As one arm of the criminal justice system, law enforcement is responsible for maintaining social and public order. RAND research is relevant to many issues affecting law enforcement agencies in the United States, with a focus on public safety, quality policing and community policing, and the recruitment and retention of quality officers.
Report
The results of a nationwide survey show how understanding modern recruits can help police and sheriff's departments refine their recruitment practices and develop a workforce well suited to community-oriented policing.
Report
Lessons on recruitment and retention can help police departments create a workforce that represents community demographics, is committed to providing its employees long-term police careers, and effectively implements community policing.
Research Brief
Local police agencies face recruitment and retention challenges. Existing research can help local officials identify what has been learned elsewhere and is applicable to their own situations.
Report
A survey sent to U.S. police agencies on recruitment and retention practices found that compensation, city size, and crime rates affected recruiting while advertising and incentives had little effect.
News Release
Providing body armor to all law enforcement officers in the United States would provide enough benefit to justify the cost.
Journal Article
The additional cost of providing body armor to all law enforcement officers in the United States is more than justified compared to the savings that would be created by fewer serious injuries and officer deaths.
Report
Legalizing the production and distribution of marijuana in California could cut the price of the drug by as much as 80 percent and increase consumption. While the state has estimated taxing legal marijuana could raise more than $1 billion in revenue, this could be dramatically higher or lower based on a number of factors.
Report
In 2006, more than 6 million individuals were victimized by violent crimes. The extent of violence and its impact highlight a critical need to develop and implement effective programs to reduce violence and victimization, and to conduct critical evaluations to inform other violence-reduction programs.
Report
In testimony presented before the House Homeland Security Committee, Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment, Brian Michael Jenkins asserts that applying the law can counter the individualistic quality of radicalization and recruitment to jihadist terrorism in the United States.
News Release
Effective intelligence gathering and a Muslim community unsympathetic to calls to violence have discouraged homegrown jihadist terrorism in the United States.
Report
Effective intelligence gathering and a Muslim community unsympathetic to calls to violence have discouraged homegrown jihadist terrorism in the U.S. While there was a spike in domestic terrorism in 2009, the perpetrators were mostly individuals who recruited themselves into the role of terrorists.
News Release
Encouraging state and local law enforcement agencies to help enforce federal immigration laws could help identify out-of-status immigrants eligible for deportation, but may also have unintended consequences.
Report
Encouraging state and local law enforcement agencies to help enforce federal immigration laws could help identify out-of-status immigrants eligible for deportation, but these efforts come with concerns about the potential for racial profiling, strained community relations, and improper resource allocation.
Multimedia
On October 28, 2009, during his last week in office, Bratton visited RAND's headquarters campus in Santa Monica. He and Ridgeway discussed Bratton's tenure, achievements, and obstacles to success, as well as RAND's impact on policing in Los Angeles.
Project
To help ensure the adequacy and modernisation of the British police workforce, the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) has requested that RAND Europe investigate the relationship between the demand for policing services, the risk that the demand will not be met, and the resources required to ensure that the demand is met. The RAND Europe project team is examining police force labour economic issues and where gaps may exist, with a goal to assisting the NPIA in its workforce planning efforts.
Report
In testimony presented before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Subcommittee on Domestic Policy, Rosalie Liccardo Pacula speaks to the scientific evidence underlying drug policy initiatives in the FY2011 budget—including treatment, prevention, and enforcement strategies.
News Release
Existing high-quality research demonstrates that public investment in police can generate substantial social returns.
Report
Existing high-quality research on the costs of crime and the effectiveness of police—often buried in journals targeted to academics rather than policymakers—demonstrates that public investment in police can generate substantial social returns.
Journal Article
Police department data from 1987 to 2003 shows that while increases in information technology are not associated with increased productivity, IT investments can improve productivity when they are complemented with particular organizational and management practices.
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