For the Bureau of Justice Assistance, ILJ developed a simulation model of the criminal justice system. The model, called the Criminal Justice System Simulation Interactive Model (CJSSIM), is aimed at analyzing the flow, cost, and average times for processing offenders through the system. CJSSIM allows users to build their system interactively on the screen or use one of several generic systems provided with the model.
The criminal justice simulation model is written in C language for microcomputers and operates in the Microsoft Windows environment. With a graphics interface, the program provides the capacity to model the flow of case- or offender-based events, resource utilization, costs, and time lags among events. Reports include a graphic display of the system; overuse of resources; average times to case disposition; differences in costs, time, and case flows between current and projected situations. It also includes analyses for different tracks through the system. It has been tested in Maricopa County, Arizona; Montgomery County, Maryland; and Multnomah County, Oregon.