New Ideas in Policing

Date: Februrary 28, 2012
Time: 12 noon (EST / GMT -5:00)

View The Webinar

The United States has been an incubator of innovation for police practices often implemented and adopted around the world. This webinar looks at the opposite side of the coin: What programs and practices have been developed in other countries that might be applied to policing in the U.S.? It is the product of an intensive search across the globe: we contacted more than 150 police, academics, and human rights organizations in six continents. Three dozen initial best practices were eventually distilled into three that were presented in a BJA-sponsored webinar hosted by the RAND Corporation and The University of Texas at Dallas.

The webinar, intended for U.S. police administrators and others interested in policing best practices, took place at noon eastern time on February 28th, 2012. It was hosted by Rob Davis, senior researcher at the RAND Corporation, Dr. Robert Taylor, Program Head for Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Dallas, and David Kunkle, former chief of the Dallas Police Department. The webinar featured these best practices, each described by the people responsible for developing the program:

• Staff development: This feature clip featured two U.K. staff development programs designed to produce highly competent police leaders.
• Building citizen trust: This segment described an Australian program (Queensland Community Engagement Trial) that taught police officers to interact more respectfully with motorists stopped for random breathalyzers; the goal to increase citizen satisfaction with the police through the tenets of procedural justice.
• Sharing best practices: The final segment described a U.K. social networking site for police officers designed to share best practices and personal experiences across police forces (POLKA: Police On-Line Knowledge Area)

Program Update: We had intended to showcase the Israel Police's Menahel performance measurement system as one of four best international policing practices. However, between the time we recorded the video and the date of the webinar, a major reform of the Menahel project was conducted by the Israeli Police. Hence, the out-dated video no longer reflected this "best practice." The webinar you will view does not have the segment on Menahel, but the segment is still mentioned in the pre-recorded introduction and discussion. We look forward to reporting on the Menahel Performance Measurement System at a later date.

The three "best practices" discussed in this Webinar include: (1) Building Citizen Trust in Australia: The QCET Program; (2) Staff Development in the United Kingdom: The High Potential Development Course, and (3) Sharing Best Practices through POLKA, also from the UK.

Sponsored by:
U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance