{"id":72969,"date":"2023-04-01T08:00:49","date_gmt":"2023-04-01T12:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/?p=72969"},"modified":"2023-03-24T15:41:42","modified_gmt":"2023-03-24T19:41:42","slug":"finding-what-works-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/finding-what-works-best\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding What Works Best"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cMore data needed,\u201d \u201cData show disparity in response,\u201d \u201cPolice should not respond to traffic violations.\u201d These types of headlines play on repeat. Every time police executives open their email, read industry news briefs, or browse the internet, they find articles that repeatedly discuss data and policing. The articles report on data, call for more data, or call for reform measures that likely will not have appropriate data collection and analysis measures built in. This is not a new issue. In fact, it is history repeating itself for almost the past 100 years.<sup>1<\/sup> So, if data are the answer, why are there still so many questions about what policing should be and how to measure its success?<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #d5472a;\"><strong>The Problem: Data without Context<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Some of the issues that prevent data-driven policing and hinder evidence-based policing are structural, while others are fiscal. With more than 18,000 different local, state, and federal police jurisdictions in the United States, all overseen by myriad laws, policies, and funding, the collection and use of data to support public safety decisions and actions vary greatly.<sup>2<\/sup> Despite continued challenges to gather and analyze data, the ability to disperse data and analysis has grown with the advances in technology, social media, and the virtual world. Departments are working hard to collect and distribute their data to support their communities\u2019 calls for accountability and transparency, which is a noble and well-intentioned practice. However, the outcome frequently leaves a lot to be desired.<\/p>\n<p>While open data portals are always good for transparency and allow trained academics access to data sets for analysis, simply posting the data without context and analysis can be problematic. This trend of open data without context and knowledge of policing systems and data has led to a growing number of websites, data analysts, and reporters that \u201crate\u201d the police based on the statistics that are readily available.<sup>3<\/sup> Many miss crucial components of the analysis, namely the benchmarks that are needed to provide accurate analysis and, therefore, misinterpret the data instead of telling the whole story.<sup>4<\/sup> Additionally, these websites and the analysts behind them don\u2019t have important context: the nuances of each event, the fact that policing is simply one component of a larger criminal justice system, and the necessity of considering the community\u2019s needs and input.<\/p>\n<p>A recent example of using data to rate the police can be seen on two websites by policy analyst and racial justice activist Samuel Sinyangwe: The Police Scorecard and Mapping Police Violence. In a recent article, he discusses how there has been little variation overall in the number of people killed by the police over the last three years, despite the calls for police reform.<sup>5<\/sup> This statement appears to reflect the natural fluctuations in the data that occur due to random noise in the data set and cannot be attributed to something like reform occurring or not occurring. Small variations in data do not achieve statistical significance in determining whether police reforms are working or not.<sup>6<\/sup> The crux of the problem isn\u2019t in data collection, but in the incorrect statistical analysis of policing data. To properly analyze data within the context of policing\u2014or any profession\u2014requires understanding which statistical methods are most appropriate for the question and the available data, along with the theoretical foundation of the field. Using descriptive changes in data as evidence of whether or not a reform is working is a mathematically incorrect way to determine a causal or even correlational link.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, it\u2019s important to understand the denominator or benchmarks.<sup>7<\/sup> Considering the millions of police contacts with community members made per year, the percentage of incidents that result in death due to use of force is 0.0015 percent.<sup>8<\/sup> Clearly, trying to make that number smaller is still an important undertaking. However, it is important to fully understand the starting point and the situation prior to implementing a solution. Determining if a solution is effective is not possible by just looking at data going up and down over an arbitrary selection of years. \u201cInformation about the effects of actions or interventions is simply not available in raw data, unless it is collected by controlled experimental manipulation.