Skip to page content

Police-Community Relations

Featured

Communities rely on police departments to "protect and serve" and the police, in turn, rely on community support and cooperation, but the relationship is not always harmonious. RAND researchers have examined the relationships between law enforcement agencies and their communities in several countries.

Essay
Hackathon Focuses on Making Policing More Equitable
Hackathons bring new ideas and perspectives to hard policy problems and introduce college students to the field of policy analysis. The latest hackathon, hosted by Pardee RAND and RAND NextGen, explored ways to make the criminal justice system more equitable and more effective.
Jan 9, 2023
Report
Better Data Collection Could Support Efforts to Reduce Deaths in Police Custody
No national data collection program describes all deaths that occur in law enforcement custody. These data are critical to support strategies to reduce such fatalities, to promote public safety through appropriate police responses, and to build trust with communities.
Oct 11, 2022

Explore Police-Community Relations

Blog
State of the Union 2023: Insights from RAND
In his second State of the Union address, President Joe Biden covered a wide range of issues facing the United States at home and abroad, including police violence, gun policy, Russia's war in Ukraine, and U.S. competition with China.
Feb 8, 2023
Commentary
A Way Forward for Police Recruiting
Police recruiting is in a prolonged crisis. Without sufficient numbers of quality recruits, no amount of planning, strategies, or programs will succeed. It is critical to draw from a pool of interested persons who are diverse, technologically adept, and who have a spirit of community service.
Dec 16, 2022
News Release
Second Annual RAND-AUC Consortium Policy Hackathon to Focus on Justice Reinvestment
Undergraduate students from four Atlanta University Center (AUC) Consortium schools will collaborate with Pardee RAND doctoral students to identify potential justice reinvestment policy options during a virtual hackathon offered by the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation, Pardee RAND Graduate School, and the AUC.
Oct 26, 2022
Blog
Civic Education, Twitter's Bot Problem, Police Reform: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses civic and citizenship education in America, addressing Twitter’s bot problem, why community engagement is key to police reform, and more.
Sep 30, 2022
Commentary
Reforming Policing: A Neighborhood-by-Neighborhood Perspective
Disparities in policing outcomes, so often associated with race and ethnicity, have led to divisive discourse on the necessity of police reform in America. So how might we make progress on police reform? Ultimately, the community, in collaboration with local public officials, should determine what it means to serve and protect.
Sep 28, 2022
Blog
Veterans Health Care, Media Literacy, Sleep Retreats: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the challenges of VA community care, the importance of improving middle schoolers' media literacy skills, tips to improve sleep, and more.
Sep 9, 2022
Periodical
RAND Review: September-October 2022
The cover story is a profile of RAND's new president and CEO. Other features explore how teachers and principals have been faring in the COVID era and how to improve media literacy among middle schoolers.
Sep 8, 2022
Report
Amplifying the Speakers: Identifying High-Priority Needs for Law Enforcement Public Information Officers
Law enforcement communications staff are crucial to meeting public expectations for transparency and responsiveness to concerns, but little is known about their needs. Researchers held a workshop to identify priorities for improving the profession.
Sep 8, 2022
Commentary
Letters and Cards Telling People About Local Police Reduce Crime
Researchers conducted a large field experiment to deliver cards and letters to residents of a community with information about local police officers. They then evaluated how knowing some information about individuals one has never met can manifest in judgments about them and potentially reduce crime.
Sep 6, 2022
Q&A
Reducing Police Violence: Q&A with Melissa Labriola
A succession of high-profile police killings has prompted some departments and communities to seek change. But data is sparse, and research is thin. Melissa Labriola helped lead a study of police violence and developed a road map for future research that could move the field forward.
Sep 1, 2022
Commentary
What Support Do Officers Need to Perform at Their Peak?
Police1's second annual survey on “What Cops Want” shows both major strengths and substantial challenges in the profession. Law enforcement leadership can use the findings to better support and engage their officers.
Jun 14, 2022
Blog
Extremism Online, Russia's Military, Preventing Police Killings: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the internet's role in stoking extremism and hate, how Russia has failed its military personnel, a research roadmap to help prevent police killings in the United States, and more.
May 20, 2022
Report
Research Road Map to Reduce Police Killings
Preventing killings committed by police will require research funding, research-practitioner partnerships with police agencies and unions, and standardized data collection. Research should focus on training, policies, technology, consequences for officers, and foundational issues such as racial inequities.
May 18, 2022
Journal Article
'Passing', but Far from Perfect: Assessing Public Confidence in Police and Desire for Reform in Pennsylvania
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.
Jan 11, 2022
Report
SAFE Charlotte: Alternative Response Models and Disparities in Policing
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. They describe their findings in this report.
Sep 28, 2021
Blog
Prescription Drug Prices, Unemployment Insurance, Anti-Asian Racism: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on lowering prescription drug prices, reforming unemployment insurance, addressing anti-Asian racism, and more.
Sep 17, 2021
News Release
Stronger Leadership Action in L.A. Sheriff's Department Needed to Curb Influence of Problematic Subgroups, Address ...
Leadership of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department can best discourage involvement in deputy subgroups by clarifying current policy language to prohibit subgroups, and by delivering strong and consistent messages to its staff opposing membership in the groups and related banned conduct.
Sep 10, 2021
Report
Stronger Leadership Action in L.A. Sheriff's Department Is Needed to Curb Problematic Subgroups
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has been subject to allegations about secret subgroups of deputies who have allegedly mistreated community members and coworkers. LASD leadership can best discourage such behavior with clearer policies to prohibit subgroups and consistent messages to its staff.
Sep 10, 2021

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Next

RAND Topic:
Police-Community Relations

Topic Synonyms:
Police-Neighborhood Relations

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Danielle Sobol

Assistant Policy Researcher, RAND, and Ph.D. Student, Pardee RAND Graduate School

Danielle Sobol (she/her) is a Ph.D. student in the Research, Analysis, and Design stream at the Pardee RAND Graduate School and an assistant policy researcher at RAND. Her research interests include criminal justice and policing reform, social protection, and behavioral health care.
Nelson Lim

Director, Workforce, Development, and Health Program, RAND Project AIR FORCE

Nelson Lim is director of the Workforce, Development, and Health (WDH) program in RAND Project AIR FORCE and a senior social scientist at the RAND Corporation. In 2022, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III appointed Lim a member of the Defense Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion…

Explore Our People »