EVIDENCE-BASED POLICING

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 1998

WASHINGTON, DC–Citing the need for national compliance with crime reporting standards, including audits of reporting practices to ensure that law enforcement agencies are in compliance, Lawrence W. Sherman, Professor and Chair of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland, said that "as police become more successful in fighting crime, the integrity of the scorekeeping process becomes more important."

In a recent address at the Police Foundation, before criminal justice practitioners, policymakers, and scholars, Dr. Sherman called for a new paradigm for American policing that uses research to guide practice and evaluate practitioners. "Of all the ideas in policing, evidence-based policing stands out as the most powerful force for change: police practices should be based on scientific evidence about what works best," Sherman said.

Dr. Sherman’s lecture, Evidence-Based Policing: Policing Based on Science, Not Anecdote, was the second in the Police Foundation’s new series, Ideas in American Policing. Papers from the series, which presents commentary and insight from leading criminologists, will be published by the foundation.

David H. Bayley, Dean of the School of Criminal Justice, The State University of New York at Albany, delivered the premier lecture in September 1997. In his lecture and paper, Policing in America: Assessment and Prospects, Dean Bayley addressed three basic questions: (1) What is distinctive about American policing? (2) What are the major changes that have occurred in American policing over the last 30 years? and (3) What are the factors currently shaping American policing?

As part of the series, the foundation plans to sponsor two major addresses each year at its Washington, D.C. headquarters. Requests for single copies of the monographs from this series, which are available at no charge, should be sent via mail, fax, or email to the Police Foundation, Attention: Publications, 1201 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20036, fax (202) 659-9149, email: pfinfo@policefoundation.org.

The Police Foundation is a private, independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting innovation and improvement in policing through its research, technical assistance, and communications programs. Established in 1970, the foundation has conducted seminal research in police behavior, policy, and procedure, and works to transfer to local agencies the best new information about practices for dealing effectively with a range of important police operational and administrative concerns. Motivating all of the foundation’s efforts is the goal of efficient, humane policing that operates within the framework of democratic principles and the highest ideals of the nation.

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