Gabrielle T. Isaza, Ph.D.
Senior Research Associate
Science & Innovation Division
Bio
Gabrielle T. Isaza, Ph.D., joined the National Policing Institute as a Senior Research Associate in September 2022. Previously, Dr. Isaza spent nine years in research roles at the International Association of Chiefs of Police / University of Cincinnati Center for Police Research and Policy and at the University of Cincinnati Institute of Crime Science. She earned her Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati, with a dissertation focused on evaluating a police de-escalation training.
Dr. Isaza’s areas of research include police effectiveness, police reform, crime prevention, and evaluations of police training programs, including de-escalation, peer intervention, and implicit bias. Dr. Isaza has worked directly with several police departments and is an advocate of the practice of police-academic partnerships. She serves as co-principal investigator on multiple grants funded by state, federal, and philanthropic organizations and has published across leading criminal justice journals and practitioner-focused publications.
Publications
Isaza, G. T., Motz, R. T., McManus, H. D., and Corsaro, N. (2025). Examining the impact of state-wide reform on police attitudes and perceptions in New Jersey. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 19. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/police/paaf003
Isaza, G. T., Motz, R. T., McManus, H. D., Corsaro, N., & Shoulberg, A. M. (2025). Examining police reforms in New Jersey: Impacts on officer attitudes and self-reported behaviors. National Policing Institute.
Isaza, G. T., McManus, H. D., & Pompoco, A. R. (2022). Integrating evidence into training to improve police services to communities. Journal of Community Justice, XXXII(1), 7-9.
Isaza, G.T., Engel, R.S., & Cherkauskas, J.C. (2022). Examining the Utility of Sobering Centers: National Survey of Police Departments and Sobering Centers. National Policing Institute.
Isaza, G.T., Engel, R.S., & Motz, R. (2021). Evaluation of Applied De-escalation Tactics Train-the-trainer Program for the Collaborative Reform Initiative for Technical Assistance Center (CRI-TAC). IACP/UC Center for Police Research & Policy.
Isaza, G.T., Engel, R.S., McManus, H.D., & Corsaro, N. (2019). Evaluation of Police Use of Force De-Escalation Training: Assessing the Impact of the Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (ICAT) Training for the University of Cincinnati, OH Police Division. IACP/UC Center for Police Research and Policy.
Engel, R.S., Isaza, G.T., & McManus, H.D. (2022). Owning police reform: The path forward for practitioners and researchers. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 47(6), 1225-1242.
Engel, R.S., Corsaro, N., Isaza, G.T., & McManus, H.D. (2022). Assessing the impact of de-escalation training on police behavior: Reducing police use of force in the Louisville, KY Metro Police Department. Criminology and Public Policy, 21(2), 199-233.
Engel, R.S., Isaza, G.T., Motz, R., McManus, H.D., & Corsaro, N. (2022). De-escalation training receptivity and first-line police supervision: Findings from the Louisville Metro Police study. Police Quarterly, 25(2), 201-227.
Engel, R. S., McManus, H.D., & Isaza, G.T. (2020). Moving beyond “best practice”: The need for evidence to reduce officer-involved shootings. ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, 687(1), 146-165.
Engel, R.S., Isaza, G.T., Motz, R. & Corsaro, N. (2021). Examining the Impact of Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (ICAT) De-escalation Training for the Louisville Metro Police Department: Supplemental Findings. IACP/UC Center for Police Research and Policy.
Worden, R. E., McLean, S.J., Engel, R.S., Corsaro, N., Reynolds, D., Najdowski, C. J., & Isaza, G.T. (2020). The Impacts of Implicit Bias Awareness Training in the NYPD. IACP/UC Center for Police Research and Policy.
Areas of Focus
- Evaluations of police training
- Survey research
- Police use of force
- Crime and violence prevention
- Campus policing