OnPolicing Blog

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, the more likely it is to succeed. Unfortunately, most change initiatives in policing lack the fundamental building blocks necessary to achieve this field of dreams.

Brandon del Pozo and his colleagues recently published a survey of police leaders capturing their experiences with the implementation of new initiatives. The researchers employed implementation science as a framework for the survey, categorizing the results into domains that help describe the elements necessary for implementation success. The recipe for successfully implementing new practices in police agencies hinges on building solid foundations as a springboard for change. This includes the following:

• Build trust with line-level personnel, especially when an external actor introduces a new practice or initiative. Consider their point of view when tailoring a popular innovation to the local needs and conditions.
• Put as much energy into a plan for expanding and sustaining successful pilot programs as was put into planning the pilot itself.
• Ensure the value of a new practice is conveyed, especially if it is an alternative to enforcement, so that the benefit is found to outweigh the cost of executing a potentially more complex practice.
• Gain support from and collaboration with community leaders to adopt new technologies, procedures, and laws to help new police practices succeed.
• Communicate the value of the new practice to line-level personnel to develop buy-in.
• Accompany changes with resources so those implementing the change have all the tools for success at their disposal.

Why Police Leaders Should Care

Law enforcement agencies are complex systems. They operate under intense scrutiny, face diverse community expectations, and must navigate legal, political, and cultural constraints. Implementing change in this environment is a challenging task. Without a clear roadmap, even the most promising innovations can stall or backfire. For police leadership, implementation science offers that roadmap with a structured, strategic approach to change management. It helps departments move beyond trial and error and toward intentional, sustainable innovation.

These roadmaps equip police leaders with tools to:

• Assess readiness for change
• Engage stakeholders effectively
• Adapt innovations to their local communities
• Monitor progress and adjust strategies
• Ensure long-term sustainability of their efforts

Implementation Frameworks: A Roadmap for Change

Implementation science offers many approaches to managing change. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), developed by Damschroder and colleagues, offers a valuable tool for police leaders. This framework helps identify factors that influence successful implementation across different contexts and can guide the development of implementation strategies tailored to specific organizational needs.

Another example of a widely used model in implementation science is the EPIS framework, developed to guide organizations through the stages of adopting and sustaining new practices in healthcare and public health settings, and is easily adaptable to the public safety field. EPIS stands for the following.

1. Exploration

This phase involves identifying problems, assessing organizational readiness, and exploring potential solutions to address these issues. For police departments, this might mean:

• Conducting internal audits or community surveys
• Reviewing evidence-based practices
• Engaging officers, union representatives, and community stakeholders

The goal is to establish a shared understanding of the need for change and to assess whether a proposed innovation aligns with the department’s mission, values, and operational realities.

2. Preparation

Once a direction is chosen, the preparation phase focuses on planning, people, and infrastructure development. This includes:

• Designing training programs
• Revising policies and procedures
• Allocating resources and personnel
• Establishing data collection systems
• Developing an external and internal communications plan

Police leaders play a crucial role in this by aligning internal structures and ensuring that frontline staff are equipped and supported.

3. Implementation

This is where the rubber meets the road. The innovation is put into practice, and leaders must:

• Monitor fidelity to the model
• Collect feedback from officers and community members
• Troubleshoot barriers and adapt strategies

Implementation is rarely linear. Police departments must be agile, responsive, and willing to pivot based on real-time data and frontline experiences.

4. Sustainment

The final phase focuses on embedding the innovation into routine operations. This involves:

• Institutionalizing changes through policy and culture
• Providing ongoing training and support
• Ensuring leadership continuity and accountability

Sustainment is often overlooked, but it’s essential. Without it, interventions risk becoming temporary projects rather than lasting improvements.

Diffusion of Innovations: Understanding Adoption

While implementation science offers a roadmap to managing change, it would be foolish to assume every person involved in a change initiative reacts to and accepts that change in the same way. The planning, implementation, and sustainment of new practices must consider the people involved in the change and those who will be affected by it. Everett Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations theory offers insight into how new ideas spread within organizations and real-world settings. Rogers identified five categories of adopters:

1. Innovators – Visionaries who embrace new ideas early
2. Early Adopters – Respected opinion leaders who influence others
3. Early Majority – Pragmatic individuals who adopt once the benefits are clear
4. Late Majority – Skeptics who need reassurance and proof
5. Laggards – Resistant to change, often due to tradition or mistrust

Understanding these categories helps police leaders identify internal champions and tailor communication strategies.

