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Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Scholars Program

NIJ's Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science Scholars Program for Civilians

New scholars selected!

Meet the 2024 class of scholars.

NIJ typically accepts applications for new scholars in the spring.

The Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Civilians program offers a unique opportunity to engage and partner with other NIJ LEADS Scholars, all of whom are mid-career police officers, fellow civilians, and academics dedicated to advancing the police profession through science. 

The program has...

Director's Message: Advancing the Police Profession Through Science

Recent events across the country have made calls for criminal justice reform commonplace, and law enforcement in particular has been called upon to increase standards of performance and advance the field as a profession. At the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), we are committed to supporting law enforcement in their efforts to advance policing, and we strongly believe that science can play a pivotal role...

LEADS Scholar Spotlight - Optimal Investigator Caseloads

October 2018
Series
Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science Program Spotlight
Daniel Stewart, a captain in the Oklahoma City Police Department and Class of 2016 Scholar of NIJ’s Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Program, discusses research he has conducted on investigator caseloads as commander of a property crimes unit with his police department. He also speaks about the impact of the LEADS program and network on his research and professional career.

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LEADS Scholar Spotlight - American Society of Evidence-Based Policing

October 2018
Series
Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science Program Spotlight
Joshua Young, a retired corporal of the Ventura Police Department in California and Class of 2015 Scholar of NIJ’s Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Program, discusses the American Society of Evidence-Based Policing, which encourages the use of data and research to inform policing. He also talks about a randomized control trial he conducted on body-worn cameras and the support he has received from the LEADS program.

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NIJ's Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science Scholars Program for Law Enforcement Officers

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Scholars program offers a unique opportunity for mid-career, sworn law enforcement officers to enhance their professional development and research capacity alongside other NIJ LEADS Scholars—including policing civilians, academics, and fellow officers—who are committed to advancing policing through science.

LEADS Scholar Spotlight — Patrol Officer Exposure to Subcritical Incidents

May 2018
Series
Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science Program Spotlight
Wendy Stiver, a commander with the Dayton Police Department in Ohio and a Class of 2016 scholar of NIJ’s Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Program, talks about her work to find interventions to patrol officer exposure to subcritical trauma, or subcritical incidents. She said she was inspired by the LEADS Program to begin analyzing this subject.

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LEADS Scholar Spotlight — Reducing Gun Violence

May 2018
Series
Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science Program Spotlight
Cory Nelson, a captain with the Madison Police Department in Wisconsin and a Class of 2015 scholar of NIJ’s Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Program, speaks about how he was able to reduce gun violence in Madison thanks to implementing the Koper Curve Theory. He learned of this new principle as part of the LEADS Program when he attended the Evidence-Based Policing Symposium at George Mason University earlier this year.

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LEADS Scholar Spotlight — Predictive Policing Algorithms

May 2018
Series
Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science Program Spotlight
Shon Barnes, a deputy police chief with the Salisbury Police Department in North Carolina and a Class of 2015 scholar of NIJ’s Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Program, explains predictive policing and details a quasi-experiment that his department performed. He credits the LEADS Scholarship Program with helping him understand data and ask the right questions.

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NIJ's Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Program — Departing Class

June 2017
Series
Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science Program Spotlight
In this video, law enforcement officers discuss how NIJ’s Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) scholar program benefits professional development and provides the opportunity to network with academia and share research with other agencies to improve evidence-based policing. In addition, law officers discuss how the LEADs scholar program equips smaller agencies to improve community relations.

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