By Brittany Cunningham, Jessica Dockstader, Zoe Thorkildsen

Officer safety is of critical importance in an era of increased risk for law enforcement officers. Law enforcement officers (hereafter, “officers”) respond to some of the most unpredictable, traumatic, and violent encounters of any profession.1 Although much of an officer’s workday entails repetitive interactions, some calls for service or self-initiated interactions by police officers may escalate into dangerous encounters. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) Program, between 2010 and 2018, an average of 51 officers died in a felonious killing per year. LEOKA defines a felonious killing as an “incident type in which the willful and intentional actions of an offender result in the fatal injury of an officer who is performing his or her official duties.” Regardless of how officer line-of-duty deaths, assaults, or injuries occur, the consequences are tragic and complex, affecting officers’
work and home life.2 Just as de-escalation, defusing, and crisis intervention tactics are paramount today, so is officer safety. This brief provides an accessible resource for law enforcement agencies, line officers, and their stakeholders (e.g., policy-makers, training instructors) to inform the development of targeted training, policies, and practices to promote officer safety while in the line of duty. Specifically, this brief offers the following:

•  a summary of officer safety risks related to calls for services, traffic-related encounters, ambushes, and blue-on-blue encounters;

• recommendations for promoting officer safety related to tactical preparedness; and

• real-world policing initiatives that serve as examples of practices in the field to improve officer safety.

Arlington, VA: CNA, 2021. 24p.

By Christopher M. Sun, James R. “Chip” Coldren, Jr., Keri Richardson, and Emma Wohl

Law enforcement agencies continue to develop new and innovative strategies to better support and police the communities they serve, from integrating gunshot detection technologies into dispatch systems to improve response times during shootings, to collaborating with local health and social service organizations to address issues such as homelessness or substance abuse in comprehensively ways. Over the past 10 years, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), in partnership with the CNA Institute for Public Research (IPR), has supported law enforcement agencies across the country in implementing innovative policing approaches through the Strategies for Policing Innovation Initiative (SPI, formerly the Smart Policing Initiative). SPI supports not only the development and implementation of innovative policing strategies, but also the research partnerships that result in in-depth analyses and rigorous evaluations of these strategies to advance what is known about effective and efficient policing practices. This report examines SPI’s accomplishments since its inception in 2009 and explores some of the major themes across SPI initiatives in both policing and policing research, including the following:

• Reductions in violent crime

• Improved crime analysis capabilities in police agencies

• Evolution of research partnerships with SPI sites

• Collaborative partnerships with agencies, organizations, and community stakeholders

• Integration of technology into policing

Arlington VA: CNA, 2019. 20p

By Benjamin Carleton, Tammy Felix, Monique Jenkins, Stephen Rickman, Chief Robert C. White (retired), Tom Woodmansee, and Michael Speer,   A. Nicole Phillips, Brian G. Remondino, and Kimberly L. Sachs

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man died after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by a Minneapolis police officer. Community bystanders captured the event on video, which was shared widely on social media and resulted in community outrage, an FBI investigation, a civil rights investigation, and the firing and arrests of all four involved officers. The compelling video—8 minutes and 46 seconds of Officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on the neck of George Floyd—quickly spread amongst social media, cable news stations, and major news outlets, sparking strong reactions both within the Minneapolis community and across the nation. This incident contributed to a growing public perception of biased and sometimes brutal treatment of African Americans by police officers. This incident occurred within the context of other recent shootings and deaths of African Americans at the hands of police officers. George Floyd’s cries of “I can’t breathe” harken back to 2014 and the in-custody death of Eric Garner by use of a chokehold. More recently, with the shooting deaths of Walter Scott, Alton Sterling, Breonna Taylor, and Philando Castile, many Americans reached a tipping point in their patience with systemic racism and the pace of police reforms, leading to nationwide protests. The day after the killing of Floyd, protests in the city of Minneapolis ended with a march to Minneapolis Third Precinct Headquarters. Tensions rose as protestors threw water bottles, and police responded with rubber bullets and tear gas. Protests resumed the following day. Once again, in the evening hours, protest led to confrontations with police, who responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash bangs. Later that evening in nearby neighborhoods, windows of businesses were broken, some stores were looted, and two buildings were set ablaze. For the remainder of the week, Minneapolis experienced ongoing protests and damage to public buildings, looting, fires, and civil disturbances across the City. Protests and civil disturbances surfaced in other cities, beginning in earnest in Philadelphia on May 30. For the next several weeks, Philadelphia experienced peaceful protests coupled with civil unrest resulting in looting, vandalism, and burning of buildings. Police deployed tear gas, rubber bullets, and other crowd control munitions and tools, sometimes directly affecting Philadelphia residential neighborhoods. In the aftermath, Mayor James Kenney and Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw announced plans “to engage an independent consultant to conduct a comprehensive examination of the City’s response to recent protests and other activities, which will include investigations of the Philadelphia Police Department’s use of force.” Police Commissioner Outlaw stated that “the Department’s commitment to reform must include an assessment of how police responded to the very protests that called for change.” She also pledged to make public a final comprehensive report. The City of Philadelphia contracted CNA (a nationally recognized, well-established, non-profit research organization with extensive experience in police assessments) along with Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads, LLP (a Philadelphia-based law firm with extensive experience in conducting government and corporate internal investigations) to conduct the after-action analysis of the City’s response to the Floyd protests. The City committed to an independently conducted analysis and openly provided the consulting team access to relevant data and personnel needed to perform the analysis. The purpose of this after-action analysis is to provide the PPD and other City officials with an enhanced understanding of what happened during the Floyd protests, and to provide guidance on improving future PPD and City responses. This report is a “forward-thinking document” that emphasizes developing recommendations and remedial actions that will strengthen PPD and the City’s future responses to demonstrations, protests, and civil unrest. Importantly, this analysis is not an investigation of wrongdoing (which will be addressed by other agencies), but rather an effort to provide a roadmap to PPD and support agencies to apply best practices and lessons learned for more effective responses in the future. The timeline for this analysis extends from the national events leading up to the Philadelphia protests beginning the afternoon of May 30, 2020, through June 15, after which there was a falloff in the number, size, and tenor of the protests. This analysis focuses on the actions taken by PPD, coupled with the nature and extent of support of other agencies in response to these protests and civil disturbances. This report does not broadly examine PPD policy, training and practices, but rather focuses on those relevant to this response.

Arlington, VA: CNA, 2020. 110p.

By Emily Owens and Bocar Ba

The efficiency of any police action depends on the relative magnitude of its crime-reducing benefits and legitimacy costs. Policing strategies that are socially efficient at the city level may be harmful at the local level, because the distribution of direct costs and benefits of police actions that reduce victimization is not the same as the distribution of indirect benefits of feeling safe. In the United States, the local misallocation of police resources is disproportionately borne by Black and Hispanic individuals. Despite the complexity of this particular problem, the incentives facing both police departments and police officers tend to be structured as if the goals of policing were simple—to reduce crime by as much as possible. Formal data collection on the crime-reducing benefits of policing, and not the legitimacy costs, produces further incentives to provide more engagement than may be efficient in any specific encounter, at both the officer and departmental level. There is currently little evidence as to what screening, training, or monitoring strategies are most effective at encouraging individual officers to balance the crime reducing benefits and legitimacy costs of their actions.

JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES VOL. 35, NO. 4, FALL 2021 (pp. 3–28)

By The Europol Innovation Lab ( © European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, 2024

This report aims to provide the law enforcement community with a comprehensive understanding of the various applications and uses of artificial intelligence (AI) in their daily operations. It seeks to serve as a textbook for internal security practitioners, offering guidance on how to responsibly and compliantly implement AI technologies. In addition to showcasing the potential benefits and innovative applications of AI, such as AI-driven data analytics, the report also aims to raise awareness about the potential pitfalls and ethical considerations of AI use in law enforcement. By addressing these challenges, the report endeavours to equip law enforcement professionals with the knowledge necessary to navigate the complexities of AI, ensuring its effective and ethical deployment in their work. The report focuses on large and complex data sets, open-source intelligence (OSINT) and natural language processing (NLP). It also delves into the realm of digital forensics, computer vision, biometrics, and touches on the potential of generative AI. The use of AI by law enforcement is increasingly scrutinised due to its ethical and societal dimensions. The report attempts to address concerns about data bias, fairness, and potential encroachments on privacy, accountability, human rights protection and discrimination. These concerns become particularly relevant in the context of the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act (EU AI Act), an overview of which is detailed in this report, as well as its broader context. The report emphasises the significance of the forthcoming regulation, detailing its objectives, scope, and principal provisions. The Act’s implications for law enforcement agencies are also discussed, emphasising the balance between fostering innovation and ensuring ethical use beyond compliance. Central to the report is the assessment of how law enforcement can maintain a delicate balance between leveraging AI’s benefits and addressing its inherent restrictions. Strategies for addressing bias, privacy concerns, and the pivotal role of accountability frameworks, are elaborated. The report highlights the importance of innovative regulatory environments. The concluding section forecasts the trajectory of AI in law enforcement, underscoring the potential technological advancements on the horizon. It also emphasises the need for public trust and acceptance, and the importance of collaboration and knowledge sharing. This comprehensive document serves as both a guide and a reflective tool for stakeholders vested in the confluence of AI and law enforcement within the European landscape.  