\u201d<sup>9<\/sup> This means it is crucial to identify and implement tactics and programs in such a way that they can be properly tested and evaluated.<sup>10<\/sup> That type of foresight, planning, and evaluating takes time, funding, and expertise. Such programs and initiatives may require the reallocation of funds or even additional funds. Thus, reforms like defunding the police or reducing policing budgets may undermine innovative efforts that require more funding for evaluation rather than less.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #d5472a;\">\u201cConsidering the millions of police contacts with community members made per year, the percentage of incidents that result in death due to use of force is 0.0015 percent.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In addition to missing the critical components of evaluating and measuring change, the websites and articles centered on police data exist in a vacuum. Many do not include the context of community or the agency they are rating and often are missing crucial data. Along with proper benchmarks, context is an important factor if one wants to determine what success looks like. Simply measuring use of force or stop data is short sighted. At the end of the day, data only provide insight only when proper statistical analysis is conducted and the data collection is controlled; descriptive data only start a conversation.<sup>11<\/sup> Data should be used to start a dialogue with the community the agency serves. Data can surface a problem, but data do not provide an answer or solution. Those answers and solutions need to be developed between the police and the community.<sup>12<\/sup> Those collaborative approaches must then be implemented in such a way that they can be evaluated for effectiveness. The collection of data can certainly provide direction, but it cannot provide adequate context to facilitate change. Randomized controlled trials (RCT), however, can provide specific data and insights that test the issues and proposed solutions.<sup>13<\/sup><\/p>\n<p>RCTs are one of the most stringent methods of research, utilizing a control group to determine the causal effects of an intervention and not simply correlation.<sup>14<\/sup> This is because RCTs compare the effects of a counterfactual, the business-as-usual approach to the treatment approach. This is important because not all research is created equally, and, without a comparison group, causation is difficult to discern. However, not all questions lend themselves to be tested in this format; for example, researchers cannot randomize prolific drug use. Nonetheless, when possible, an RCT should be considered. Why? Consider a medical example. Who would take a medication that hadn\u2019t been double-blind tested with a control group? Most people would prefer a medication or treatment that had been proven through experimentation to work and to not cause harm. The same principle should be applied to policing programs, policies, and interventions.<sup>15<\/sup><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #d5472a;\"><strong>Possible Solutions: Feedback Loops, Research, and Analysis<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>This raises the question, how can the data analysis challenge be addressed? One possible solution is the creation of feedback loops, in which the outputs (e.g., community feedback, reduced crime, calls for service, or officers\u2019 time on scene) are used to improve the system or project.<sup>16<\/sup> As U.S. businessman Dr. H. James Harrington eloquently put it:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Measurement is the first step that leads to control and eventually improvement. If you can\u2019t measure something, you can\u2019t understand it. If you can\u2019t understand it, you can\u2019t control it. If you can\u2019t control it, you can\u2019t improve it.<\/em><sup>17<\/sup><\/p>\n<p>There are several models where feedback loops have already been created. The CompStat360 model, developed by the National Policing Institute (formerly the National Police Foundation) in partnership with the Vera Institute, is one example of a feedback loop. It provides the opportunity for community concerns and priorities, along with community policing strategies, to be included in the data collection, analysis, and input from the police agency to co-produce safe communities.<sup>18<\/sup> Other communities are seeking opportunities to share data and solicit feedback as well. For example, the Rochester, New York, Police Department has developed a new police data tracking app in partnership with community groups and the city\u2019s district attorney\u2019s office.<sup>19<\/sup> While these programs are still in the beginning stages, they demonstrate a promising model for collaborative effort between local police leaders, technologists, researchers, data scientists, design experts, and community members. Ultimately, no matter the model, the elements of collaboration, foresight, proper data collection, analysis, and feedback are important to solve the issues at hand.