State Administering Agencies
State Administering Agencies (SAAs) conduct coordinated and transparent strategic planning and implement structural reforms that improve the administration of justice, while saving taxpayer money. There are 56 agencies in all 50 states and territories, and Washington DC.
Visit the SAA Directory for agency contact information and websites, and contact information agency heads, JAG contacts and SAC Directors.
Most SAAs are a component of the Governor’s (the Mayor’s office in DC); a free-standing criminal justice planning entity or a division of the state department of public safety. In addition to location, the mission, vision and strategic focus of an SAA is often defined by state statutes. Due to differences in location, formula grants administered, research capacity and leadership selection processes, SAAs are a diverse group of government agencies with differing capacities, perspectives, missions and priorities.
The Role of the SAA
With a structure and process that varies by state, these agencies use strategic planning to analyze crime trends, evaluate the priorities of all segments of the criminal justice system, set out a plan for reducing crime and victimization and guide the use of the grant funds.
Furthermore, SAAs, in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), design, replicate and implement evidence-based programs and practices that target the needs identified in their strategic plans, incorporate rigorous research, measure performance, and provide an honest assessment of success or failure. In many states, the SAAs have established training centers that help their local partners develop and deploy evidence-based practices. (See our Policy to Practice video series for information about state resources for supporting implementation of EBPs).
Many innovative criminal justice practices started with funding from the Edward Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) Program, the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. JAG-funded programs have been replicated nationwide. These include drug courts, methamphetamine lab reduction, anti-gang strategies, reentry programs and information sharing protocols.
Federal Partners
The Office of Justice Programs has been directed to implement or oversee programs and services that are of specific interest to SAAs. Established by the Justice Assistance Act of 1984 and reauthorized in 1988, the OJP provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist crime victims. The OJP provides innovative leadership to federal, state, local, and tribal justice systems, by disseminating current knowledge and practices and providing grants for the implementation of these crime fighting strategies.
Because most of the responsibility for crime control and prevention falls to states, cities, and local units of government, the federal government can be effective in these areas only to the extent that it can enter into partnerships with these entities. Therefore, the OJP does not directly carry out law enforcement and justice activities and related services. Instead, the OJP works in partnership with the justice community to identify the most pressing challenges confronting the justice system and to provide information, training, coordination, and innovative strategies and approaches to address these challenges.
Training and Technical Assistance
The National Criminal Justice Association offers training and technical assistance to SAAs in strategic planning and strategy implementation, stakeholder engagement, grants management and administration, data access and information sharing. Click here to learn more about the Statewide Planning TTA Program and submit an online TTA request form.
Technology, Data and Justice Information Sharing
Today’s technology solutions require strategies that improve how the justice enterprise collects, shares, and uses information to support justice and public safety decision making. Strong state level leadership and planning, and collaboration with local practitioners, is critical to implementing and improving justice information sharing strategies across the country.
SAAs spend nearly one-fifth of Byrne JAG funds on information sharing initiatives including criminal records, cyber-crime, identity theft, fusion centers, and other information sharing projects, they are becoming more knowledgeable about national standards and their leadership role in these efforts.
For some, the need to share information is a foregone conclusion. Information sharing can increase effective decision making, aid prosecution in the administration of justice, and empower law enforcement officers and first responders to take appropriate action on the scene.
However, information sharing is a powerful tool that must be used wisely. Information in the wrong hands can become a danger to privacy, civil liberties, and civil rights. Even when information is used correctly, the sheer volume of information can be overwhelming and difficult to piece together. Therefore, information must be shared only with appropriate partners, with adequate privacy and security controls, and in such a way that it is practical, actionable, and useful to its end recipients. Many of the planning and policy issues relating to privacy, the use of data, system governance, collaborative stakeholder involvement, and investment decisions to promote the adoption of national standards require the executive leadership. Working together, SAAs and practitioners can provide a collaborative environment to increase the adoption and implementation of national standards and tools for justice information sharing country.