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2 : 2024. 61p.

By the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia (ACLU-D.C.) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU National),  

This report, produced by the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia (ACLU-D.C.) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU National), follows two previous reports that analyzed data on stops and frisks conducted by the Washington, D.C. (the District, D.C.) Metropolitan Police Department (MPD, the Department). MPD is required to collect data on all stops conducted by its officers pursuant to the Neighborhood Engagement Achieves Results (NEAR) Act.1 Although the NEAR Act does not require MPD to publish its stops data, MPD leadership made a public commitment to releasing the data on a semi-annual basis. 2 The data serves as a critical tool that provides the public with opportunities to engage in police accountability efforts. The data enables the public to examine the outcomes and potential impact of the practices of D.C. police officers. This report seeks to assist community members, advocates, members of the D.C. Council, the Mayor, and other stakeholders in exercising oversight and furthering the MPD’s accountability. This report covers data collected between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2023. The data analyzed in this report indicates that the stark racial disparities present in the 2019 and 2020 stops data remain. MPD continues to disproportionately stop Black people in D.C. Key Findings 1. Black people are being stopped at disproportionate rates in relation to their demographic representation in the District. Although Black people comprised just over 44% of the District’s population in 2022 and 2023, they comprised 71.4% of the people stopped in 2022 and 70.6% of the people stopped in 2023. 2. MPD’s data indicate that the stop-and-frisk tactic is not particularly effective at removing guns from the streets. The rate at which guns are seized is not significant enough to justify the overwhelming number of stops being conducted. a. In 2022, there were 68,244 stops. Of these, only 0.9% resulted in the seizure of a gun. b. In 2023, there were 68,561 stops. Of these, only 1.2% resulted in the seizure of a gun. The significant disproportionality across racial groups raises concerns about biased policing by MPD. Research on disproportionality and racial bias in other jurisdictions has concluded that racial disparities in stops and searches cannot be explained by crime or other non-race factors. Here, too, we advance the position that these disparities in MPD’s stop-and-frisk practices are consistent with racial bias. Stop-and-frisk practices can be harmful to individuals and communities. There are both short- and long-term implications for people who are stopped and searched by the police—from health-related issues, such as significant psychological distress, to social implications, such as negative impacts with regard to educational and employment opportunities. Communities or groups of people who experience racially biased policing practices are additionally impacted. These communities and groups develop distrust of the police. For Black communities, the Department of Justice has noted that the “experience of disproportionately being subjected to stops and arrests in violation of the Fourth Amendment shapes black residents’ interactions with the [police], to the detriment of community trust,” and “makes the job of delivering police services … more dangerous and less effective.” 

Washington DC: ACLU of The District of Columbia, 2024. 19p.

By The Policing Project, NYU School of Law

This model statute gives guidance on how states should proceed to remove some of the barriers to law enforcement officer accountability and oversight commonly found in state or municipal laws (often enacted as provisions of Law of Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights (“LEOBORs”)), and collective bargaining agreements (“CBAs”).1 The statute also clarifies common procedural protections for officers that states should provide because they further due process, do not impede accountability, and fall in line with the protections afforded to other public employees. Accordingly, in states with LEOBOR or other statutory provisions that this model statute prohibits, legislatures should repeal those provisions. Except where state peace officer standards and training boards (“POST boards”) are expressly invoked in this statute, the provisions of this statute are not intended to apply to state POST boards. The model statute also contains provisions setting forth (a) minimum requirements in law enforcement agency complaint policies and (b) clear rules for governing public access to complaints and related investigatory materials, agency disciplinary matrices, and CBAs

New York: Policing Project, NYU School of Law, 2024. 26p.

By Monique Jenkins, Jessica Dockstader, Sharon Oster, Thomas Woodmansee, and Mary O’Connor

Though effective training is an important part of all professions, it is especially crucial for those that include high levels of stress and life-or-death situations—like law enforcement. Accordingly, law enforcement agencies spend considerable time and resources on training—paying recruits to attend police academies, managing field-training programs, ensuring the resources and equipment needed to conduct in-service trainings along with sending staff or soliciting experts for external trainings. Field training is often described as the most important stage in an officer’s career; Time spent with a field training officer (FTO) is vital to a trainee’s career development and helps shape the culture of an agency. Recently, American policing has seen a shift in its public perception as a result of highly publicized officer involved use of force incidents. Some of the involved officers have been field training officers. Research shows that trainees’ behavior is directly correlated to the field training they receive, with FTOs having a statistically significant effect on subsequent allegations of misconduct brought against trainees. Further, a gap in research exists surrounding the effectiveness of field training practices, the impact of a field training officer on the recruit’s retention of academy knowledge, and the processes by which departments select and recruit FTOs. This gap has led to a lack of standardization among law enforcement agencies on these topics. Despite the importance of police officer training, a common saying that trainees hear is “forget what you learned in the academy—the real learning begins now,” signifying the disconnect between classroom lessons and the real-world setting.

