All about Policing with a sprinkle of Criminal Justice – written by a Secret Contrarian
Overview
Since 2019, Akron Police Department (APD) officers have been involved in seven fatal 1 and seven nonfatal 2 shootings. In response to these incidents, the City of Akron issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking an independent review of APD’s use of force (UOF) policies and procedures. After a competitive selection process, the City awarded the contract to the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF).
Get a PDF copy of the report HERE
“Borough Contrast: Prosecution and Court Outcomes Across New York City, 2021-2024,” analyzes how criminal legal outcomes vary across the five boroughs during the post-pandemic period (pp. 1, 4).
Below are the key highlights and trends identified in the study:
Citywide arrests surged by 62% from 2021 to 2024 (pp. 9, 14). This was driven largely by low-level offenses:
Whether a case is prosecuted depends heavily on the borough (pp. 6, 23):
The study found significant differences in how judges handle cases at arraignment (pp. 6, 31):
Access the article webpage HERE
Ger a .PDF copy of the article HERE
Data extracted from records of tickets on file with NYS DMV. The tickets were issued to motorists for violations of: NYS Vehicle & Traffic Law (VTL), Thruway Rules and Regulations, Tax Law, Transportation Law, Parks and Recreation Regulations, Local New York City Traffic Ordinances, and NYS Penal Law pertaining to the involvement of a motor vehicle in acts of assault, homicide, manslaughter and criminal negligence resulting in injury or death.
Read more HERE
This is the direct link to the data HERE
Applied Police Briefings (APB) addresses the challenge police professionals face in accessing and understanding policing research. Our mission is to make this research accessible, free of charge, and easy to understand.
Key features of APB include:
User-Friendly Access: An easy to navigate platform for all users
Open Access: Free access to all APB materials
Clarity in Communication: Research briefs are free of technical and statistical jargon
Concise Content: Briefs are kept succinct for quick and easy reading
Reputable Sources: We use reputable, peer-reviewed research that addresses key policing questions
Diverse Perspectives: Incorporating a variety of research methodologies and viewpoints
APB is dedicated to empowering police professionals with research insights to enhance their work.
— Read on appliedpolicebriefings.com/index.php/APB
The findings come as photos and videos of aggressive law enforcement have dominated headlines and social media.
— Read on timesofsandiego.com/crime/2026/04/04/fatal-police-violence-may-have-declined-for-the-first-time-in-years/
Two landmark studies on the Chicago Police Department just dropped. Here’s what they revealed.
To read The Last Word article “How to bring professional excellence to the Chicago Police Department” copy and paste the link below:
— Read on www.thelastward.org/p/how-to-bring-professional-excellence
To get the Chicago PD “Workforce Allocation Study” and “Community Policing Study”click HERE
For the specific .PDF versions:
Community Policing Assessment Executive Summary
A post on X that went viral recently laid out a series of statistics about the percentage of serious crimes — murder, rape, robbery, assault, and so on — that are committed by people with prior arrests. All hovered between 60 percent and 79 percent. The post’s conclusion: “You can incarcerate your way out of crime. Facts.” Elon Musk, the platform’s owner, amplified the post to his hundreds of millions of followers and sharpened the point: “Either incarcerate or innocent people suffer.” To date, these two posts have nearly 50 million views each.
The claims in these posts are worth unpacking. First, Musk uses the correct metric: Reducing the suffering of innocent people is the proper goal of any criminal justice system, and public safety policy should be evaluated primarily by that standard. Musk is also correct in an important, albeit limited, sense: Failing to incapacitate genuinely dangerous people will lead to some level of crime and suffering that would have otherwise been avoided.
— Read on www.niskanencenter.org/we-cant-incarcerate-our-way-out-of-crime-but-we-can-deter-a-lot-more-of-it/
BJS has released two reports that provide insight into violent and property crime in the United States and describe the magnitude, nature, and impact of crime in the nation.
Crime Known to Law Enforcement, 2024 presents national and subnational estimates of crime offenses and victimizations for violent and property crime. Findings in this report, the second in an annual series, are based on BJS’s and the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) Estimation Program. NIBRS collects detailed information on crime incidents reported to law enforcement throughout the United States.
— Read on content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDOJOJP_COMMS/bulletins/40e7eb5
In 2020, general-purpose law enforcement agencies hired 55,000 full-time sworn personnel, but lost 57,400 through resignations, retirements, and other types of separations, resulting in a net loss of 2,400 officers (figure 1). A net loss of 1,500 officers also occurred in 2013, while agencies had net gains in 2003, 2008, and 2016. The largest number of hires occurred in 2016 (63,600), resulting in a net gain of 9,300 officers
Get the report HERE
Key Takeaways
Science-based interviewing (SBI) is an evidence-based approach to investigative interviewing that prioritizes cooperation and gathering accurate, detailed information to advance a case over obtaining a confession.
Techniques characteristic of SBI include rapport-building, the use of memory-enhancing techniques, the strategic use of evidence, and assessing deception through statement-evidence inconsistencies rather than non-verbal behaviors.
SBI is not a passive or permissive approach. It provides structured control. The investigator makes informed, intentional decisions that guide the conversation, manage the flow of information, and determine the timing of questions and evidence disclosure.
— Read on www.rti.org/insights/science-based-interviewing-law-enforcement
All about Policing with a sprinkle of Criminal Justice - written by a Secret Contrarian
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