Justice Department to Eliminate External Peer Review for Competitive Grant Awards

The Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs and its Office on Violence Against Women are set to end the long-standing practice of contracting independent subject-matter experts to assess competitive grant applications. The peer-review model, modeled after the National Institutes of Health process, has been used for years to ensure fairness in awarding billions of dollars to law-enforcement agencies, victim-services groups and research institutions.

A Justice Department spokesperson called the system outdated and inefficient, citing a desire to cut costs and align reviews with the administration’s priorities. Internal staff will now conduct the evaluations, despite concerns that many lack the necessary expertise, as highlighted by a chaotic 2025 interim when external reviewers were temporarily removed. Contracts with BETAH and its subcontractor Leidos currently support the peer-review function, but those agreements are set to expire. Stakeholders such as former Office of Victims of Crime director Kristina Rose and Freedom Network USA co-executive director Jean Bruggeman fear the shift could diminish scientific credibility and open the process to political influence.