Case Study: Six Police Field Training Programs

CNA’s Center for Justice Research and Innovation seeks to further explore police field training programs around the country in an effort to highlight promising practices, identify areas for improvement, and promote information sharing. The research team recruited six agencies for a case study to answer the following questions:

• Are participating law enforcement agencies using similar processes and procedures for their field training programs?

• Are there common qualifications and standards across participating law enforcement agencies that an officer must meet in order to become a field training officer?

• Are there common qualifications, experiences, performance standards, and accountability measures that officers must demonstrate in order to remain a field training officer in participating agencies?

CNA conducted six to ten semi structured interviews with various members of each department, including officers in the field training program, officers post-field training, current field training officers, and former field training officers. We also reviewed written documents from each agency, including position postings for field training officers, written policies and procedures pertaining to the field training program, and training materials and curriculum pertaining to the field training program.

Areas for Improvement in Police Officer Field Training

The research team identified themes that were important to address within each of the field training programs: Trainer Requirements, Preparation, and Incentives; Pairing of Trainers and Trainees; and Trainer Evaluation and Trainee Communication. We also felt it was important to highlight the perceptions about the field training programs from the perspectives of both the FTOs and the trainees.

Our research found a lack of standardization among these practices across agencies. Agencies required various levels of experience for trainers, trained FTOs using different philosophies, and motivated trainers using several methods. The majority of participating departments also did not use a formal method to match trainees and trainers. However, many agencies did strive to ensure each trainee was paired with only one trainer for each phase. When done correctly, this structure allowed trainees to experience different policing and teaching styles so the trainee could adapt and develop their own. Agencies required FTOs to document the training process and communicate with trainees using formal and informal methods. In some agencies, trainers also received formal evaluations from supervisors and trainees and in others, these feedback mechanisms were less formal or did not exist at all.

Trainers in the majority of participating agencies felt a tremendous amount of responsibility and pressure to successfully train the next generation of law enforcement. This pressure, coupled with an insufficient number of available trainers in the cadres, contributed to a consistent pattern of burnout in the position. However, there were trainers who felt that their agency provided enough support for them to remain in the role, despite their fatigue. There were also both positive and negative perceptions of field training from a trainee point of view. Although all trainees recognized the importance of field training, many felt unprepared for the shift from academy learning to hands-on learning. Those trainees with the most positive views of field training shared that their agencies clearly stated expectations for the program, supported the trainers and the trainees, and encouraged open and honest feedback.

Further research should explore standardization of field training programs, career outcomes of trainees as a result of their trainer, effective incentives for trainers, and methods of pairing trainers and trainees. It is our hope that this study will provide helpful information to the law enforcement field regarding FTO programs. We also hope that it will serve as a stepping stone to further analysis that will aid law enforcement agencies in improving FTO programs, thus improving the communities they serve.

Arlington, VA: CNA, 2021. 50p.

By Tom Christoff, Benjamin Carleton, and Theron Bowman

The ability of a police department to act in a fair and just manner is vitally important to creating internal and external trust, which in turn increases the perception of legitimacy by those who work for the department and those the department serves. Law enforcement agencies across the U.S. have faced increased scrutiny from the public in the last several years, with the events of 2020 exacerbating already simmering community relationships. The City of Little Rock has experienced recent issues of internal and external legitimacy stemming from the officer-involved shooting of Bradley Blackshire, a Black man, who was killed by a Little Rock Police Department (LRPD) officer in February 2019. The incident, in which Mr. Blackshire was fired upon at least 15 times, led not only to backlash from the public, but also internal strife within the LRPD. Since the February 2019 incident, the City of Little Rock, LRPD, the Chief of Police, and other members of LRPD have been the subjects of various lawsuits. In response to calls from members and leadership of the LRPD for an investigation, the City of Little Rock, through a competitive bid, selected CNA’s Center for Justice Research and Innovation to conduct an independent audit of the LRPD. This report details the findings and recommendations of this targeted audit of the LRPD. The audit team used a variety of sources, including policies, training records, administrative data, and focus groups and interviews with LPRD personnel to assess the department. Throughout this report we identify both strengths and weaknesses of LRPD’s operations with in the following areas:

1. Personnel policies and procedures

2. Training and professional standards

3. Accountability system data

4. Performance evaluations

5. Promotional process

6. De-escalation

7. Cultural competency

8. Harassment

9. Nepotism

10. Handling of private and confidential information

11. Early Intervention System

12. Body-worn cameras

13. Vehicle pursuits

14. Asset forfeiture

15. Take-home vehicle

Overall, this assessment will help LRPD standardize processes and metrics related to these topic areas, ultimately improving officers’ and community members’ levels of trust in the department.

