Community Oriented Policing Services Research Articles

National De-Escalation Training Center: Tools for law enforcement to reduce unnecessary use of force

Reducing uses of force is one of the most significant challenges to policymakers and practitioners Of the various methods being proposed, de escalation training represents the option most likely to do so This article reviews the literature concerning uses of force and describes the National De Escalation Training Center ( a decentralized research and training organization recently funded by the Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services With the popular support for de escalation growing in the public consensus, the NDTC answers the call for that training to be evidence based, with the national infrastructure to distribute and evaluate it

Effects of school resource officers on school crime and responses to school crime

Research SummaryWe examined the effects of an increase in school resource officer (SRO) staffing on schools in a sample of 33 public schools that enhanced SRO staffing through funding from the Department of Justice's Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring Program and a matched sample of 72 schools that did not increase SRO staffing at the same time. In longitudinal analyses of monthly school‐level administrative data, we compared the treatment and comparison schools on disciplinary offenses and actions. We found that increased SROs increased the number of drug‐ and weapon‐related offenses and exclusionary disciplinary actions for treatment schools relative to comparison schools. These negative effects were more frequently found for students without special needs.Policy ImplicationsThe study findings suggest that increasing SROs does not improve school safety and that by increasing exclusionary responses to school discipline incidents it increases the criminalization of school discipline. We recommend that educational decision‐makers seeking to enhance school safety consider the many alternatives to programs that require regular police presence in schools.

More COPS, less crime

I exploit a natural experiment to estimate the causal effect of police on crime. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act increased funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) hiring grant program from less than $20 million over 2005–2008 to $1 billion in 2009. Hiring grants distributed in 2009 were allocated according to an application score cutoff rule, and I leverage quasi-random variation in grant receipt by comparing the change over time in police and crimes for cities above and below the threshold in a difference-in-differences framework. Relative to low-scoring cities, those above the cutoff experience increases in police of about 3.2% and declines in victimization cost-weighted crime of about 3.5% following the distribution of hiring grants. The effects are driven by large and statistically significant effects of police on robbery, larceny, and auto theft, with suggestive evidence that police reduce murders as well. Crime reductions associated with additional police were more pronounced in areas most affected by the Great Recession. The results highlight that fiscal support to local governments for crime prevention may offer large returns, especially during bad macroeconomic times.

Patrolling Public Schools: The Impact of Funding for School Police on Student Discipline and Long‐term Education Outcomes

AbstractAs police officers have become increasingly common in U.S. public schools, their role in school discipline has often expanded. While there is growing public debate about the consequences of police presence in schools, there is scant evidence of the impact of police on student discipline and academic outcomes. This paper provides the first quasi‐experimental estimate of funding for school police on student outcomes, leveraging variation in federal Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants. Exploiting detailed data on over 2.5 million students in Texas, I find that federal grants for police in schools increase middle school discipline rates by 6 percent. The rise in discipline is driven by sanctions for low‐level offenses or school code of conduct violations. Further, I find that Black students experience the largest increases in discipline. I also find that exposure to a three‐year federal grant for school police is associated with a 2.5 percent decrease in high school graduation rates and a 4 percent decrease in college enrollment rates.

Safety in Police Numbers: Evidence of Police Effectiveness and Foresight from Federal COPS Grant Applications

Understanding the impact of police on crime is critical to designing policies that maximize safety. In this paper, I use a novel estimation approach to measure the impact of police hiring, which exploits variation in federal Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) hiring grants, while also controlling for the endogenous decisions of police departments to apply for these grants. Using data from nearly 7,000 U.S. municipalities, I find that a 10% increase in police employment rates reduces violent crime rates by 13% and property crime rates by 7%. The model also provides suggestive evidence that law enforcement leaders are forward-looking.

Safety in Police Numbers: Evidence of Police Effectiveness from Federal COPS Grant Applications

Understanding the impact of police on crime is critical to designing policies that maximize safety. In this article, I use a novel estimation approach to measure the impact of police hiring, which exploits variation in federal Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) hiring grants, while also controlling for the endogenous decisions of police departments to apply for these grants. Using data from nearly 7,000 U.S. municipalities, I find that a 10% increase in police employment rates reduces violent crime rates by 13% and property crime rates by 7%. The results also provide suggestive evidence that law enforcement leaders are forward-looking.

Understanding risky facilities: an analysis of factors associated with jail escapes in eight states

There is a dearth of research on the factors that make some jails more prone to escapes than others. Clarke and Eck’s (Understanding risky facilities, US Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Washington, DC, 2007) risky facilities framework posits there are seven key factors which predict a facility’s risk to crime and disorder. Using data from 88 county jails in eight contiguous states, this study empirically tests if facility-level risk factors can account for jail escapes. Additionally, this research examines county-level characteristics to account for the macro-level explanations. Jails which had reported an escape during the study year were relatively larger, had higher populations relative to their rated capacities, and employed fewer correctional officers per inmate than their control facilities which did not report an escape. This research discusses policy implications in light of these findings.

