Summary
“Law enforcement is increasingly expected to ground policies and practices in evidence, and evidence-based policing is rightfully encouraged as the new gold standard of practice. Somewhat absent from the discussion, however, has been the reality that most law enforcement agencies lack the capacity to identify and incorporate research results into policy and practice. Policy-relevant research results are often published only in academic journals (many of which are behind a paywall) that are written for an academic audience. As such, research articles are often full of jargon and fail to consider the relevance of the findings for on-the-ground application. Although the relatively recent trend toward translational criminology has put a spotlight on the importance of collaboration between researchers and practitioners, much work remains to ensure that research is relevant to law enforcement practitioners, timely, accessible, and communicated effectively. Further, much of the existing research on policing focuses on larger departments in urban areas (due largely to the benefits of a large sample size), with limited applicability to most of the agencies in this country. This leaves a large number of law enforcement agencies underserved and ill-equipped to ground their practices in relevant evidence.”--Page 1.