Police Science

"This paper urges the police to take ownership and make use of science in the policing task. The authors commend the police industry for embracing innovative management strategies and crime control and prevention policies over the last two decades, but argue that as a whole, the profession has been hesitant to adopt scientific, evidence-based policies and practices resulting in a fundamental disconnect between science and policing. The authors discuss existing research that supports their contention and lay out a proposal for a new, science-based policing paradigm. They describe the adoption this paradigm as necessary if the police industry is to "retain public support and legitimacy, cope with recessionary budget cuts, and ... alleviate the problems that have become part of the policing task." Police Science: Toward a New Paradigm is one of a series of papers that are being published as a result of the second "Executive Session on Policing and Public Safety," a collaboration of NIJ and Harvard Kennedy School's Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management."--Publisher's website.