Police-Corrections Partnerships

A substantial number of police and corrections agencies have established partnerships over the last 4 years in which staff from both agencies jointly perform functions that provide benefits to both agencies. Some partnerships are pragmatic efforts to solve specific problems such as youth firearms violence. Other partnerships operate in the context of broader reforms such as community policing or neighborhood-based probation. The five categories of partnerships are enhanced supervision partnerships, fugitive apprehension units, information-sharing partnerships, specialized enforcement partnerships, and interagency problem-solving partnerships. Challenges in developing these partnerships include planning; building and maintaining support; dealing with limited resources; overcoming mistrust, misinformation, and stereotypes; removing barriers to information sharing; and solving operational problems. Future issues that need to be addressed include legal considerations, outcome evaluations, partnership goals, and other issues. Tables, reference notes, appended contact list, and 35 references