University Researcher and Law Enforcement Collaboration

Abstract

In 2012, heads of local law enforcement agencies in Benton County, Oregon, contacted researchers at Oregon State University to discuss a problem: a sharp rise in the number of contacts between police and suspects displaying symptoms of mental illness. This initial inquiry led to an ongoing collaborative examination of the nature, causes, and consequences of the rise in police contacts. In this article, the authors describe this collaboration between researchers and law enforcement officials from the perspective of both parties, situating it within the context of mental illness in the U.S. criminal justice system. The collaborators draw on firsthand experiences and prior collaborations to discuss the benefits of, challenges in, and recommendations for university-police research collaborations. Although such collaborations may pose challenges (related to relationship definition, data collection and analysis, outputs, and relationship maintenance), the potential benefits-for researchers and law enforcement agencies-are substantial.

Experiences and Perceptions of Police Officers Concerning Their Interactions With People With Serious Mental Disorders for Compulsory Treatment

“…Police officers see value in obtaining training to avoid potential bad practices (17). However, as a result of their lack of training some encounters between police officers and people with serious mental disorders result in abuse of force, precipitation of violent acts and sometimes even death (15, 20, 21). In the United States in 2015 about 23% (251 deaths) of the total number of deaths ( n = 1099) resulted from police interactions with people with mental illness (22).…”

Problem Analysis in Community Violence Assessment: Revealing Early Childhood Trauma as a Driver of Youth and Gang Violence

“…In this context, the Worcester, Massachusetts, case offers an example of how robust problem analysis can reveal new options and evidence to address the local drivers of serious youth and gang violence. This type of "real time social science" is a form of community engaged scholarship that offers university faculty an opportunity to work in mutually beneficial partnership with practitioners and other community stakeholders to achieve practical, data-driven solutions to pressing social issues (Boba, 2003;Boyer, 1996;Burkhardt et al, 2017). As research partners transform data into actionable information, new partners can be mobilized to engage in the dialogue on youth violence.…”

“…To address this limitation, the field of criminal justice is increasingly moving toward the inclusion of university-based research partners in comprehensive approaches to public safety issues (Braga & Hureau, 2012;Burkhardt et al, 2017;Rojek, Smith, & Alpert, 2012;Worden, McLean, & Bonner, 2014). The inclusion of research partners has been credited with reducing youth gun use (Braga et al, 2006), assisting police in interactions with individuals with mental illness (Burkhardt et al, 2017), and increasing community understanding of gang presence and activities (Takata & Tyler, 1995). Referred to as "real time social science," the inclusion of academic research partners supports community members and practitioners in a fivephase action research cycle consisting of problem identification, problem analysis, strategy development, assessment of strategy performance, and strategy modification (Braga & Hureau, 2012; see Figure 1).…”

“Who is Where?” Cold Case Investigation and Collaborations Between Law Enforcement and Academia

“…Historically, there have been several barriers to successful academic-practitioner partnerships, as these relationships can range from difficult to extraordinarily challenging (Steinheider et al, 2012; Yu, 2017). Law enforcement and academics occupy “very different worlds” (Burkhardt et al, 2017, p. 509). Several research traditions have led to the perception that academics are anti-police (Engel & Whalen, 2010).…”