Arlington, VA: CNA, 2021. 104p.

By Zoë Thorkildsen, Bridgette Bryson, Emma Wohl, Kalani Johnson, Rodney Monroe, and Steve Rickman 

In late 2020, the City of North Charleston hired CNA to conduct a racial bias assessment of the North Charleston Police Department (NCPD). Beginning in March 2021, CNA undertook a comprehensive assessment of NCPD’s policies and practices, focusing on assessing racially biased practices and procedures. Assessments such as these, which touch on more than racial and social justice matters, help police departments gauge the status of their community relationships, especially amongst minority and disenfranchised communities. In addition, the assessment can help identify policies and practices that may unintentionally negatively affect the community, especially those who feel they have been marginalized. Through this assessment, the CNA team developed a strong objective understanding of NCPD’s operations in various areas including law enforcement operations, community-oriented policing practices, complaints, training, oversight and accountability, and recruitment, hiring, and promotions. We developed this report by reviewing community engagement programming documents, strategic plans, training lesson plans, training curriculum, general orders, department data, and sentiments from interviews with community members and NCPD personnel and community listening sessions. This report includes findings and associated actionable recommendations for the department. In developing our recommendations, we assessed the NCPD’s policy manual against emerging best practices.

CNA’s comprehensive assessment of NCPD included an examination of the following:

• Law enforcement operations

• Community-oriented policing practices

• Complaints

• Recruitment, hiring, and promotions

• Training

• Oversight and accountability

This assessment includes 67 findings and 139 recommendations. Our key findings include:

• Racial disparities are present in many of NCPD’s interactions with the community, indicative
  of potential systemic, organizational, or individual bias, and these disparities are deeply felt
  by the community.

• Community members have substantial concerns regarding NCPD’s police presence and
  perceived over-enforcement of certain individuals, community groups, and neighborhoods.

• NCPD’s School Resource Officer Program has room to improve to better serve the youth of
  the North Charleston community.

• NCPD lacks proper translation services and information for Spanish-speaking residents in the
  community.

• Although NCPD emphasizes community-oriented policing practices, not all officers in the
  department have embraced the importance of community policing.

• Members of the North Charleston community have expressed a desire to better understand
  the roles, responsibilities, policies, practices, and operations of the department.

• Many community members have not filed complaints even after negative experiences with
  NCPD personnel, and the complaint process is confusing to most.
  • NCPD has a strong commitment to hiring and retaining personnel that reflect the ethnic,
  racial, and gender composition of the North Charleston community. They have an established
  plan to specifically recruit women and people of color.

• NCPD’s officers have not been consistently trained in topics of critical importance for 21st
  century policing.

• Community members expressed high confidence in Chief Burgess and his abilities to
  meaningfully engage with the community.

Arlington, VA: CNA, 2021. 124p.

By Rachel Johnston, Daniel S. Lawrence, Benjamin Carleton, Harold Medlock, Thomas Christoff, Keri Richardson, and Scott E. Wolfe

The ability of a police department to act in a fair and just manner is vitally important to creating internal and external trust, which in turn increases the perception of legitimacy by those who work for the department and those the department serves. Law enforcement agencies across the US have faced increased scrutiny from the public in the last several years, with the events of 2020 exacerbating already simmering community relationships. The City of East Lansing, through a competitive bid process, selected CNA’s Center for Justice Research and Innovation to conduct an assessment of fair and impartial policing in the East Lansing Police Department (ELPD). This report details the findings and recommendations of this assessment of the ELPD. The assessment team used a variety of sources, including policies, training records, administrative data, employee surveys, and interviews with ELPD personnel to assess the department. Throughout this report we identify both strengths and weaknesses of the ELPD’s operations within the following areas:

1. Organizational Justice and Culture

2. Community Relations, Interactions, and Perspectives

3. Training and Technology

4. Traffic Enforcement

5. Use of Force and Complaints

6. Early Intervention System

In this executive summary, we present a summary of the findings of our assessment and a summary of the key recommendations offered to the ELPD and the city. We encourage interested individuals to read the details in the body of this report, where they will find detailed the supporting evidence associated with our 72 findings and 92 recommendations. See Appendix E for the full list of findings and recommendations. Through review of policy, procedures, and practices, as well as collected and analyzed data, the assessment team discovered the following key findings:

Summary of Key Findings

ELPD Data

• The manual entry of information into the ELPD use-of-force report creates data inconsistencies.

