Cryptocurrency is increasingly an accepted payment method in many legitimate transactions, but it is also used for illegal activities; as a result, law enforcement investigators must develop new skills and tools to ensure justice. In this report, researchers describe a workshop they conducted with experts to identify and prioritize cryptocurrency-related research and development needs for law enforcement.
This report describes the findings from a multi-site evaluation of law enforcement deflection in the United States. The authors describe how each program is implemented and identify key program facilitators and barriers. For two of the six sites, the authors conducted outcome analyses to determine whether the model is effective in reducing drug-related deaths and overdoses, arrests, and treatment admissions.
To better understand the needs around developing and leveraging data from a national data collection of law enforcement–related deaths, RTI International and the RAND Corporation, on behalf of the National Institute of Justice, convened a panel of experts to discuss the challenges to conducting a national data collection, identify potential solutions to those challenges, and recommend research and other applications for the collected data.
Communications staff at law enforcement agencies play an important role in meeting public expectations for transparency and responsiveness to concerns. Despite their importance, little is known about their needs. In April 2021, researchers convened a workshop of 14 individuals in law enforcement who identified 26 needs to improve the profession that spanned best practices, organizational issues, information-sharing, and staff development.
In 2018, law enforcement agencies gained access to a national, interoperable first responder broadband communications network that was supposed to result in simple solutions for interoperability. For various reasons, this has not happened. In this report, RAND researchers present practical knowledge to inform agencies about available broadband options and opportunities, governance issues, funding options, costs, and barriers to implementation.
RAND researchers created this tool to advance efforts to prevent and reduce intentional, interpersonal firearm violence and public mass attacks in the United States. The goal of this toolkit is to provide practical strategies and guidance on deterring, mitigating, and responding to mass attacks for a variety of audiences, including public safety experts, practitioners, policymakers, community groups, and the general public.
Using a Bayesian statistical analytic framework, investigates whether the Baltimore Police Department's use of aerial surveillance could help detectives solve serious violent crimes.
This study aims to provide non-binding, factual and not pre-emptive recommendations for possible additional EU measures in the area of intra-EU law enforcement cooperation and to assess and compare the impacts of identified policy options.
In this report, RAND Corporation researchers summarize what is currently known about killings committed by police officers in the United States and identify existing evidence about various ways to prevent these killings. The authors also recommend areas in which future research efforts could help inform policymaking and decisionmaking aimed at reducing police killings.
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.
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. The authors recommend two pilot programs: a team of clinicians to provide services to address substance abuse, mental health, and homelessness and a model that would delegate low-risk, low-priority calls to nonspecialized civilian responders.
Using data on speeding violations in Virginia, researchers examine whether there are racial disparities in who benefits from the discretion of law enforcement and the courts to discount or downgrade misdemeanor violations.
In Virginia, motorists accused of excessive speeding can face either a criminal misdemeanor or a traffic infraction, and the charge is at the discretion of law enforcement officers and the courts. In this report, researchers use data on speeding violations in 18 Virginia counties over a nine-year period to examine whether there are racial disparities in who benefits from this discretion and why these racial disparities might exist.
RAND Corporation researchers studied deputy subgroups within the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) to help LASD and the county learn more about how these subgroups are formed, why they exist, what actions might be taken if it is determined that these subgroups have a significant impact on LASD's mission, and whether subgroups have affected community perceptions and trust in LASD.
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.
This report provides interim findings on the Aerial Investigation Research pilot program, a Baltimore Police Department program in which manned aircraft equipped with cameras gathered evidence to support crime investigations. This pilot was designed to facilitate police investigations of four types of crime (homicides, nonfatal shootings, armed robberies, and carjackings) and ran from May through October 2020.
Delivering effective community supervision services has always been challenging. However, recent societal shifts have presented supervision agencies with unique challenges and opportunities. Increased access to technology and corresponding increases in computer-facilitated crime have resulted in a greater number of tech-savvy individuals under supervision. A panel of experts identified strategies to help officers manage their online activity.
As the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, stakeholders have an opportunity to reimagine the justice system. This brief presents key lessons learned and recommendations from participants in workshops related to different aspects of the justice system.
This brief highlights the challenges that the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic posed for the court system, how courts adapted to those challenges, and a discussion of which adaptations might hold promise after the pandemic.
This brief highlights the challenges that the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic posed for law enforcement agencies, how they adapted to those challenges, and a discussion of which adaptations might hold promise after the pandemic.
This brief highlights the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic created, shows how corrections agencies adapted to the challenges, describes which adaptations may hold promise, and provides evaluations to demonstrate the efficacy of such adaptations.
This brief highlights the challenges that the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic posed for community supervision organizations, how they adapted to those challenges, and a discussion of which adaptations might hold promise after the pandemic.
This brief highlights the challenges that the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic posed for victims services providers, describes how they adapted to those challenges, and discusses which adaptations might hold promise after the pandemic.
This report, part of RAND's Gun Policy in America project, presents a collection of essays that synthesize the available scientific data on several gun policy topics. In particular, the authors examine mass shootings, firearm and ammunition taxes, the effects of the 1996 National Firearms Agreement in Australia, whether mental illness is a risk factor for gun violence, and law enforcement approaches to reduce community gun violence.
In spring 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 swept through the United States, infecting millions and killing hundreds of thousands of Americans. The Priority Criminal Justice Needs Initiative convened workshops in fall 2020 to gather lessons learned from the responses of different justice agencies to the pandemic. Participants identified challenges caused by the pandemic, innovations in response, and lessons for future justice reform.