<sup>20<\/sup><\/p>\n<p>The research implies that data collection and analysis are important, but only to the extent that they start the processes of communication. The trends of community policing, community trust, and transparency continue to be at the forefront of the headlines and conversations with communities. Yet, once communication begins and solutions are implemented, the need to implement the scientific method to target, test, and track these programs and potential solutions is paramount.<sup>21<\/sup><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #d5472a;\"><strong>Recommendations for Police Research<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Although many academics and researchers work in the field to co-create research with law enforcement, police have still not taken the lead on science. How can police agencies begin to do this? The following recommendations are a place to start:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: square; font-weight: normal; color: #d5472a;\">\n<li><strong>Funding:<\/strong> <span style=\"color: #333333;\">Secure funding for research through grants and partnerships or via hiring personnel capable of proper analysis.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Internal capacity:<\/strong> <span style=\"color: #333333;\">When possible, educate current staff through academics and organizations such as the American Society of Evidence-Based Policing, the National Institute of Justice\u2019s LEADS Scholar Program, and Betagov (a private organization affiliated with New York University that partners with practitioners to provide support in conducting RCTs). Consider hiring staff with educational backgrounds in criminology, data science, and analysis. Additionally, in areas where this may not be possible due to lack of staff and resources, developing a county-wide group to provide resources to all local agencies might be a more realistic model.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Collaborations:<\/strong> <span style=\"color: #333333;\">Seek partnerships with academics and researchers, as well as with community members and stakeholders. Some ways to do this include reaching out to local academic institutions, joining the American Society of Evidence-Based Policing, or participating with the National Institute of Justice\u2019s LEADS Scholar Program or Betagov.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Feedback loops and planned research:<\/strong> <span style=\"color: #333333;\">Ensure that testing of newly implemented programs is part of the culture. Build agencywide understanding that testing newly implemented programs and practices is important and that reporting the findings of these tests is equally important.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Foresight:<\/strong> <span style=\"color: #333333;\">Actively participate in activities to monitor the future. Looking at trends and events that have occurred and are likely to occur or reoccur in the future can aid in proper planning and success.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #d5472a;\"><strong>Conclusion <\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<aside class=\"pullout alignleft\"><strong>IACP Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: square;\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theiacp.org\/topics\/data-transparency\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Data & Transparency<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theiacp.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>theIACP.org<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: square;\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/making-the-case-for-agency-success\/\">Making the Case for Agency Success<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/better-data-for-evolving-crime-trends\/\">Better Data for Evolving Crime Trends<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/aside>\n<p>Data and proper data analysis matter. Calls for data with which to evaluate the police will continue, as they have for almost the past 100 years. Understanding data and how to properly analyze them can be difficult. However, a department\u2019s success and community safety rely on the ability of an agency to accurately collect, analyze, and interpret data and findings. Additionally, success relies on understanding that data are just the start of the process\u2014programs and policies can and should be evaluated properly for both agencies and communities to identify what works, what doesn\u2019t, and how best to accomplish the desires and goals of the community the agency serves.\u00a0<span style=\"font-family: Webdings;\">🛡<\/span><\/p>\n<aside class=\"pullout pullout--wide alignleft\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-72975\" src=\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Tolber-216x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"208\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Tolber-216x300.jpg 216w, https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Tolber-738x1024.jpg 738w, https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Tolber-768x1066.