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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
Commentary
Is Believing Our Kids Are Safer Worth Closing Off Some of Their Futures?
Placing an officer in a school appears to reduce violence and petty crimes within a school. But it also creates long-term negative consequences for students who are increasingly likely to become involved in the school disciplinary system.
Aug 22, 2023

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Journal Article
'Passing', but Far from Perfect: Assessing Public Confidence in Police and Desire for Reform in Pennsylvania
This study measures public confidence in police and public support for policing practices. Findings reveal that participants expressed moderate levels of confidence in their local police, although confidence varied across racial groups.
Jan 11, 2022
Report
SAFE Charlotte: Alternative Response Models and Disparities in Policing
Under contract with Charlotte, North Carolina, the authors evaluated three of the six policing and public-safety recommendations in the city's SAFE Charlotte: Safety and Accountability for Everyone report. They describe their findings in this report.
Sep 28, 2021
Blog
Prescription Drug Prices, Unemployment Insurance, Anti-Asian Racism: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on lowering prescription drug prices, reforming unemployment insurance, addressing anti-Asian racism, and more.
Sep 17, 2021
News Release
Stronger Leadership Action in L.A. Sheriff's Department Needed to Curb Influence of Problematic Subgroups, Address ...
Leadership of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department can best discourage involvement in deputy subgroups by clarifying current policy language to prohibit subgroups, and by delivering strong and consistent messages to its staff opposing membership in the groups and related banned conduct.
Sep 10, 2021
Report
Stronger Leadership Action in L.A. Sheriff's Department Is Needed to Curb Problematic Subgroups
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has been subject to allegations about secret subgroups of deputies who have allegedly mistreated community members and coworkers. LASD leadership can best discourage such behavior with clearer policies to prohibit subgroups and consistent messages to its staff.
Sep 10, 2021
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
Commentary
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

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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 directs the Workforce, Development, and Health (WDH) program in RAND Project AIR FORCE. As the director, he oversees projects to enhance the Department of Air Force's human resource management (HRM) practices. He counsels senior leaders of the United States Air Force and Space Force…
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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