Social unrest and community oriented policing services

ABSTRACTSince 2014, there have been several, high-profile police-involved shootings that have captured the nation as a whole. The misunderstandings between culture, legal knowledge, and human behavior all come together to create an environment of social unrest that may lead to violence in the United States. Because we have a decentralized structure for policing services in the United States, the need for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) educational initiatives could help close the divide of knowledge in our country. With grant assistance from the COPS office, law enforcement and community members could make an impactful change in our schools to educate children on concepts related to police operations and the perceptions of police misconduct by community members. By having a proper source of information to offset misunderstandings about police and minorities perpetuated by news media and social media, our youth and community members can critically evaluate the best way for communities to be served by law enforcement.

Federal funding and the local political culture

This study explored the behavior of police administrators in the face of the pro-federalism environment of 2009. Using an institutional theory framework, specifically coercive isomorphism, this research sought to determine if the local political environment influences the behavior of local-level police administrators to access federal grants. Data were provided by the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office, supplemented with congressional records and public voting results for the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. When county-level presidential voting results are used to operationalize the local environment, an equal number of Republican and Democrat police agencies received COPS grants. Findings suggest that crime and economic interest trump political ideology.

Law Enforcement Officers in Schools: An Analysis of Ethical Issues

The use of law enforcement officers in American schools has rapidly expanded since its inception in the 1950s. This growth can in part be attributed to the Safe Schools Act of 1994, the establishment of the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office, and tragic events that have occurred in our nation's schools. Law enforcement officers in the school environment traditionally have primary roles of protection and enforcement, although many have ancillary roles of educating and mentoring students. However, the use of police in schools has also been associated with the formalization of student discipline and the criminalization of minor misconduct. Specifically, an increase in the number of officers in schools has mirrored an increase in the number of arrests and citations for relatively minor offenses. We argue that officers' socialization and training create role conflict in that the duty to enforce the law competes with other duties to mentor and nurture students. We present several hypothetical dilemmas and then illustrate how the “right thing to do” is determined by the perceived duties of the school safety officer. We conclude by presenting some modest suggestions on how to address the potential role conflict experienced by law enforcement officers working in schools.

The Innovation of Community Policing and the COPS Office: Does Diffusion of Innovation Theory Hold in a Manipulated Environment?

Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory provides prescribed stages for an innovation to traverse, in order to obtain field adoption. This study utilised DOI theory to demonstrate the impact a manipulated environment may have on diffusing public policy. Data were provided by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (the COPS Office). Analysis found that DOI theory does not hold in a manipulated environment. This research provides two considerations for adjusting DOI theory: financial incentives and politics. First, organisations with few resources may have equal access to innovations via government grants. Second, political agendas can be integral to diffusing an innovation.

The utilization of research by the police☆

The present-day interest in linking police practitioners and researchers in the USA finds its roots in a 40-year old recommendation made by the 1967 President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice. Specifically, the Commission called for the use of social science to assist law enforcement agencies in their efforts to understand better and address the problems they face in their related communities. This advocacy spawned the rapid growth of empirical research intended to provide support to the law enforcement community. Moreover, these research endeavours found important support in federal grant funding initiatives from the US Department of Justice through the National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance and Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Despite this tremendous effort to link the police practitioner and research communities, there has been little knowledge on whether the resulting empirical knowledge is utilized by the law enforcement community in the USA. The article explores the degree of this utilization through the findings of a national survey of approximately 850 law enforcement agencies in the USA. The survey explored whether law enforcement executives utilize research to inform their decisions on policy development and operations, to what areas of agency operations they have applied this research and the sources they rely upon to find this empirical knowledge. The findings show that reported use of research findings may not necessarily reflect a connection with the empirical work of the research community.

The overlap between public health and law enforcement: sharing tools and data to foster healthier communities

Law enforcement and public health agencies have much in common. Both seek to improve their communities' health and safety. Both analyze data to identify problems and measure results. Both share an interest in eradicating certain social ills, such as violence. And law enforcement has increasingly begun to adopt strategies long associated with public health, such as collaboration and community engagement. Recognizing a common interest in innovation, the US Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), The California Endowment, and the Center for Court Innovation have started bringing together law enforcement and public health officials to share ideas. The initiative began with an executive session in March 2011 to examine how public health principles, practices, and resources can support law enforcement, including crime prevention.1 Participants made a number of suggestions to promote collaboration and identified several programs that have the potential to serve as models. In providing a summary of the March discussion, this article also includes an overview of the public health approach, a description of shared challenges, and ways in which both fields can learn from each other's strengths.