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Tolber-1106x1536.jpg 1106w, https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Tolber-1475x2048.jpg 1475w, https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Tolber-scaled.jpg 1844w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>Rachel Tolber has served the community of Redlands, California, since 1998. She has served in various positions, including most recently as interim police chief. In addition to her police service, she has participated in the National Institute of Justice\u2019s LEADS Scholars Program and is a board member of the American Society of Evidence-Based Policing.<\/p>\n<p><\/aside>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p><strong>Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><sup>1<\/sup>Rachel Harmon, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/scholarship.law.marquette.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=5173&context=mulr\">Why Do We (Still) Lack Data on Policing<em>?<\/em><\/a><em>\u201d<\/em> <em>Marquette Law Review <\/em>96, no. 4 (Summer 2013): 1119\u20131146; Jon M. Shane, \u201cImproving Police Use of Force: A Policy Essay on National Data Collection,\u201d <em>Criminal Justice Policy Review<\/em> 29, no. 2 (March 2018): 128\u2013148.<\/p>\n<p><sup>2<\/sup>Vera Bergengruen, \u201c\u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/5861953\/police-reform-use-of-force-database\/\">We Continue to Spin in Circles.\u2019 Inside the Decades-Long Effort to Create A National Police Use-of-Force Database<\/a>,\u201d <em>Time<\/em>, June 30, 2020; Harmon, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/scholarship.law.marquette.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=5173&context=mulr\">Why Do We (Still) Lack Data on Policing<em>?<\/em><\/a><em>\u201d<\/em>; Kenny Jacoby, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/stories.usatodaynetwork.com\/data_stories\/police-use-of-force-data-a-huge-mess-across-the-u-s\/\">Police Use of Force Data \u2018a Huge Mess\u2019 across the U.S<em>.<\/em><\/a><em>,\u201d<\/em> <em>USA Today<\/em>, August 25, 2019; Shane, \u201cImproving Police Use of Force.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><sup>3<\/sup>Sam Levin, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2022\/mar\/30\/us-police-killing-people-high-rates\">\u2018No Progress\u2019 since George Floyd: U.S. Police Killing Three People a Day<\/a>,\u201d <em>The Guardian<\/em>, March 30, 2022.<\/p>\n<p><sup>4<\/sup>John A. Shjarback and Justin Nix, \u201cConsidering Violence against Police by Citizen Race\/Ethnicity to Contextualize Representation in Officer-Involved Shootings,\u201d <em>Journal of Criminal Justice <\/em>66 (January\u2013February 2020): 101653.<\/p>\n<p><sup>5<\/sup>Levin, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2022\/mar\/30\/us-police-killing-people-high-rates\">\u2018No Progress\u2019 since George Floyd<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><sup>6<\/sup>Andrew Wheeler, \u201cWe Don’t Know What Causes Widespread Crime Changes,\u201d ASEBP, January 18, 2023.<\/p>\n<p><sup>7<\/sup>Lorie A. Fridell, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.policeforum.org\/assets\/docs\/Free_Online_Documents\/Racially-Biased_Policing\/by%20the%20numbers%20-%20a%20guide%20for%20analyzing%20race%20data%20from%20vehicle%20stops%202004.pdf\"><em>By the Numbers: A Guide for Analyzing Race Data from Vehicle Stops<\/em><\/a> (Washington, DC: Police Executive Research Forum, 2004).<\/p>\n<p><sup>8<\/sup>Police Foundation \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.policinginstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/PF-UOF-Infographic-Printable_Final.pdf\">When Can the Police Use Force\u2014And What Happens When They Do?<\/a>\u201d infographic, 2016.<\/p>\n<p><sup>9<\/sup>Judea Pearl and Dana Mackenzie, <em>The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect<\/em> (New York, NY: Basic Books, 2018), 22.<\/p>\n<p><sup>10<\/sup>Mitchell, <em>Twenty-One Mental Models That Can Change Policing.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><sup>11<\/sup>Amy Farrell, Jack McDevitt, and Michael E. Buerger, \u201cMoving Police and Community Dialogues Forward through Data Collection Task Forces,\u201d <em>Police Quarterly<\/em> 5, no. 3 (September 2002): 359\u2013379.<\/p>\n<p><sup>12<\/sup>Bill Bratton and Jon Murad, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2018\/07\/29\/how-precision-policing-made-new-york-even-safer\/\">How Precision Policing Made New York Even Safer<\/a>,\u201d <em>The New York Post<\/em>, July 29, 2018; Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.route-fifty.com\/tech-data\/2020\/10\/can-better-data-fix-americas-policing-crisis\/169627\/\">Can Better Data Fix America\u2019s Policing Crisis?<\/a>\u201d <em>Route Fifty<\/em>, October 28, 2020.<\/p>\n<p><sup>13<\/sup>Dean Knox and Jonathan Mummolo, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu\/podcast\/knowledge-at-wharton-podcast\/data-science-can-win-debate-police-reform\/\">How Data Science Can Win the Debate on Police Reform<\/a>,\u201d October 20, 2020, in <em>Knowledge at Wharton<\/em>, podcast; Lynn Peeples, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-020-01846-z\">What the Data Say About Police Brutality and Racial Bias\u2014And Which Reforms Might Work<\/a>,\u201d <em>Nature<\/em> 583 (2020): 22\u201324.