Practical Applications in Law Enforcement

This approach can be applied to the real-world policing challenges currently facing law enforcement agencies. Whether rolling out a new program to respond to mental health crises, focusing on ways to improve officer safety and wellness, establishing a new drone program, or adopting a new evidence-based approach to reducing crime and violence, implementation science offers measured guidance to build successful innovations that last.

Implementation research has shown that even evidence-based interventions can fail without proper planning and execution. For police departments, this means understanding local determinants of successful implementation, engaging clinicians and other stakeholders effectively, and using appropriate implementation strategies throughout the implementation process.

The field of implementation science provides a methodology for translating research findings into routine practice. This is particularly important for law enforcement agencies seeking to bridge the practice gap between what research shows works and what is actually implemented in real-world settings. Implementation scientists emphasize the importance of assessing feasibility, addressing facilitators and barriers, and measuring implementation outcomes alongside health outcomes or, in policing contexts, public safety outcomes.

Health systems and public health organizations have long recognized the value of implementation science program approaches. Police departments can learn from these sectors about scaling up evidence-based practices and conducting implementation studies with rigorous study designs.

Challenges and Considerations

While implementation science offers powerful tools, it’s not a silver bullet. Police leaders must be prepared to invest time and resources, navigate political and cultural dynamics, and commit to ongoing learning and adaptation. Success requires leadership at all levels, from command staff to frontline supervisors.

Implementation research has identified common barriers to successful implementation, including inadequate resources, resistance to change, and lack of organizational support. For police departments, additional challenges may include union concerns, community skepticism, and the complex political environment in which law enforcement operates.

However, implementation science also provides strategies for addressing these challenges. Brownson and Proctor’s work on dissemination and implementation research offers valuable insights into how organizations can overcome barriers and achieve sustainable change. Case studies like these from other sectors, including healthcare and global health, demonstrate that with proper planning and execution, even complex interventions can be successfully implemented and sustained across different industries.

Final Thoughts

Policing is at a crossroads. Communities are demanding more transparency and effectiveness. Innovations abound—but without thoughtful implementation, they risk falling short and getting stuck in the rut of a “nothing works” rhetoric that the field of criminal justice has endured for decades.

Implementation science offers police leaders a strategic advantage. It transforms change from a gamble into a guided process. It empowers departments to lead with intention, engage with integrity, and deliver lasting results. In short, it’s not just about doing the right thing—it’s about doing it the right way and building the field of dreams everyone would like to visit. Police leaders can take the first step by incorporating implementation science into their strategic planning, developing a strong implementation team, and applying the lessons of the diffusion of innovation to advance and sustain innovation within their agencies.

The growing body of implementation science research, supported by organizations such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and documented in journals, provides law enforcement with proven methodologies for change management. By embracing these evidence-based approaches to implementation, police departments can move beyond traditional trial-and-error methods to achieve lasting improvements in population health, community safety, and organizational effectiveness.

FAQs

What is implementation science in policing?

Implementation science is the discipline of adopting, scaling, and sustaining evidence-based practices. In policing, it replaces trial-and-error with structured methods to plan, execute, evaluate, and maintain innovations (e.g., mental health response, officer wellness, technology deployment). This field of implementation science draws from health services and public health research to provide proven implementation strategies for law enforcement agencies.

What is the EPIS framework?

EPIS = Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment—a roadmap for intentional change.

• Exploration: Assess needs/readiness and define goals
• Preparation: Build infrastructure, provide training, and establish effective communications
• Implementation: Launch, measure, and adapt in real time
• Sustainment: Embed into policy, culture, and routine operations

Why do police innovations fail to stick?

Common barriers include:

• Limited trust or frontline buy-in
• Weak plans for scaling beyond pilots
• Poor fit with local needs/values
• Insufficient resources or leadership support

Implementation science addresses these via stakeholder engagement, strategic planning, continuous learning, and data-driven adaptation. Implementation research has identified these determinants across various health systems and organizations, providing valuable insights for law enforcement agencies.

How can leaders build support inside the agency?

Leaders can build support by using Diffusion of Innovations principles, which are:

• Activate early adopters and respected opinion leaders
• Tailor messages to different adopter types
• Show clear value and local relevance; highlight quick wins
• Reduce barriers with training, time, and tools; keep two-way communication

Successful implementation requires engaging all providers, from frontline officers to community members, throughout the implementation process.

What makes an effective implementation team?

A successful implementation team consists of: 

• Cross-functional membership (command, frontline, analysts, community reps)
• Credibility and clear roles
• Skills in implementation and change management
• Access to data, resources, and visible leadership backing
• Authority to test, iterate, and institutionalize changes

Implementation scientists emphasize the importance of having diverse perspectives and expertise on implementation teams, drawing lessons from global health and other sectors where complex interventions have been successfully scaled up.