Alex R. Piquero

Alex R. Piquero was appointed by President Joe Biden in June of 2022 to serve as director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics and sworn in August 15, 2022. Prior to that, he was professor and arts and sciences distinguished scholar in the department of sociology and criminology at the University of Miami. He has received numerous research, teaching, and service awards; is a fellow of both the American Society of Criminology and Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences; and a recipient of the ACJS Bruce Smith Sr. Award for contributions to criminal justice and Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award from the division of developmental and life course criminology.

What about this position appealed to you?

Aside from the honor of serving the president of the United States of America, I have long been a user of BJS data and research reports. I’ve known many people who have worked there and led the agency, as well as within the National Institute of Justice, and have a deep appreciation for the important work done by BJS on crime and justice data collections. As well, being able to partner with Nancy La Vigne, who heads BJS’s sister science agency, NIJ, represented ‘lightning in a bottle’ so to speak. These types of opportunities—to lead one of the 13 federal statistical agencies and help shape the national landscape of criminal justice statistics—do not come around often. I am so very fortunate.

Describe the top 2–3 priorities you have for the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

I have the following four priorities for BJS:

• Modernize: Develop systems and resources to ensure statistics are accessible, usable, and relevant for ‘different people who need different data in different ways for different reasons’
• Engage: Strengthen the relationships and strategic partnerships with academics, practitioners, political officials, all levels of government, and the general public
• Elevate: Encourage and support professional development of BJS team members in various ways
• Collaborate: As statistical official for the Department of Justice under the Evidence Act, help others understand the methodological and statistical issues that underpin a lot of what the department does

What do you see as your biggest challenge(s) for BJS?

There are the usual budget and staffing challenges, but in my mind, the most important challenge is ensuring the relevance of BJS not just within the federal government, but with the varied stakeholders we speak to. There are many people and organizations in the crime statistics space, and we need to ensure BJS is the go-to place for reliable, timely, credible, and accurate crime and justice statistics and data.

How can the statistical community help you?

I think the statistical community is a wonderful community of like-minded people who care deeply about the importance of data and statistics to help inform policy and decision-making outside our agencies. I think being a member of the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy and attending various events within the statistical community, such as the Committee on National Statistics, is critical to learning what is happening with my peers and their agencies, the challenges they are facing (we likely face many of the same), and the opportunities that await with respect to collaboration.

One of my main goals is to communicate to the public the importance of accurate, credible, and reliable data on crime and justice issues. It is important for the public, data users, and policymakers to know what data is available to inform programs and decisions on criminal justice matters and what more we can do with the adequate investment of resources. Learning how other agencies are able to navigate the communication space will be helpful to me.

Prior to your tenure, what do you see as the biggest recent accomplishment of the agency?

Prior to coming to BJS, I had a deep appreciation for the wide-ranging accomplishments of BJS, including, of course, the National Crime Victimization Survey and the recidivism and Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics studies. BJS has also been directly involved in the National Crime Statistics Exchange and helping police agencies transition to the National Incident-Based Reporting Service as the FBI moved away from the summary reporting system.

These aside, I think the biggest accomplishment of BJS has been providing statistical breakdowns across various demographic categories, including race/ethnicity, age, sex, and sexual orientation and gender identity. These are key issues in the federal statistical system, as well as the administration’s goals more generally. And they are critical issues in the crime and justice landscape.