<\/p>\n<p><sup>14<\/sup>Geoffrey Alpert and Gary Cordner, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/rib-striking-a-balance\/\">Striking a Balance: Research, Science, and Policing<\/a>,\u201d Research in Brief, <em>Police Chief <\/em>85, no. 8 (August 2018): 14\u201315; David P. Farrington et al., \u201cThe Maryland Scientific Methods Scale,\u201d in <em>Evidence-Based Crime Prevention,<\/em> eds. David P. Farrington et al. (London, UK: Routledge, 2002), 13\u201321.<\/p>\n<p><sup>15<\/sup>Lawrence W. Sherman, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.policinginstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Sherman-1998-Evidence-Based-Policing.pdf\">Evidence-Based Policing<\/a>,\u201d <em>Ideas in American Policing<\/em> (July 1998).<\/p>\n<p><sup>16<\/sup>Daniel Kahneman and Gary Klein, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fs.usda.gov\/rmrs\/sites\/default\/files\/Kahneman2009_ConditionsforIntuitiveExpertise_AFailureToDisagree.pdf\">Conditions for Intuitive Expertise: A Failure to Disagree<\/a>,\u201d <em>American Psychologist <\/em>64, no. 6 (September 2009): 515\u2013526; Mitchell, <em>Twenty-One Mental Models That Can Change Policing<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><sup>17<\/sup>Shane, \u201cImproving Police Use of Force.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><sup>18<\/sup>Bratton and Murad, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2018\/07\/29\/how-precision-policing-made-new-york-even-safer\/\">How Precision Policing Made New York Even Safer<\/a>\u201d; Barrett and Greene, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.route-fifty.com\/tech-data\/2020\/10\/can-better-data-fix-americas-policing-crisis\/169627\/\">Can Better Data Fix America\u2019s Policing Crisis?<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n<p><sup>19<\/sup>Chase Houle, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/13wham.com\/news\/local\/new-data-portal-looks-to-offer-more-transparency-from-monroe-county-da-and-rpd\">New Data Portal Looks to Offer More Transparency from Monroe County D.A. and RPD<\/a>,\u201d 13Wham, March 28, 2022.<\/p>\n<p><sup>20<\/sup>Hugo Bowne-Anderson, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2018\/08\/what-data-scientists-really-do-according-to-35-data-scientists\">What Data Scientists Really Do, According to 35 Data Scientists<\/a>,\u201d <em>Harvard Business Review<\/em>, August 15, 2018; Kevin J. Strom, Andre Richards, and Ren\u00e9e J. Mitchell, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rti.org\/insights\/defund-the-police\">Defund the Police? How to Chart a Path Forward with Evidence and Data<\/a>,\u201d <em>Insights <\/em>(blog), July 22, 2020.<\/p>\n<p><sup>21<\/sup>Lawrence W. Sherman, \u201cThe Rise of Evidence-Based Policing: Targeting, Testing, and Tracking,\u201d <em>Crime and Justice <\/em>42 (2013): 377\u2013451.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Please cite as<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Rachel Tolber, \u201cFinding What Works Best: How the Police Can Leverage Data to Drive Success How the Police Can Leverage Data to Drive Success,\u201d <em>Police Chief<\/em> 90, no. 4 (2023): 38 41.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cMore data needed,\u201d \u201cData show disparity in response,\u201d \u201cPolice should not respond to traffic violations.\u201d These types of headlines play on repeat. Every time police executives open their email, read industry news briefs, or browse the internet, they find articles that repeatedly discuss data and policing. The articles report on data, call for more data, or call for reform measures that likely will not have appropriate data collection and analysis measures built in. This is not a new issue. In fact, it is history repeating itself for almost the past 100 years. So, if data are the answer, why are there still so many questions about what policing should be and how to measure its success?<\/p>\n<p>Some of the issues that prevent data-driven policing and hinder evidence-based policing are structural, while others are fiscal. With more than 18,000 different local, state, and federal police jurisdictions in the United States, all overseen by myriad laws, policies, and funding, the collection and use of data to support public safety decisions and actions vary greatly. Despite continued challenges to gather and analyze data, the ability to disperse data and analysis has grown with the advances in technology, social media, and the virtual world. Departments are working hard to collect and distribute their data to support their communities\u2019 calls for accountability and transparency, which is a noble and well-intentioned practice. However, the outcome frequently leaves a lot to be desired.