Evidence-Based Policing

"The Evidence-Based Policing App is a project of the Police Foundation, a national, non-profit organization dedicated to improving policing through science and innovation. The App was developed in partnership with George Mason University’s Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy’s (CEBCP) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). The Evidence-Based Policing App is designed to provide law enforcement officers, crime prevention advocates, community members and others on the front-lines of community safety with quick, actionable information to confront crime and safety problems and to improve law enforcement. Although supporting research is made available in the App, it has been designed to “get to the point” and provide practitioners with immediate action steps without requiring research or hours of reading and discerning scientific materials to determine what works.

While a substantial portion of the strategies identified in the App have been derived from CEBCP’s Evidence-Based Policing Matrix Project, the App also offers limited practical tips and strategies in emerging areas of concern or focus that can be considered ideas worthy of careful exploration and experimentation, but don’t yet have the required research support to be considered “evidence-based or “evidence-informed.”

Additionally, the App provides easily consumed summaries of key research and evaluation literature to support practitioners and policymakers in their need to embrace science in policing and to remain aware of and understand the research that contributes to our understanding of what works.

The Police Foundation and its partner organizations are committed to expanding the App’s content and usefulness and as funding resources are identified, new material and features can be added. We recognize that the App is a “living” resource, to be further developed and expanded over time. For more about the Police Foundation, visit www.policefoundation.org"