (SF) 424--application for Federal assistance 

o Assurances

o Certifications Regarding Lobbying, Debarment, Suspension and Other
Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free Workplace Requirements (one
form)

o Disclosure of Lobbying Activities

o Budget Detail Worksheet

o Budget Narrative

o Negotiated indirect rate agreement (if appropriate)

o Names and affiliations of all key persons from applicant and
subcontractor(s), advisors, consultants, and advisory board members.
Include name of principal investigator, title, organizational affiliation (if
any), department (if institution of higher education), address, phone, and
fax 

o Proposal abstract

o Table of contents

o Program narrative or technical proposal

o Privacy certificate

o References

o Letters of cooperation from organizations collaborating in the research
project

o Resumes

o Appendixes, if any (e.g., list of previous NIJ awards, their status, and
products [in NIJ or other publications])

Proposal abstract. The proposal abstract, when read separately from the
rest of the application, is meant to serve as a succinct and accurate
description of the proposed work. Applicants must concisely describe the
research goals and objectives, research design, and methods for achieving
the goals and objectives. Summaries of past accomplishments are to be
avoided, and proprietary/confidential information is not to be included.
Length is not to exceed 400 words. Use the following two headers:

o Project Goals and Objectives:

o Proposed Research Design and Methodology:

Page limit. The number of pages in the "Program Narrative" part of the
proposal must not exceed 30 (double-spaced pages).

Due date. Completed proposals must be received at the National Institute
of Justice by the close of business on June 7, 1999. Extensions of this
deadline will not be permitted.

Award period. In general, NIJ limits its grants and cooperative agreements
to a maximum period of 12 or 24 months. However, longer budget periods
may be considered.

Number of awards. NIJ anticipates supporting multiple grants under this
solicitation. 

Award amount. Awards totaling $950,000 will be made available for this
NIJ solicitation.

Applying. Two packets need to be obtained: (1) application forms
(including a sample budget worksheet) and (2) guidelines for submitting
proposals (including requirements for proposal writers and requirements
for grant recipients). To receive them, applicants can:

o Access the Justice Information Center on the web: 
http://www.ncjrs.org/fedgrant.htm#NIJ
or the NIJ web site:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/NIJ/funding.htm 
These web sites offer the NIJ application forms and guidelines as
electronic files that may be downloaded to a personal computer.

o Request hard copies of the forms and guidelines by mail from the
National Criminal Justice Reference Service at 800-851-3420 or from the
Department of Justice Response Center at 800-421-6770 (in the
Washington, D.C., area, at 202-307-1480).

o Request copies by fax. Call 800-851-3420 and select option 1, then
option 1 again for NIJ. Code is 1023.

Guidance and information. Applicants who wish to receive additional
guidance and information may contact the U.S. Department of Justice
Response Center at 800-421-6770. Center staff can provide assistance or
refer applicants to an appropriate NIJ professional. Applicants may, for
example, wish to discuss their prospective research topics with the NIJ
professional staff.

Send completed forms to:

Solicitation for Safe School Technologies
National Institute of Justice

Office of Science and Technology
810 Seventh Street NW
Washington, DC 20531
[overnight courier ZIP code 20001]

SL000338

To find out more information about the National Institute of Justice, please
contact:

National Criminal Justice Reference Service
Box 6000
Rockville, MD 20849-6000
800-851-3420
e-mail: askncjrs@ncjrs.org

To obtain an electronic version of this document, access 
the NIJ web site (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij).

If you have any questions, call or e-mail NCJRS.