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4042,"featured_media":72973,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145,126],"tags":[1704,1732,770],"class_list":["post-72969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research-evidence-based-policing","category-topics","tag-crime-analysis","tag-data-driven","tag-research-and-evidence-based-policing"],"acf":{"subtitle":"How the Police Can Leverage Data to Drive Success","post_author":"Rachel Tolber, Interim Chief, Redlands Police Department, California","main_category":"Research & Evidence-Based Policing","legacy_article_id":"","legacy_issue_id":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.4 (Yoast SEO v24.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Finding What Works Best - Police Chief Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/finding-what-works-best\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Finding What Works Best\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cMore data needed,\u201d \u201cData show disparity in response,\u201d \u201cPolice should not respond to traffic violations.\u201d These types of headlines play on repeat. Every time police executives open their email, read industry news briefs, or browse the internet, they find articles that repeatedly discuss data and policing. The articles report on data, call for more data, or call for reform measures that likely will not have appropriate data collection and analysis measures built in. This is not a new issue. In fact, it is history repeating itself for almost the past 100 years. So, if data are the answer, why are there still so many questions about what policing should be and how to measure its success? Some of the issues that prevent data-driven policing and hinder evidence-based policing are structural, while others are fiscal. With more than 18,000 different local, state, and federal police jurisdictions in the United States, all overseen by myriad laws, policies, and funding, the collection and use of data to support public safety decisions and actions vary greatly. Despite continued challenges to gather and analyze data, the ability to disperse data and analysis has grown with the advances in technology, social media, and the virtual world. Departments are working hard to collect and distribute their data to support their communities\u2019 calls for accountability and transparency, which is a noble and well-intentioned practice. However, the outcome frequently leaves a lot to be desired.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/finding-what-works-best\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Police Chief Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheIACP\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-04-01T12:00:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/GettyImages-1400975494-duotone-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1708\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Margaret White\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@TheIACP\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@TheIACP\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Margaret White\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"12 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/finding-what-works-best\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/finding-what-works-best\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Margaret White\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/#\/schema\/person\/8ccef21069086f34ed017e84cdf4fe52\"},\"headline\":\"Finding What Works Best\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-01T12:00:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/finding-what-works-best\/\"},\"wordCount\":2474,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/finding-what-works-best\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/GettyImages-1400975494-duotone-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"crime analysis\",\"data-driven\",\"research and evidence based policing\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Research & Evidence-Based Policing\",\"Topics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/finding-what-works-best\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/finding-what-works-best\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/finding-what-works-best\/\",\"name\":\"Finding What Works Best - 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Every time police executives open their email, read industry news briefs, or browse the internet, they find articles that repeatedly discuss data and policing. The articles report on data, call for more data, or call for reform measures that likely will not have appropriate data collection and analysis measures built in. This is not a new issue. In fact, it is history repeating itself for almost the past 100 years. So, if data are the answer, why are there still so many questions about what policing should be and how to measure its success? Some of the issues that prevent data-driven policing and hinder evidence-based policing are structural, while others are fiscal. With more than 18,000 different local, state, and federal police jurisdictions in the United States, all overseen by myriad laws, policies, and funding, the collection and use of data to support public safety decisions and actions vary greatly. 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