Project Summary
This project will establish an action research partnership between Wauwatosa, WI Police Department (WPD) and the Northeastern University Crime Prevention Lab that will operate with the distinct goal of moving WPD towards a model of police-led science. The action research project will unfold over three phases. Phase one will involve a rigorous, multi-pronged evaluation of WPD’s current hot spots policing intervention, which was deployed as a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in February 2024. Phase two will establish an internal EBP working group at WPD, which will be tasked with developing data-driven public safety solutions. Phase three will involve the design, implementation, and RCT of a new place-based intervention.
Project Description
For evidence-based policing (EBP) to reach its full potential, practitioners must consult the scientific research evidence to inform policy and practice. Partnerships with outside researchers are often seen as a way to promote EMP, but competing interests and incentive structure of academia and policing can minimize the impact of such arrangements. In light of this, scholars have recently advocated for a shift away from the current paradigm of science-led policing towards a model of police-led science, which empowers police agencies to develop and test research questions and be directly involved in knowledge dissemination. This project can provide a blueprint for police agencies aspiring to become more evidence-based by contributing to literature on experimentation, implementation science, and problem analysis.
