Surveys have indicated that both law enforcement executives and rank and file officers are receptive to research results. However, there is a widely held perception that policing research is often underutilized and that police managers and executives miss opportunities to consider this tool when evaluating and directing their agencies’ efforts. This foreword by Chief Michael Brown of the Alexandria (VA) Police Department discusses the benefits of police practitioners reaching out to the research community. It will introduce a collection of entries written by participants of NIJ’s Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Scholars program. Brown is a leader both in practice and in academia as the chair of IACP’s Research Advisory Committee.
