Evidence-based policing

Evidence-Based Policing (EBP) is an approach to policy making and tactical decision-making for police departments. It is an extension of evidence-based medicine, evidence-based management and evidence-based policy.

Advocates of evidence-based policing emphasize the value of statistical analysis, empirical research and ideally randomized controlled trials. EBP does not dismiss more traditional drivers of police decision-making, but seeks to raise awareness and increase the application of scientific testing, targeting and tracking of police resources, especially during times of budget cuts and greater public scrutiny.

Origins

Experimental criminologist Lawrence Sherman is acknowledged as the founder of evidence-based policing. To some, he is known as the "father" of evidence based policing.^[1]

With support from a U.S. Department of Justice grant to the Police Foundation,^[2] and with fellow criminologist Richard Berk, Sherman, serving as the Vice President for Research at the Police Foundation, published the first randomized controlled trial of the effects of arrest on repeat offending.^[3] With fellow criminologist David Weisburd, Sherman conducted a ground breaking study in 1995 which showed the efficacy of focusing police crime prevention resources on small hot spots of crime.^[4]

In a 1998 Police Foundation "Ideas in American Policing" lecture, Sherman outlined the concept of "evidence-based policing".^[5] His core idea was that police practice can be made far more effective if tactics proven to work during controlled field experiments are prioritized. In February 2000, Sherman co-founded the Campbell Collaboration's Crime and Justice Group, which has pursued the synthesis of research evidence on the effectiveness of policing and other crime prevention practices.

In 2013 Sherman established the Cambridge Centre for Evidence-Based Policing as a global police training and research consultancy service for members, and in 2017 he launched the Cambridge Journal of Evidence-Based Policing as the membership journal of the Cambridge Centre. The Journal's priority is to publish original, applied research led by "pracademic" police officers, with many articles based on master's degree theses completed under supervision of Sherman and his Cambridge colleagues, Heather Strang and Sir Denis O'Connor, by police leaders who were mid-career, part-time students in the Cambridge Police Executive Programme.

The first professional Society of Evidence-Based Policing was founded at Cambridge University in 2010, and now has some 2,000 members from mostly UK police agencies (see http://www.sebp.police.uk/). In 2013, police in collaboration with the University of Queensland established the Australian-New Zealand Society of Evidence-Based Policing, which now has over 2000 members. In 2015, both Canada (see http://www.can-sebp.net/) and the United States established their own branches of this learned professional society. The Police Foundation provided support for the establishment of the American Society of Evidence-Based Policing, as it once did to create the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE).^[6]

United Kingdom

In 2008, Sherman made EBP the core of the Police Executive Programme at Cambridge University, a part-time course of study for senior police leaders from around the world to earn a Diploma or Master’s in applied criminology. In that year, the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) funded the first international conference on EBP, which was attended by police executives from Asia, Australia, Europe and the US. Since then the conference has been held each July, with the 10th International Conference in 2017 attended by over 300 police and scholars from six continents.

In 2010, a group of UK police officers founded the Society of Evidence-Based Policing, and elected Sherman Honorary President, along with Sir Peter Fahy, Chief Constable of the UK's Greater Manchester Police; as of 2015 the Society has over 2,800 members, including its 750-member Australia-New Zealand affiliate,^[7] consisting primarily UK police officers but with membership from Australia to Argentina and North America.^[8] The Society's twice-annual UK meetings have attracted over 200 attendees per meeting (including 2015), as well as press coverage.^[9]

In 2012, the UK Home Office founded the College of Policing, which took over many of the responsibilities of the National Police Improvement Agency (formally abolished in 2013). One of the College's five strategic objectives is "identifying, developing and promoting good practice based on evidence". The College is committed to identifying and sharing with police practitioners "what works".^[10] In 2013, the UK's largest police force, London's Metropolitan Police Service committed to "crime fighting based on what we know works".^[11]

