Police

An Evaluation of De-Escalation Training to Understand the Links between Training and Outcomes

Abstract In reaction to high-profile incidents of excessive and deadly force, policymakers, advocates, scholars, and the general public, have all called for police departments to embrace de-escalation training as a method for improving police-citizen interactions. This practice has, in turn, spurred a small, but growing, number of evaluations of police de-escalation training programs. The findings of these studies have been mixed, but incomplete. In particular, we argue that prior studies of de-escalation have been hindered by (1) a lack of consideration of changes in officer behavior in incidents not involving force, (2) a singular focus on whether or not force was used rather than alterations to the “trajectory” of use-of-force encounters, and (3) a failure to measure the intervening mechanisms between de-escalation training and officer behaviors (i.

Screening for Insider Threats in US Law Enforcement: A National Representative Sample of Department Policies and Practices

Abstract For decades, extremist groups in the U.S—particularly on the far-right—have encouraged their members to infiltrate law enforcement agencies and the military. While there are anecdotal examples of insider threats in law enforcement, we do not have a systematic understanding of whether these are isolated incidents or indicative of a more pervasive issue. It is not feasible to examine officer-level risk of engagement as an insider threat at this time.

Police Use of Deadly Force - What We Know and What We Need to Know

My talk provides a broad overview of the research on police use of deadly force – how often it happens, where it happens, and why it happens. I'll also point out the holes in our knowledge due to data constraints. I conclude with a discussion of …

COVID-19, George Floyd Protests, and a Violent Crime Spike: The Denver Experience

At the 2022 ACJS Conference, my colleagues and I present an ongoing project on the relationship between police discretionary behaviors and crime in Denver.

Another Post about Police Shooting Data

I’ve been screaming this into the void on Twitter lately so I figured I’d pull all my thoughts together in a blog post. On January 12th, ABC News published a story claiming that fatal police shootings had declined 13% in 2021 “amid calls for reform on use of force.” The story also claimed that Florida saw the biggest decrease in shootings (from 93 to 44).1 At that time, The Washington Post’s (WAPO) database was showing 888 fatal police shootings.

Leadership in Law Enforcement Podcast - Season 2 Ep. 8

We discuss how I got into academia, as well as my research on police legitimacy, organizational justice, the Ferguson Effect, and officer decision-making.

A National Analysis of Trauma Care Proximity and Firearm Assault Survival among U.S. Police

We look at 7 years of firearm assaults on US police officers and find that proximity to trauma care is not significantly associated with odds of survival.

Consent Decrees and Constitutional Policing

Session three of this webinar series was held on Wednesday, December 1, at 1:00 p.m., ET, and focused on innovative methods to engage with community partners to understand issues and work together to reduce crime and protect communities. The session featured a unique panel of law enforcement leaders and interviews with nationally recognized National College Athletic Association (NCAA) coaches who have worked to form innovative partnerships between local police officers and student athletes.

The LEADS Academics Program: Building sustainable police-research partnerships in pursuit of evidence-based policing

The 4 inaugural NIJ LEADS Academics review our first year in the program working with the LEADS Scholars.

Reducing Crime Podcast - Episode 42

At the 2021 ASC Conference, I was a guest on Ep. 42 of Jerry Ratcliffe's Reducing Crime Podcast