Rebuilding the Force: Solving Policing’s Workforce Emergency – R Street Institute

Executive Summary

This policy study explores the recruitment and retention crisis in U.S. law enforcement, analyzing historical, social, and economic factors that have shaped the problem. It describes the staffing shortage, evaluates its consequences, and explores innovative strategies to address the issue. The findings and recommendations offered in this paper provide a practical, comprehensive framework for agencies to build and sustain a strong, resilient workforce.
— Read on www.rstreet.org/research/rebuilding-the-force-solving-policings-workforce-emergency/

Seattle federal monitor’s communications with police raise questions over impartial oversight

This is an interesting article on the “inside” discussions that take place with police monitoring and reform.

Messages obtained by Prism reveal backchannel coordination with the Seattle Police Department about policing tactics and budgeting
— Read on prismreports.org/2025/03/10/seattle-police-federal-monitor-antonio-oftelie/

Legitimacy Policing In Depth | RAND

Law enforcement officers are more effectively able to carry out their duties and responsibilities if they are perceived as having legitimate authority by the citizenry that they serve. Members of the community are more likely to follow the law (Tyler, 2006; Jackson et al., 2012) and to cooperate with police (Tyler and Fagan, 2008) when they believe that the laws, and the officers enforcing them, are legitimate. Improving relations with the community not only improves legitimacy; it is also a core objective of policing in its own right, as identified by panels of subject-matter experts on policing (Hollywood et al., 2015, pp. 12–13; Hollywood et al., 2017, pp. 36–37).
— Read on www.rand.org/pubs/tools/TL261/better-policing-toolkit/all-strategies/legitimacy-policing/in-depth.html