U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs National Institute of Justice NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE EVIDENCE-BASED POLICING IN 45 SMALL BYTES Gary Cordner, Ph.D. Academic Director Education and Training Section Baltimore Police Department May 2020 U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs 810 Seventh St. N.W. Washington, DC 20531 David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D. Director, National Institute of Justice This and other publications and products of the National Institute of Justice can be found at: National Institute of Justice Strengthen Science • Advance Justice NIJ.ojp.gov Office of Justice Programs Building Solutions • Supporting Communities • Advancing Justice O J P.gov The National Institute of Justice is the research, development, and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. NIJ’s mission is to advance scientific research, development, and evaluation to enhance the administration of justice and public safety. The National Institute of Justice is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the Office for Victims of Crime; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. The author prepared this paper with support from the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, under contract number DJO-NIJ-16-G-0127. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the U.S. Department of Justice. Photo Sources: ©Globalphoto/Shutterstock, Inc. Contents Introduction ....................................................................................................................... iii Evidence-Based Policing .................................................................................................. 1 What Is Evidence-Based Policing? ................................................................................. 2 Practical EBP: Data, Analysis, Research, and Evidence ................................................. 4 The Limits of EBP............................................................................................................ 6 EBP vs. Intelligence-Led, Problem-Oriented, and Community-Oriented Policing .......... 8 Effective Policing ............................................................................................................. 11 The Bottom Line(s) of Policing ...................................................................................... 12 Reducing Serious Crime ............................................................................................... 14 Holding Offenders to Account ...................................................................................... 16 Maintaining Safety and Order ....................................................................................... 18 Reassuring the Public ................................................................................................... 20 Providing Quality Services ............................................................................................ 22 Using Force and Authority Fairly and Effectively .......................................................... 24 Using Financial Resources Fairly, Efficiently, and Effectively ........................................ 26 Police Legitimacy .......................................................................................................... 28 Measuring External Conditions ...................................................................................... 31 Crime and Disorder ....................................................................................................... 33 Traffic Crashes .............................................................................................................. 35 Vulnerable People ......................................................................................................... 37 Known Offenders .......................................................................................................... 39 Fear of Crime ................................................................................................................ 41 Citizen Complaints ........................................................................................................ 43 Client Satisfaction ......................................................................................................... 45 Public Trust ................................................................................................................... 47 Measuring Internal Conditions ....................................................................................... 49 Officer Safety, Health, and Wellness ............................................................................. 51 Employee Attitudes, Knowledge, Skills, and Talents .................................................... 54 Discipline and Grievances ............................................................................................. 56 Applicants and New Hires ............................................................................................. 58 Training .......................................................................................................................... 60 Evidence-Based Policing in 45 Small Bytes i Measuring Performance ................................................................................................. 63 Arrests, Citations, Stops, and Searches ....................................................................... 65 Use of Force and Pursuits............................................................................................. 68 Public Contacts, Community Engagement, and Problem Solving ............................... 70 Response Time ............................................................................................................. 72 Crime Clearances and Judicial Outcomes .................................................................... 74 Civil Suits and Judgments ............................................................................................ 76 Identifying and Analyzing Problems .............................................................................. 79 Analyzing Bottom-Line Outcomes ................................................................................ 81 Analyzing External Conditions ...................................................................................... 84 Analyzing Internal Conditions ....................................................................................... 86 Analyzing Performance ................................................................................................. 88 Evaluating Practices and Testing Alternatives ............................................................. 91 Process and Outcome Assessment .............................................................................. 93 Evaluating Current Practices ......................................................................................... 96 Testing New Practices ................................................................................................... 99 Experiments and Quasi-Experiments ......................................................................... 102 Nonexperimental Evaluations ..................................................................................... 105 Using Evidence .............................................................................................................. 109 Finding and Weighing Evidence .................................................................................. 110 Putting Evidence to Use.............................................................................................. 113 Creating an Evidence-Based Agency ......................................................................... 115 Continuous Improvement ............................................................................................ 118 Suggested Readings ..................................................................................................... 121 Valuable Resources ....................................................................................................... 129 ii National Institute of Justice | NIJ.ojp.gov Introduction his guidebook presents a practical framework for understanding evidence-based policing (EBP). The framework is practical in the sense that it is understandable, T feasible, and directly tied to making policing more effective. In other words, it isn’t about collecting data for its own sake, or about doing research for its own sake. Rather, it is about serving and protecting the public as effectively as possible. That said, this EBP framework is demanding because the police mission is demanding.1 The framework identifies data that should be collected, analyses that should be conducted, and research that should be carried out — all for the purpose of making policing better. Improving policing depends on producing and then using the best available evidence when making decisions, developing policies, and designing programs and practices. The framework is presented in 45 small “bytes.” The number is arbitrary, but it illustrates the fact that policing is a broad function in a society that expects a lot from