NIJ LEADS Program Increases Research Capabilities of Law Enforcement Officers

• NCJ Number: 254335
• Date Published: November 2019
• Length: 3 pages
• Agencies: NIJ
• Publication Type: Technical Assistance; Program/Project Description; Instructional Material (Programmed)

Annotation

This 6-minute video with transcript features two scholars' experiences in the U.S. Justice Department's National Institute of Justice's (NIJ's) Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Scholars Program, which advances evidence-based policing by supporting the development of research-minded law enforcement personnel who can lead their agencies into integrating research into law enforcement policies and practices.

Abstract

In the video, LEADS scholar Major Wendy Stiver of the Dayton Police Department (Ohio) discusses her law enforcement background and her research project as a LEADS scholar. She has a master's degree in criminal justice, which has oriented her toward the importance of research in determining which policing policies are most effective in preventing crime and solving criminal cases. Her priority when she became commander of her agency's downtown patrol division was to ensure her division applied evidence-based patrol strategies. Her work as a LEADS scholar provided the guidance she needed in designing a strategy in which officers spent 15- minute increments on foot patrol, so as to provide variation in police visibility in those areas known to experience higher crime rates. This research effort not only helped her agency, but provided evidence to other law enforcement agencies of the effectiveness of the Dayton patrol model. The video also features Captain Ivonne Roman's experience as a LEADS scholar in 2016. At the time, she was a masters student in Rutgers University while serving in the North Police Department of Newark (New Jersey). In the LEADS program, Roman's experience in conducting research related to law enforcement led to her being selected to develop a research-based policy on the police use of unarmed offensive tactics for New Jersey law enforcement officers.