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Police-Community Relations

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Communities rely on police departments to "protect and serve" and the police, in turn, rely on community support and cooperation, but the relationship is not always harmonious. RAND researchers have examined the relationships between law enforcement agencies and their communities in several countries.

Essay
Hackathon Focuses on Making Policing More Equitable
Hackathons bring new ideas and perspectives to hard policy problems and introduce college students to the field of policy analysis. The latest hackathon, hosted by Pardee RAND and RAND NextGen, explored ways to make the criminal justice system more equitable and more effective.
Jan 9, 2023
Report
Better Data Collection Could Support Efforts to Reduce Deaths in Police Custody
No national data collection program describes all deaths that occur in law enforcement custody. These data are critical to support strategies to reduce such fatalities, to promote public safety through appropriate police responses, and to build trust with communities.
Oct 11, 2022

Explore Police-Community Relations

Journal Article
A Better Path Forward for Criminal Justice: A Report by the Brookings-AEI Working Group on Criminal Justice Reform
In this volume, experts offer policymakers with analysis and recommendations to support sustained, bipartisan reforms to move the criminal justice system toward a more humane and effective footing.
Sep 1, 2021
Blog
Equity in Research, North Korean Instability, Traffic Stops: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on how RAND applies an equity lens to research, instability in North Korea, what police think about traffic stops, and more.
Jul 9, 2021
Periodical
RAND Review: July-August 2021
One feature highlights how researchers apply an equity lens to projects on environmental racism, incarcerated parents, and the lives of Black service members; a second describes interventions to address disparities in infant mortality rates.
Jul 1, 2021
Commentary
Stop, Start, or Continue? A National Survey of the Police About Traffic Stops
As research continues to show widespread racial disparities of those stopped by police, it is increasingly seen as a practice that, if ended, would serve the cause of social justice. Should the police continue to conduct traffic stops? Police1 conducted a survey of officers to find out what they think.
Jun 30, 2021
Commentary
Policing in the Post-Floyd Era
Calls to reform, reimagine, or disband the police can be seen as existential threats. But they present opportunities for progressive change that can work to the advantage of law enforcement.
Apr 30, 2021
Periodical
RAND Review: March-April 2021
The cover story highlights research on improving the police response to homelessness; a second feature focuses on the millions of caregivers who provide support services to chronically ill loved ones but are not integrated into health care teams.
Mar 11, 2021
Essay
Rethinking How Police Respond to Homelessness
Around one-fifth of people experiencing homelessness have a severe mental health disorder. Almost as many have a substance-use disorder. Police need better policies and community partnerships to help make their response to homelessness safer, more humane, and more effective.
Mar 4, 2021
Multimedia
RAND Remote Series: Advancing Racial Equity Policy
In this video conversation, RAND's Anita Chandra and Benjamin Preston discuss RAND's efforts to address the challenges of racial equity from a variety of angles—and options for converting research into action.
Oct 6, 2020
Blog
The Evidence on Kids and COVID-19, China's Use of Big Data, Telemedicine: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on what we know (and what we don't) about kids and COVID-19, how China is using big data, the future of telemedicine, and more.
Sep 4, 2020
Blog
Voting in a Pandemic, the U.S. Postal Service, Defunding the Police: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on Americans' views about voting in the age of COVID-19, what makes the U.S. Postal Service so essential, why some in law enforcement may be open to “defunding the police,” and more.
Aug 28, 2020
Content
RAND Center to Advance Racial Equity Policy
RAND's Center to Advance Racial Equity Policy supports a portfolio of innovative, high-impact racial equity research and analysis, creates a clearinghouse to help coordinate related efforts, and collaborates with organizations dedicated to advancing racial equity.
Aug 25, 2020
Report
The Law Enforcement Response to Homelessness
Despite lacking the tools and resources to address the underlying causes of homelessness, police are constantly under pressure from business leaders and communities to “fix” it. Some law enforcement agencies are trying new approaches, but they need support to improve these efforts.
Aug 25, 2020
Commentary
Police Officers: This Article Will Make You Better at Combatting Misinformation
By deliberately addressing misinformation, police officers can promote safe and healthy behaviors among those in their communities. The actions they take to combat misinformation and improve protections in their communities are a critical part of the collective campaign to end the pandemic and help people return to their normal lives.
Aug 24, 2020
Report
Would Law Enforcement Leaders Support Defunding the Police?
Police have expressed frustration with being expected to handle complex social problems such as homelessness and substance use. Budgeting less money for police and more for other public safety strategies might appeal to law enforcement if these efforts relieve some of the unrealistic expectations on them.
Aug 20, 2020
Commentary
How to Reform Military Gear Transfers to Police
Police officers equipped like soldiers have appeared on the streets of American cities amid recent protests over George Floyd's killing. How should lawmakers reform a program that makes use of excess equipment and is popular with police departments, but that also raises substantial concerns about the militarization of policing?
Jul 13, 2020
Commentary
How to Transform Policing
The killing of George Floyd and other abuses of power have brought about growing calls to alter how we conduct public safety and, more broadly, criminal justice in America. Evidence shows there is substantial room for improvement.
Jul 9, 2020
Blog
Preparing for a COVID Surge, Reducing Police Violence, Media Literacy in Schools: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on helping hospitals prepare for a surge in COVID-19 infections, an approach to reducing police violence, teachers' concerns about students' media literacy, and more.
Jul 2, 2020
Commentary
From Warrior to Guardian: A Systems Approach to Reduce Police Violence
Personal accountability will always have a role in policing. But the kind of cultural change that is necessary to prevent tragedy is often best tackled by focusing on the system rather than merely blaming the individual officer.
Jul 1, 2020
Commentary
Funding—or Defunding—the Police
With calls to reduce spending on police, a question becomes by how much? RAND researchers studied the average amount taxpayers spend for police to respond to a reported crime. These estimates are available in a new tool that makes it easy to visualize police costs per crime by state.
Jul 1, 2020
Commentary
Defund the LAPD? Garcetti Budget Proposal Takes a Step in That Direction
Calls to “defund the police” have grown common and urgent in the wake of police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and numerous other Black Americans. Research and community activists agree: Public safety can be improved by investing more public dollars in a social safety net, and less in policing and incarceration, in Los Angeles.
Jun 30, 2020

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RAND Topic:
Police-Community Relations

Topic Synonyms:
Police-Neighborhood Relations

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Nelson Lim

Director, Workforce, Development, and Health Program, RAND Project AIR FORCE

Nelson Lim is director of the Workforce, Development, and Health (WDH) program in RAND Project AIR FORCE and a senior social scientist at the RAND Corporation. In 2022, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III appointed Lim a member of the Defense Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion…
Danielle Sobol

Assistant Policy Researcher, RAND, and Ph.D. Student, Pardee RAND Graduate School

Danielle Sobol (she/her) is a Ph.D. student in the Research, Analysis, and Design stream at the Pardee RAND Graduate School and an assistant policy researcher at RAND. Her research interests include criminal justice and policing reform, social protection, and behavioral health care.

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