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services’ Resource Information Center

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services’ Resource Information Center

THE EFFECTS OF LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT BLOCK GRANTS ON SERIOUS CRIME*

Research Summary The Local Law Enforcement Block Grants (LLEBG) Program was second only to the Community‐Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program in its funding levels. Some $3 billion was dispensed to local jurisdictions to reduce crime and improve public safety; yet the effects of LLEBG funding on crime have been all but ignored. Accordingly, panel data from more than 5,000 cities covering a 12‐year period (1990–2001) were collected, and index crime rates were regressed on LLEBG funding and appropriate demographic controls. Additional controls for police levels and other federal grants were also introduced, proper checks for endogeneity of grants (and police levels) were performed, and the models were subjected to an array of robustness checks. A consistent message emerged: LLEBG Program funding was associated with significant reductions in serious crime. Policy Implications Although LLEBG funding seemed to reduce serious crime, the results also revealed that the decrease did not occur through the hiring of additional police officers, even though many funds were used for that purpose. Other mechanisms were thus at work, but the data did not provide insights into what these mechanisms were. In any case, every $1 in LLEBG funding per capita was associated with approximately 59 fewer index crimes per 100,000 people. When combined with the findings from recent studies of the effects of community policing grants on crime, this study suggests additional federal support for local law‐enforcement agencies should be considered.

A Comparison of Outcomes Associated With Two Key Law-Enforcement Grant Programs

Local Law Enforcement Block Grants (LLEBG) have recently been expanded under a new name to become the central federal funding stream for local law enforcement agencies, whereas programs facilitated by the Office of Community-Oriented Policing Services (COPS) have been greatly reduced. However, little is known about crime reduction and arrest-related outcomes associated with multipurpose law enforcement block grants. This study examined data from 11,559 jurisdictions throughout the United States to identify outcomes that were associated with the LLEBG program. Findings indicated that LLEBG's were associated with crime reductions that were similar in size to those of COPS hiring grants. However, the effects of LLEBG on patterns of arrest were opposite from those associated with COPS hiring grants. Given the differential outcomes associated each grant, there may be utility in retaining both COPS and LLEBG programs.

State of Security at US Colleges and Universities: A National Stakeholder Assessment and Recommendations

In 2004 the US Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, sponsored a National Summit on Campus Public Safety. The summit brought together various stakeholders including campus police and security officials, local police chiefs, college and university faculty and administrators, federal officials, students and parents, and community leaders to address the issues and complexities of campus safety. Delegates to the summit identified key issues in campus safety and security, which included establishing a national center on campus safety, balancing traditional open environments with the need to secure vulnerable sites, improving coordination with state and local police, reducing internal fragmentation, elevating professionalism, and increasing eligibility of campus police and security agencies to compete for federal law enforcement funds. Focus on "active shooters" on campus, resulting from the Virginia Tech incident, should not diminish attention placed on the broader, more prevalent safety and security issues facing the nation's educational campuses. Recommendations resulting from the summit called for establishing a national agenda on campus safety, formation of a national center on campus public safety, and increased opportunity for campus police and security agencies to compete for federal and state funds.

COPS GRANTS AND CRIME REVISITED*

Using 6 years of panel data, Zhao, Scheider, and Thurman (2002) found that funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), reduced property and violent crime in large U.S. cities. We merged their COPS data with 11 years of panel data from a sample of 189 large cities, such that the period before the COPS program was covered. We also controlled for pre‐existing effects on crime of police spending. Finally, we performed various robustness checks and explored state‐specific effects of COPS spending. Our findings suggest that COPS spending had little to no effect on crime.

COPS and crime

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 established the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program that provided grants to states and localities to pay up to 75% of the cost for new police hires for 3 years. To date, the COPS program has awarded almost $5 billion in hiring grants paying for 64,000 new police officers. We use annual data from 1990 through 2001 from 2074 cities with populations in excess of 10,000 to show that for each officer paid for by grant funds, the size of the force expands by 0.70 officers. The size of COPS grants are correlated with population and crime rates, but not the pre-COPS time trends in crime rates or the size of the police force. This allows us to use the size of COPS grants as an instrument for the size of the police force in regressions where crime is the outcome of interest. These models indicate that police added to the force by COPS generated statistically significant reductions in auto thefts, burglaries, robberies, and aggravated assaults.

Repairing the Divide

In this paper, we use responses from a 1998 Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) survey to investigate how the concept of community policing and the individual strategies associated with this public safety policy shape African American, Latino, and white perceptions of police officers. Community policing exerted differential effects on Latino, African American, and white perceptions of the police. Despite intentions to improve police-minority relations, community policing most strongly and positively affects whites' perceptions of neighborhood police. Both the public pronouncement and actual tactics of community policing had a greater impact on white perceptions of the police than they did for Latino and African American views toward the police, even though community policing also fulfills its promise to reduce tensions between the police and racial and ethnic minorities. Understanding the differences among African Americans, Latinos, and whites is critical to the evolution of community policing policies. Recognizing the importance of these differences, instead of adopting a “one size fits all” approach, puts the police and community members in a position to better realize the potential benefits of community policing.