Resource Results

Boston, like many other major U.S. cities, experienced an epidemic of gun violence during the late 1980s and early 1990s that was followed by a sudden large downturn in gun violence in the mid 1990s. The gun violence drop continued until the early part of the new millennium. Recent advances in criminological research suggest that there is significant clustering of crime in micro places, or ‘‘hot spots,’’ that generate a disproportionate amount of criminal events in a city.

Philadelphia Police Department Captain Altovise Love-Craighead discusses the fundamentals of trauma-informed policing including how de-escalation can interrupt cycles of violence. The central tenets of trauma-informed policing are introduced and examples are given as to how these principles can be applied in real-world policing situations. 

"In this New Thinking podcast, Judge Jeffrey Kremers of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court brings procedural justice to bear on domestic violence. Sharing his insights from the bench, Judge Kremers talks about the importance of procedural justice for both defendants and survivors as well as their families, and discusses strategies for addressing the unique challenges posed by domestic violence cases."

Although only 25 percent of a sample of 160 agencies had adopted compressed schedules (9 or more hours) in a 1983 national survey, by 2009 the current survey showed an increase to just over 70 percent. With an 86-percent response rate from 300 agencies with 50 or more sworn personnel in 2005 and a 100-percent response rate in 2009, it was clear that there was a trend away from traditional 8-hour shifts, from 40 percent of agencies down to 29 percent of agencies.

A former police chief reflects on how law enforcement agencies can do a better job of using science to reduce crime.

During the last 25 years, the costs of policing have risen dramatically across the nation. This rise in costs has spurred debates among city managers, elected officials, and police chiefs on how best to pay for policing - a debate that has only become sharper with the current fiscal crisis among state and local governments. This paper looks at the rising costs of policing in one medium-sized U.S. city (Mesa, Ariz.), and asks two major questions 1) What is driving up the costs of policing? 2… Read More

The booklet Law Enforcement Analytic Standards discusses the standards created by the International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts (IALEIA) as a result of the National Criminal Intelligence Sharing Plan (NCISP) recommendations. The analytic standards consist of 25 standards that explain the requirements of agencies to adopt the minimum standards for intelligence-led policing in order to support the development of sound, professional, and analytical products (… Read More

A number of American police departments have been experimenting with new problem-oriented policing frameworks to prevent gang and group-involved violence generally known as the “pulling levers” focused deterrence strategies. Focused deterrence strategies honor core deterrence ideas, such as increasing risks faced by offenders, while finding new and creative ways of deploying traditional and non-traditional law enforcement tools to do so, such as directly communicating incentives and… Read More

What is the more cost-effective way to control crime? Is it to focus on making crime unattractive by threatening offenders with long prison terms? Or to make the law-abiding life more attractive by providing better education and job opportunities? This old debate has been reopened as states face budget deficits and can no longer afford to support huge prison populations. This article focuses on three proposals: raising the minimum age at which youths can leave school, promoting business… Read More

Effective police leaders become adept at responding to challenge. Like other organizations, police agencies must balance constancy and predictability with adaptation and change. Even as they strive to standardize operations, most police leaders recognize the fluid context in which their agencies operate. They also understand that there are forces to which police organizations must adapt and evolve in order to remain effective in a changing world. It is those forces that drive organizational… Read More