News & Events

Perhaps nothing is more important in law enforcement today than improving community-police relations. In a new essay, Police Foundation Senior Research Fellow and former police officer Dr. David J. Thomas discusses the challenges that law enforcement across the country must address in order to regain the public’s trust and improve police legitimacy. To read the full essay, click here or visit www.onpolicing.org.

If you would like to receive updates when new On Policing essays are posted, please click here to subscribe and indicate that you would like to receive information about the On Policing essay series.

As part of National Community Policing Week, in collaboration with the California Police Chiefs Association and the California State Sheriffs’ Association and with funding from the California Endowment, is proud to release the 3rd brief in a series of youth–focused policy briefs, “Defining the Role of School-Based Police Officers.”

School-based police officers often serve as educators and mentors, community liaisons and problem solvers, and ensurers of campus safety and security. Many officers develop positive relationships with students and their families and help guide them through the personal, educational, and social pressures that are part of being an adolescent. This brief aims to advance discussions about the roles for school-based officers and how a balanced approach regarding selection of officers, training, and collaboration can strengthen campus safety, respectful relationships, and student success.

This is the third brief in a four part series of youth-focused policy briefs produced to enhance law enforcement knowledge and understanding of youth development in an effort to improve outcomes for youth interactions with law enforcement. California law enforcement executives, and those nationwide, can use this tool as they examine their policies and processes for ways to improve approaches to youth. The first in this series ‘Issue Brief 1: Introduction’ and ‘Issue Brief 2: Teen Brain: Preparing Your Officers to Engage with Youth’ were released earlier this year.  The series will conclude in the coming months with:

• The Career Pipeline Concept

For more information, visit the Youth Policing Project page.

Arguably, nothing is more important in policing today than gaining and holding the trust of the community, particularly those most affected by crime and violence. Today, the Police Foundation, with generous support from the Charles Koch Foundation, is releasing a new report that provides real-life examples and optimism for how foot patrol can help law enforcement officers and agencies reconnect and build strong, mutually supportive relationships with their communities.

The report, entitled Engaging Communities One Step at a Time, highlights the positive interactions and dialogue that are occurring between communities and foot patrol officers from the Cambridge (MA) Police Department, the New Haven (CT) Police Department, the Evanston (IL) Police Department, the Kalamazoo (MI) Department of Public Safety, and the Portland (OR) Police Bureau. The study found that foot patrol facilitates relationship-building between the police and the community while also enhancing the enforcement and problem-solving efforts of law enforcement.

The importance and timeliness of this study cannot be understated. “Given the recent events in policing and the ongoing national conversation about community-police relations, this study offers a glimpse of the positive policing and engagement occurring across the country”, said Jim Bueermann, president of the Police Foundation. Furthermore, it underscores the importance of relationships. As one community member asserted during the study, “The key to policing, no matter where you are in the country, is building relationships. It’s not rocket science.”

To view and download the full report, please click here.

As our country remembers the lives lost and the selfless sacrifices of so many Americans on September 11, 2001, Dr. Frank Straub recalls his own experience in New York City on that fateful day. In the newest essay in the On Policing series, Dr. Straub stresses the importance of learning from such incidents as 9/11, the San Bernardino terrorist attack, the Pulse Night Club attack, and other critical incidents in order to prevent future tragedies and loss of life. To read the full essay, please click here or visit www.onpolicing.org.

The newest release in the On Policing essay series features Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Jeffrey Hadley discussing lessons he learned from a series of shootings that occurred in Kalamazoo on February 20, 2016. He emphasizes the critical importance of preparing for critical incidents such as the one experienced by his department, and he stresses the need for an effective communication strategy in the aftermath. To read the full essay, click here or visit www.onpolicing.org.

If you would like to receive updates when new On Policing essays are posted, please click here to subscribe and indicate that you would like to receive information about the On Policing essay series.

Just in time for ‘back to school,’ the Police Foundation, in collaboration with the California Police Chiefs Association and the California State Sheriffs’ Association and with funding from the California Endowment, is proud to release the 2^nd brief from a series of youth –focused policy briefs, “Teen Brain: Preparing Your Officers to Engage with Youth.”

The teen brain can greatly affect police interactions.  The part of the brain responsible for impulse control, problem solving, and decision-making are among the last areas to mature, usually not until an individual’s early twenties. Highlighting examples, this brief explores some agencies that have designed programs and developed resources around the challenges of the teen brain. This brief provides a summary of how law enforcement leaders can focus strategies around teens for impactful and positive interactions.

This is the second brief in a four part series of youth-focused policy briefs produced to enhance law enforcement knowledge and understanding of youth development in an effort to improve outcomes for youth interactions with law enforcement. California law enforcement executives, and those nationwide, can use this tool as they examine their policies and processes for ways to improve approaches to youth. The first in this series ‘Issue Brief 1: Introduction’ was released earlier this year.  The series will continue in the coming months with:

• Defining the Role of School-Based Police Officers; and
• The Career Pipeline Concept

For more information, visit the Youth Policing Project page.