In recent decades, police scholars and practitioners have focused on the concentration of crime in specific locations, known as “hot spots.” Among police researchers, Weisburd (2015) has claimed that a “law of crime concentration” should become a key focus of research and inform crime reduction efforts. Many practitioners, in turn, have long sought to put…

Measuring What Matters: Why Public Confidence Is the New Bottom Line in Policing Public agencies do not measure success the same way private companies do. There is no profit margin or stock price that determines whether a law enforcement agency or city government has succeeded. Instead, as Harvard’s Mark Moore argues in Recognizing Public Value (2013),…

We’re heading into 2026 with a public safety landscape that feels anything but predictable. While these times may feel unsettled, the dedication of law enforcement to serve and protect their communities endures. This is a time-tested truth that we cannot overlook. Crime rates have continued to decline nationally, but communities and their residents don’t necessarily…

In December 2020, the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General launched one of the most ambitious police use of force reform efforts in the nation. The goal: reduce use of force, enhance accountability, and promote professionalism in policing statewide. The Use of Force Reduction Initiative included: Overhauling the statewide use of force policy, Standardizing…

When someone in crisis calls for help, law enforcement is often the first to arrive. These situations require compassionate and coordinated intervention to ensure the safety of officers and community members, while supporting individuals’ connections to services.   Across the country, agencies are enhancing their response capabilities by implementing specialized training (e.g., Crisis Response and Intervention…

Reliable, valid measurement using sound psychometric principles  Creating, conducting, and interpreting surveys is more complicated than it may seem. Law enforcement agencies across the country are joining us in recognizing the importance of data-driven decision-making in improving public safety outcomes, reducing crime, and increasing community satisfaction with police services. But where do you get that…

When most people think about police work, they picture TV scenes—high-speed chases, arrests, and traffic stops. But behind the scenes, police leaders and researchers are working to answer bigger questions: What truly works in policing? Does it improve public safety? Does it support officer wellness? That’s where the National Policing Institute comes in. Since 1970,…

A recent article on stops and searches by the Metropolitan Police in London has reignited debate about the use of stop, question, and frisk (SQF) in the United States. Piquero and Sherman (2025)1 analyzed 15 years of stop and search data from the Metropolitan Police and found a correlation between increases and decreases in stop…

Ask any person who has successfully rolled out a new initiative or made a change in practice about how they do it, and they might relay a version of an “if you build it, they will come” mindset, where reality is manifested through thought and action. The more thought and energy put into a project,…

Stress in policing is unavoidable, but not all sources of stress are the same. While many police applicants expect dangers on the job, such as responding to violent incidents or traumatic events, what is less obvious is the stress that originates from within the agency itself. This organizational stress in policing comes from department structure,…