Police Chief: Research in Brief

This resource was produced for law enforcement leaders and highlights three main issues: (1) department policies are critical for determining how, and to what extent, minor crimes are enforced; (2) the success of department practices that rely on high levels of officer discretion are dependent upon the degree to which officers buy into the philosophical approach; and (3) racially driven implicit bias among officers may significantly influence discretionary enforcement actions and result in disparate consequences for community members.  These issues were all the subject of articles from DCJ’s special issue of Criminal Justice Policy Review.