Welcome to the RAND Center on Quality Policing
Research for Action
The RAND Center on Quality Policing (CQP) provides research and analysis on contemporary police practice and policy. By determining what practices are most cost-effective and results-oriented, the Center's work helps law enforcement agencies across the United States make better operational decisions and consistently perform at their best.
Today's police forces confront tough issues, including:
- identifying the best ways to spend policing dollars
- recruiting and retaining a skilled workforce
- defining what it means to police effectively and then evaluating performance
- improving police-community relations, such as through community policing
- preventing racial profiling
- reducing community violence
- sharing intelligence within and across agencies
- choosing the safest non-lethal weapons
Research done at the Center focuses on four interrelated areas-best practices, performance measurement, use of technology, and force planning-to deliver results that help departments solve these and other problems.
The Center is part of the Safety and Justice Program within RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment.
Featured Tools and Projects
Police Recruitment and Retention Clearinghouse
Recruitment and retention of officers is an increasing challenge for police agencies. Overwhelmed by day-to-day operations, police agencies typically do not have the time, resources, or expertise to find resources that could improve their recruitment and retention efforts. The Center for Quality Policing's Police Recruitment and Retention Clearinghouse is a searchable database of information that departments can use to meet their staffing needs.
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An infographic presents findings from RAND's Cost of Crime Calculator — the new tool, by quantifying the tangible and intangible costs of crime, can help cities decide how best to invest their crime-control dollars.
Police agencies have historically measured their performance against a restricted set of crime-focused indicators, but law enforcement duties are changing. Well-developed performance measurement approaches can capture the complexity of modern policing and identify best practices.
Police workforce readiness requires careful and consistent personnel development to ensure that needed skills and knowledge are recognized, appropriately utilized, and fostered. A RAND methodology developed for the U.S. Air Force may be applicable to law enforcement agencies, too.
The Dallas Police Department received a $5 million grant in 2006 to install laptops and video recorders in patrol cars and thus modernize its operations. RAND evaluated the initiative and found it to be generally successful, despite some implementation problems.
A $10 million grant in 2006 enabled the Dallas Police Department to establish the Caruth Police Institute to provide staff development and leadership training to officers at all stages of their careers. RAND evaluated the CPI's first course and found it to be largely successful, with some caveats.
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