Research and Policing: The Infrastructure and Political Economy of Federal Funding

Abstract

Despite major progress in social science helping policeto prevent crime, federal funding for police research is atits lowest level in thirty-five years. Only a majorrestructuring of the political economy of criminology seemslikely to revive research with and for the police. Forabout $1 per American per year, federal funding for“Centers for Crime Prevention” could be established inall sixty-seven cities of more than 250,000 people and ineach of the twenty states with no cities that large. Bycreating much stronger grassroots engagement in research,both the consumption and the production of socialscience could be greatly strengthened to improve theeffectiveness and fairness of police practice.