Policing Research: If You Can't Find It, Do It

• NCJ Number: 252779
• Author(s): Ken Clary
• Date Published: April 2019
• Length: 1 page
• Agencies: NIJ
• Publication Type: Report (Technical Assistance); Program/Project Description; Case Study

Annotation

In this video and accompanying transcript, Ken Clary - a captain with the Iowa State Patrol and an NIJ Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) scholar - discusses the importance of implementing evidence-based practices for effective policing.

Abstract

Clary was selected as a LEADS scholar in 2016 and is just starting into his third year in the program. The Iowa Department of Public Safety was also selected to be a LEADS Agency in January 2019. The LEADS participation is an opportunity for the Iowa State Patrol and the Iowa Department of Public Safety to examine their policies and practices to determine whether they are based on data and data analysis that shows the impact on public safety of current policies and practices. In the video, Clary notes various places where research on problems similar to what a public safety agency faces can be found, such as the Police Foundation website and the website of the U.S. Justice Department's National Institute of Justice (NIJ). If a public safety agency cannot find existing research and recommendations on how to address effectively the problem it is facing, Clary recommends that the agency partner with an academic researcher in a collaboration to examine the issue based on solid research procedures that will yield data, data analysis, and recommendations for addressing the targeted issue and evaluate the impact of the strategies developed.