Congrats to Drs. Kearns and Hashimi!

Dr. Erin Kearns will lead a two-year project funded by the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate.

The National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE) has won a $1.6 million federal contract to create a handbook to help the federal court system manage formerly incarcerated individuals with backgrounds in violent extremism.

The handbook will address a pressing problem for the federal court system: U.S. persons with federal convictions connected to violent extremism who are scheduled for release back into their communities. Such individuals have unique challenges and needs. A growing body of academic evidence about how to manage this challenge exists, but the federal government has not yet consolidated this information in a way that can help those overseeing public safety.

The handbook will be designed to address that gap with a goal of minimizing both recidivism in general and reengagement with violent extremism. Its primary purpose is to provide a resource to those on the front lines of managing this unique population.

“The goal is to simultaneously protect communities and help this population reintegrate into society,” Kearns said. “We understand the seriousness of this challenge and the importance of getting it right. To do this, we are bringing together top expert practitioners and scholars to provide guidance.”

Research has begun with an end date of mid-June 2025. Other SCCJ Faculty are also involved: Director Gaylene Armstrong, Zach Hamilton, and VIPR Lab co-director Sadaf Hashimi. Noah Turner, a doctoral candidate at Michigan State University, has also been brought onto the project to serve as a research associate.

From all of us in the VIPR Lab, congrats to you all!