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RAND work on public safety issues ranges from policing and prisons to violent crime and the illegal drug trade, as well as homeland security and emergency preparedness. RAND research helps inform policy debates that are often riddled with arguments driven not by evidence but by emotion and ideology.

Commentary
Strategies to Prevent Clinically Unnecessary Opioid Use
Guidance on how to direct opioid-related settlement funds has focused on reducing deaths and improving treatment for substance use disorders. What's also needed are strategies to reduce opioid initiation, particularly through effective pain management with nonopioid alternatives.
Aug 29, 2023
Project
Informing the Gun Policy Debate
RAND's Gun Policy in America initiative provides information on what scientific research can tell us about the effects of gun laws. Our goal is to establish a shared set of facts that will improve public discussions and support the development of fair and effective gun policies.
Jan 10, 2023

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Report
Using AI to Identify Youth Suicide Risk: What Does the Evidence Say?
In response to the youth mental health crisis, some schools have begun using artificial intelligence to help identify students at risk for suicide and self-harm. How are these tools being used? Are they accurate? And what risks might they bring?
Dec 5, 2023
News Release
Rise in Child Suicide in the U.S. Linked in Part to the Nation's Opioid Crisis
The rise in child suicides in the United States since 2010 was fueled in part by the nation's opioid crisis, which previous studies found increased rates of child neglect and altered household living arrangements.
Dec 4, 2023
Journal Article
Expert Views on State Policies to Improve Engagement and Retention in Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder: A Qualitative Analysis of an Online Modified Delphi Process
This study gathered expert consensus on the effectiveness and implementability of state policies to improve engagement and retention in treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD).
Dec 4, 2023
Multimedia
Preventing Domestic Violent Extremism: Insights from RAND Research
RAND researchers Pauline Moore, Todd Helmus, and Alexandra Evans discuss the complex challenges of countering domestic violent extremism in the United States. Their research offers insights into trends, key actors in the extremist community, and factors that lead to joining or leaving extremist groups.
Nov 30, 2023
Report
Intellectual, Developmental, and Physical Disabilities in U.S. Legal Settings: A Scoping Review
The authors conducted a scoping review to assess the current state of the literature related to individuals with disabilities who interact with the criminal and civil legal systems, with the goal of developing a future research agenda.
Nov 30, 2023
Report
Intellectual, Developmental, and Physical Disabilities in U.S. Legal Settings: Perspectives from People with Relevant Experience
The authors conducted interviews with professionals and people with lived experience to understand what it is like to interact with the civil or criminal legal system while having a disability, with the goal of developing a future research agenda.
Nov 30, 2023
Report
Intellectual, Developmental, and Physical Disabilities in U.S. Legal Settings: A Proposed Agenda for Future Research
In this report, the authors propose recommendations to guide researchers as they examine the experience of individuals with disabilities and their interactions with the U.S. criminal and civil legal systems.
Nov 30, 2023
Report
Assessing Shifts in U.S. Department of Homeland Security Targeted Violence Prevention Efforts Through Early 2022
This report characterizes changes made in U.S. Department of Homeland Security efforts to prevent targeted violence, including the extent of change and how those changes responded to concerns about efforts to counter violent extremism.
Nov 30, 2023
Report
Defense Planning Implications of Climate Change for U.S. Central Command
This report examines how U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) planners could use operations, activities, and investments in the coming decades to address security threats related to stressors from climate change in the CENTCOM area of responsibility.
Nov 29, 2023
Research Brief
What Climate-Related Conflict Could Mean for U.S. Central Command
Climate change will hit the Middle East and Central Asia especially hard, with effects on both personal well-being and regional stability. It will likely create increased demand for stabilization operations, non-combatant evacuation operations, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
Nov 29, 2023
Report
Conflict Projections in U.S. Central Command: Incorporating Climate Change
This report presents an analysis of the impact of climate change on the frequency of conflict in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.
Nov 29, 2023
Report
Pathways from Climate Change to Conflict in U.S. Central Command
This report presents an analysis of the pathways from climate change to conflict and how that relationship is unfolding in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.
Nov 29, 2023
Report
Mischief, Malevolence, or Indifference? How Competitors and Adversaries Could Exploit Climate-Related Conflict in the U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility
This report presents an analysis of how U.S. competitors and adversaries — China, Russia, and Iran — could attempt to exploit climate-related conflict in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in future decades.
Nov 29, 2023
Report
A Hotter and Drier Future Ahead: An Assessment of Climate Change in U.S. Central Command
This report characterizes how climate hazards will affect the physical environment in the U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility in 2035, 2050, and 2070.
Nov 29, 2023
Journal Article
Growth in Suicide Rates Among Children During the Illicit Opioid Crisis
This paper shows how the transition of the opioid crisis to illicit opioids increased suicide rates among children.
Nov 29, 2023
Tool
A Toolkit for Community-Police Dialogue
Most efforts to improve community-police relations end up being ad hoc, are led by a few officers or motivated community members, and tend to be abandoned over time. A new guide can help communities implement a structured community-police dialogue that could lead to more productive relationships between police and the communities they serve.
Nov 27, 2023
Journal Article
Estimating the Lifetime Prevalence of Incarceration in the U.S. Veteran Population
This brief report estimates the lifetime prevalence of incarceration among U.S. military veterans using data from three nationally representative U.S. samples.
Nov 27, 2023
Report
Testing the Efficacy of Pretrial Diversion: A Randomized Trial at the San Francisco Neighborhood Courts
An evaluation of Neighborhood Court, a restorative justice diversion program, indicates a statistically insignificant reduction in recidivism, positive perceptions of the program among stakeholders, and a public willingness to pay for its features.
Nov 27, 2023
Commentary
The Israel-Hamas War Has Upended the Terrorist Threat Matrix
Today's terrorist threat matrix seems more like an abstract expressionist painting. To those accustomed to traditional landscapes, it is difficult to discern what it depicts. The fighting in Gaza may well provoke terrorist repercussions beyond the region, the magnitude and shape of which will depend on the course of the conflict.
Nov 22, 2023
Commentary
Political Manifestos Should Do Better Than “Legalise It”
After years of political deadlock, a new era for drug policy in the Netherlands seems to be on the horizon. At least two factors are increasing politicians' appetite for change: increased awareness of the problems of drug-related organized crime in the Netherlands, and Dutch drug policy no longer being ahead of the curve.
Nov 21, 2023

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Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Jamie Ryan

Postdoctoral Assistant Policy Researcher

Jamie Ryan (they/he) is an assistant policy researcher at RAND and a Ph.D. graduate from the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Ryan's research interests span a wide range of substantive policy areas, including health policy, immigration, violence prevention, and counter-extremism. Ryan has published…
Paul Brenner

Senior Management Scientist

Paul Brenner is a senior management scientist at the RAND Corporation. He focuses on government’s management of science and technology, including best practices for technology development, acquisition programs, R&D portfolio management, program evaluation, and risk management. He has supported…

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