What Works Center For Crime Reduction Toolkit

The What Works Centre for Crime Reduction is part of a network of What Works Centres created to provide easy access to robust and comprehensive evidence to guide decision-making on public spending. The Crime Reduction Toolkit is an online tool that allows users to weigh up evidence on the impact, cost and implementation of different interventions and use this to help shape their crime reduction efforts. The What Works Centre Crime Reduction Toolkit currently includes 35 evaluations of interventions and has identified over 300 systematic reviews covering 60 different interventions.^[12]

United States

EBP is acknowledged by some senior police leaders as a valuable approach to improve policing.^[13] The FBI Academy offers a course on EBP.^[14]

EBP has become the subject of debate in research journals, deliberating the extent to which policing should be guided by experimental criminology.^{[15][16][17][18]} But there is consensus that more needs to be done to bridge the 'translation gap' between frontline police officers and academics.^[19][20][21]

Academics from the Department of Criminology, Law and Society at George Mason University launched the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy in 2008.^[22] Their Evidence-Based Policing Matrix records, orders and rates scientific evaluations in policing and seeks to enable police departments to access and assess existing evidence.^[23]

In 2015, a group of working police officers and crime analysts formed the American Society of Evidence-Based Policing (www.americansebp.com). This organization was formed with the intent of educating police officers about the concept of EBP, advocating for the use of best available research to drive policing strategies and tactics and facilitating the creation of new research findings by connecting researchers and practitioners. Membership is open to all serving police officers, civilian staff members, researchers and academics. The first annual ASEBP conference will be held on the campus of Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona on May 22nd and 23rd, 2017 with conference attendees and panelists representing the United States, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.

Australia

The Australia & New Zealand Society of Evidence Based Policing^[24] (ANZSEBP) was formed in April 2013 in Brisbane, Australia. The ANZSEBP is a police practitioner-led Society.^[25] The mission of the ANZSEBP is to develop, disseminate and advocate for police to use scientific research (“the evidence”) to guide best practice in all aspects of policing.

The Society comprises both full members (current, serving police officers in Australia and New Zealand) and honorary members including police staff members (non-sworn), research professionals and others who aim to make evidence based approaches part of everyday policing in Australia and New Zealand.

The ANZSEBP held its inaugural conference at the Australian Institute of Police Management,^[26] Sydney, Australia in March 2015. The Society was fortunate to secure Professor David Weisburd (George Mason University), Mr Peter Neyroud (Cambridge University), Professor Lorraine Mazerolle^[27] (University of Queensland), Chief Superintendent Alex Murray West Midlands Police (Chair of the UK SEBP) and Assistant Commissioner Peter Martin^[28] (Chair of the ANZ SEBP) to present at the conference. Further to that six short shot presentations were made that highlighted experiments or research throughout Australasia.

Canada

The Canadian Society of Evidence Based Policing^[29] (CAN-SEBP) was launched in April 2015 in Manchester, UK, as an affiliate of the UK-based Society of Evidence Based Policing, as well as ASEBP and ANZ-SEBP. CAN-SEBP is a collaborative effort between police practitioners and academic researchers aimed at generating actionable research to inform policy, practice, education and training in the field of public safety. Partners in the Society - who maintain executive-level steering and oversight functions - include representatives from several Canadian police forces and universities. Other agencies and researchers serve as active collaborators.

CAN-SEBP's membership consists of active and retired police officers, civilian police members, applied policing researchers, graduate researchers and representatives from provincial, federal and municipal community safety groups.

CAN-SEBP's international advisory group includes: Professor David Weisburd (George Mason University), Mr Peter Neyroud (Cambridge University), Professor Lorraine Mazerolle^[30] (University of Queensland), Chief Superintendent Alex Murray West Midlands Police (Chair of the UK SEBP) and Assistant Commissioner Peter Martin^[31] (Chair of the ANZ SEBP).

References

External links

• Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy
• Experimental Criminology at University of Cambridge
• Society of Evidence-Based Policing
• Cambridge Centre for Evidence-Based Policing Ltd.
• Canadian Society of Evidence-Based Policing

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