• The ELPD does not collect all necessary information important to use-of-force events.

• The method ELPD uses to record information pertaining to uses of force does not allow for each specific combination of event, involved officer, type of force, sustained injuries, and involved community member to be assessed.

• Demographic information collected during a traffic stop cannot easily be connected to traffic stop information in the calls-for-service database.

Organizational Justice and Culture

• Several ELPD policies appear to use boilerplate language that is not sufficiently tailored to ELPD.

• Several ELPD policies are poorly written.

• Some ELPD policies include language that serves as an accountability escape clause.

• Some ELPD processes rely on the discretion of the Chief of Police, which at times may be unnecessary or inappropriate.

• Morale among ELPD employees is reported to be low.

• About half of ELPD survey respondents feel that ELPD’s procedure for investigating complaints is not a fair process.

Community Relations, Interactions, and Perspectives

• ELPD Policy 300-21 (Interacting with People Who Have Mental Illness/EIP) requires significant revision.

• ELPD Policy 400-11 (Juvenile Matters) predominantly focuses on processes and considerations for juvenile suspects and does not adequately explain processes and considerations for juvenile victims and witnesses.

• ELPD Policies 100-12 (Media Relations/Officer Involved Critical Incident Information Sharing) and 47-13 (Social Networking/Social Media) do not indicate whether ELPD operates any official social media accounts or what the protocols would be for the operation of such accounts.

• ELPD Policy 3-20 (Civil Disorders) requires significant revision. The current policy includes outdated practices and is not consistent with best practices.

• Several ELPD survey respondents noted that they often do not feel supported by community groups and local stakeholders.

• Trust between community and police could further be strengthened.

• The community perceives a disconnect between the ELPD and the City Council and Independent Police Oversight Commission.

• The ELPD staffing may not be adequate for the current requirements and future community initiatives.

Training and Technology

• Less Lethal and Defensive Tactics are high liability and should be addressed separately in policy.
  The firearms training and assessment policy language is unclear, and it does not specifically state what encompasses the firearms training and assessment program.

• ELPD Policy 100-21 (Annual In-Service Training) has numerous areas that could use improvement and strengthening.

• Overall, ELPD Policy 300-22 (Mobile Video Recorder) does provide a framework for the department’s operations but could be improved in areas such that would strengthen clarity for procedures related to transparency and accountability.

• Overall, many of the policies related to technology are vague and left room for ambiguity and alternative interpretation.

• Several ELPD survey respondents feel that training could be improved to help officers be prepared for some of the critical situations they face in the field.

• The East Lansing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion training provided at the City level by Truth & Titus was a missed opportunity for police staff.

Traffic Enforcement

• ELPD Policy 300-26 ([Traffic] Enforcement Options) is very comprehensive and provides good direction to officers.

• White drivers accounted for the majority of traffic stops from August 2021 to July 2022, although Black drivers were the second-most stopped individuals. The number of traffic stops declined from August 2021 to July 2022 by similar degrees across each racial group of the driver.

• The amount of stops by race relative to the population indicates that Black drivers are stopped to a greater extent than White drivers; however, the “veil of darkness” analysis finds that Black drivers are stopped by a statistically nonsignificant magnitude of 1.08 compared to non-Black drivers. Furthermore, the risk of being stopped as a Black driver during the daylight portion of the inter-twilight period is similar to stops for Black drivers made during the dark period, and this difference is not statistically different when compared to all other drivers.

Use of Force and Complaints

• ELPD Policy 100-3 (Complaint Intake and Management) requires significant revision, as the policy does not adequately and clearly describe the complaint intake and management process.

• ELPD Policy 12-20 (Response to Resistance) positively emphasizes the sanctity of life and the importance of de-escalation, but the policy can go a step further.

• ELPD Policy 12-20 (Response to Resistance) problematically allows for the use of head stabilization.

• Eighteen percent of ELPD officers were involved in three or more complaints during the period analyzed.

• Twenty-two percent of ELPD officers were involved in 7.5 or more use-of-force events per year during the period analyzed.

• One-quarter of the use-of-force events involved disorderly conduct or a mental health investigation, while arrests that involved offenses against family and children, burglary/home invasion, and obstruction-type events each resulted in a use of force more than 50 percent of the time.

