Establishing and Sustaining Law Enforcement Researcher Partnerships: Guide for Law Enforcement Leaders

The rationale for a police agency to conduct research on its policies and practices is to determine what is effective and ineffective in achieving agency goals, so as to ensure a cost-effective use of its resources. Partnerships with experienced researchers assists in ensuring that research is effectively designed, implemented, and interpreted. Guidance on initiating police-researcher partnerships addresses the selection of compatible research partners and the building of working relationships. The section on organizing partnerships provides guidance on the types of police-researcher partnerships and the defining of roles and responsibilities within the partnership. The section on implementing a partnership provides guidance on the following topics: engaging police personnel in research; setting the research agenda; defining research goals and objectives; establishing research action plan and timeline; safeguarding objectivity and credibility of research; attending to political and organizational factors; fostering ongoing communication; and planning for sustainability. Guidance for assessing the partnership advises police leaders to work with research partners in establishing ways to conduct regular monitoring of the partnership's progress toward its goals. Suggestions are offered for how to do this. Personnel lists are provided for the Research Advisory Committee, Roundtable participants, and project staff and consultant