• The ELPD predominately uses low levels of force in its use-of-force events; 62 percent of the types of uses of force involved either a handcuffing, a control hold or takedown, or other physical contact. However, the other largest type of use of force, which accounted for 24 percent, was a weapon display.

• Black community members are arrested more frequently than would be predicted based on their proportion of the East Lansing population compared with White community members. Among those arrested, use-of-force levels were slightly elevated for Black community members compared with White community members. However, when controlling for event characteristics and demographics in more rigorous statistical analyses, these differences are not observed.

Early Intervention System

• The ELPD’s aggregate-threshold approach to its early intervention system (EIS) is overall reasonable given agency characteristics.

• Despite being considered wellness oriented, the ELPD’s EIS approach has the potential to be considered disciplinary.

• The ELPD unnecessarily limits the input of officers’ direct supervisors in evaluating and acting upon an EIS alert.

• The ELPD’s EIS approach can be expanded to include a peer-comparison element.

• ELPD Policy 200-7 (Early Warning System) should be revised.

• The training on EIS focuses on the technical process of navigating the Guardian Tracking software.

Arlington, VA: CNA, 2022. 145p.

By Benjamin Carleton, Brittany Cunningham, Zoe Thorkildsen

Policing is an evolving field; law enforcement agencies are being asked to do more with limited resources, forcing agencies and their relevant stakeholders (e.g., policy makers, other justice system agencies, community organizations) to continuously look for new ways to reduce crime, keep communities safe, and effectively allocate resources. The use of predictive analytics has evolved in the last several decades as a promising response to reduce and prevent crime. Predictive analytics in policing “is a data-driven approach to characterizing crime patterns across time and space and leveraging this knowledge for the prevention of crime and disorder” (Fitzpatrick et al. 2019). Traditionally, law enforcement agencies have operated using primarily reactive measures, such as rapid responses to 911 calls, random patrols, and a greater focus on criminal investigations (Brayne 2017; Fitzpatrick et al. 2019). To operate more proactively, agencies have increasingly employed predictive analytics that informs crime prevention strategies. For example, agencies across the US have implemented a number of strategies (e.g., hot spot detection, targeted offender lists, and risk terrain modeling) and software programs that use a variety of predictive analytics to forecast where and when crimes are most likely to occur and to identify offenders and groups or individuals at risk of becoming victims of crimes. Predictive analytics builds on traditional crime analysis practices (e.g., identification of crime trends and patterns). In addition to identifying crime trends and patterns based on crimes that have already occurred, predictive analytics goes a step further, forecasting where and when crime is likely to occur or who is likely to be involved in criminal behavior. It equips agencies with knowledge (i.e., data) to help inform where they should target police operations and resources. Agencies can use this knowledge to operate more efficiently and effectively in their crime reduction efforts and resource allocations. It is important to understand that predictive analytics cannot tell the future very well. These predictions rely on past data and assume that future criminal activity will be similar to that reflected in extant data (sometimes factoring in anticipated future changes). This reliance on past data also means that predictive techniques can reinforce systemic bias, racial and otherwise, present in past justice system actions. The objective of this brief is to provide an accessible resource for law enforcement agencies and their stakeholders (e.g., crime analysts, policy makers, and researchers) interested in learning more about the role of predictive analytics in police operations. Specifically, this brief offers the following:

• Summarizes the use of predictive analytics to inform policing operations

• Distinguishes between approaches to predictive analytics (person-based and place-based)

• Highlights the emergence of machine learning algorithms as a preferred predictive analytics technique

• Delineates considerations and limitations brought forth in recent literature that law enforcement agencies must consider when using predictive analytics to reduce and prevent crime

• Summarizes several research studies and real-world policing initiatives as examples of how the use of predictive analytics can inform policing practice

Arlington, VA: CNA, 2000. 32p.

By Anthony Petrosino, Trevor Fronius and Trent Baskerville

School-based policing programs started as far back in the USA as the 1950s and became more popular in part as concerns about school safety increased. After the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, the scrutiny of municipal police extended to school policing, and the concerns that policing exacerbates the school-to-prison pipeline, particularly for Black and Brown children, led several districts to remove officers from their schools. However, some of these same districts have reinstated police following widespread reports of fighting and behavioural issues among students after nearly 2 years of sporadic education due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper discusses some of the recent trends and high lights evidence from several systematic reviews of evidence on the efforts of school policing, including a large-scale effort for the Campbell Collaboration. A more recent evaluation published since the reviews were done is also discussed. Finally, the article highlights a report to Congress by the National Institute of Justice and concludes with policy implications and a future agenda for research.

Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, Volume 18, 2024, 

By Hunter M. Boehme, Scott M. Mourtgos

On March 1, 2022, correspondence from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) headquarters stated that officers can no longer use minor infractions (e.g., equipment violations) as a pretextual reason to further investigate drivers for criminal behavior. If LAPD officers are to execute a discretionary stop, they must activate their body-worn cameras and reasonably articulate to the civilian why they are being investigated. The intent is to reduce racial/ethnic disparities in stops and build trust of the police within the community. Critics of the policy argue that elevated crime rates will result due to the crime suppression effect of such stops. This study examines racial differences in stops before and after the policy change, as well as whether Part 1 violent and property crimes increased. Descriptive findings show that while the counts of stops, arrests, and contraband seizures during stops decreased, the percentage of non-White civilians stopped decreased only minimally following the intervention. Results from using Bayesian synthetic control methods indicate an increase in both violent and property crimes post-intervention compared with the synthetic counterfactual. The increase in violent crimes has a low probability of being different from the counterfactual, whereas the increase in property crimes has a high probability, suggesting that the intervention led to a real change in property crimes compared with what would have been expected under the counterfactual.

Policy Implications: This study provides preliminary evidence that emerging policies intended to restrict discretionary stops may not have the intended effect on racial disparities in police traffic stops. Instead, agencies passing similar policies may expect to see the potential unintended consequence of a spike in jurisdictional property crimes. We argue that such types of stops across a jurisdiction may have a general deterrent effect on more common and calculative crimes such as property crimes. To combat violent crimes, agencies should consider focusing discretionary stops in known hot spots. Further, our findings offer implications for research on the effects of de-policing on crime. Police agencies should monitor potential unintended impacts of these policies if enacted and be prepared to deal with such consequences.

Criminology & Public Policy Volume 23, Issue 3: Special Issue: Policing Practice and Policy Aug 2024 Pages 515-799

By Brenden Beck,  Joseph Antonelli,  Angela LaScala-Gruenewald

Research Summary: Following high-profile police killings, many U.S. cities banned officers from using chokeholds and other neck restraints. The evidence for such bans, however, is limited. To test whether use-of-force policies prohibiting neck restraints are related to fewer police killings, we use three modeling approaches to analyze 2183 U.S. cities between 2009 and 2021. Police killings were lower in places that adopted neck-restraint bans and the bans were associated with less crime and fewer assaults on officers, net of controls. Because officer labor unions can affect use-of-force policies and the frequency of police killings, we also analyzed them, finding unionization increased the likelihood a city had a neck-restraint ban and had a null or negative association with police killings.

Policy Implications: Adopting a neck-restraint ban is likely an effective way to reduce deaths due to police use of force with minimal collateral consequences. The bans operate through a diffuse discouragement of many types of lethal force or as a part of an array of use-of-force policies. Their direct relationship to asphyxiation deaths remains unclear. Officer unionization is unlikely to change the frequency of police killings, except through its association with stricter use-of-force policies.

Criminology & Public PolicyVolume 23, Issue 3: Special Issue: Policing Practice and Policy Aug 2024 Pages 515-799

By Ruth Halkon 

Police use stop and search powers to search people who they suspect to be in possession of unlawful items, such as illegal drugs, weapons, or stolen property. The power is seen by the police as a valuable tool in the fight against crime, both deterring offenders and preventing further offending. However the evidence on its effectiveness is mixed, and there are gaps in the data, particularly surrounding its use in the UK context. Moreover, stop and search is associated with potential harm, both to individuals and to communities as a whole. This briefing will examine the current evidence in relation to stop and search and how it is practiced in the UK, examining in particular questions of its disproportionate use against young people and those from minority ethnic groups 

London: The Police Foundation, 2024, 26p.

By Marly van Bruchem, Karin Proost, Joris van Ruysseveldt & Marie Rosenkrantz Lindegaard

Studies on bystander behavior showed that bystanders regularly intervene in conflicts and crime in public in order to de-escalate, yet these studies focus solely on the way citizens manage situations in the absence of police. Bystanders, however, are also present while police officers carry out their work and might help or challenge their performance. Based on 15 interviews with police officers and participant observation during 12 police shifts in the Netherlands, this study provides insights into the way officers perceive bystanders and experience their actions. Police officers describe bystanders as a dilemma they have to face during encounters: they want to convey a positive and fair image of themselves towards bystanders, yet also want to control the situation and show their authority. The diversity of bystander actions and the dilemmas officers face imply that more attention should be given to bystanders of police action in both research and training.

Police Practice and Research, An International Journal, June 2024