February 17-19, 2021
Evidence-Based Policing (EBP) is a way of looking at police decision-making that moves beyond traditional police assumptions about what works in carrying out policing duties and activities. Just as the Community Safety and Well-Being Planning framework guides us in strategically planning how to better invest resources to maximize returns when it comes to public safety, EBP provides a toolkit to support police professionals in designing the most effective crime prevention, disruption, and reduction services to fight crime, violence, and victimization.
As police professionals navigate in today’s complex and challenging socio-political climate, influential police leaders at every rank and position need to understand how EBP can expand their thinking and collective mindset to inspirationally and organizationally move law enforcement organizations from outputs- to outcomes-driven work.
During this conference, you will join with other police professionals and gain expert insights on the evolution of EBP from prominent Canadian and international speakers and police leaders about the latest cutting-edge evidence-based policing research and strategies to reduce crime and disorder, enhance community-well-being and police legitimacy in supporting the communities we serve.
Who should attend?
If you are passionate about community safety and well-being and want to learn why EBP is emerging as a major influential change agent in Canadian policing, this conference is for you. Whether you’re a senior police leader, police manager, front-line Police Officer, or policy-maker, this conference will equip you to think critically about the EBP issues shaping law enforcement today.
Registration:
$125.00 + HST*
Registrants will receive:
- Full access to all conference sessions
- Access to recording of all sessions
- Exclusive access to EBP resources
* Only those that register to attend will be permitted access. The conference will be held via the Zoom platform. A joining link will be sent to all registered participants less than 24 hours prior to the conference.
Speaker Line-up:
Wednesday, February 17
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Jerry Ratcliffe
A former British police officer, Professor of Criminal Justice at Temple University, Philadelphia, and host of the Reducing Crime podcast.
Why Evidence-Based Policing Matters
Policing is under greater scrutiny than ever before. Law enforcement tactics, budgets and legitimacy are in the public eye and increased access to police and crime data has enabled a new industry of amateur and professional critics. In a democracy, much of this scrutiny should be welcomed; however, it also places an onus on police leaders to be answerable to tax payers and citizens for the deployment and tactical choices they make. This presentation examines why a more evidence-based approach to the business of policing can help commanders defend their operational decisions in this new world.
Dr. Rylan Simpson
Assistant Professor in the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University
Officer Appearance and Perceptions of Police
As an institution, the police are particularly sensitive and vulnerable to public opinion. The current presentation draws upon experimental data from the Police Officer Perception Project (Simpson, 2017; 2019; 2020a; 2020b) to explore the effects of officer appearance on perceptions of police. Specifically, the presentation demonstrates how simply seeing officers in different aesthetic capacities (e.g., occupying different styles of police vehicles, wearing different types of uniform accoutrements, exhibiting different facial expressions, etc.) can impact whether citizens perceive them as aggressive, approachable, friendly, respectful, accountable, and competent. The presentation also describes the relevance of such findings for both policy and practice. The presentation concludes with an opportunity for questions from the audience.
Meme Styles
President & Founder, MEASURE Inc.
Evidence Based Policing Is A Movement
A person's most admirable ability is their capacity to drive social change. Throughout history, movements that promote good and awareness have been driven by passionate leaders and fed-up loyalists to the cause. In this session I offer the suggestion that Evidence Based Policing is also a movement driven by the communities unwillingness to accept the status quo and a commitment to evidence and data-driven conversations that are at times, difficult.
Thursday, February 18
Dr. Cynthia Lum
Professor, Department of Criminology, Law and Society
Director, Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy
George Mason University
What Research Tells us About Body-worn Cameras
Many jurisdictions and municipalities have looked to body-worn cameras to strengthen police accountability, reduce use of force, improve police-citizen relationships, or even to help fight crime. In this session, Dr. Lum will discuss what we know from the large body of research in this area, and what more we still need to know so that agencies can decide whether they should acquire them, or if they already have them, how they might optimize their use.
Dr. Renee Mitchell
Senior Police Researcher with RTI International, author of countless books and articles on EBP, and a former 22-year member of the Sacramento Police Department.
Embedding Evidence-Based Policing in an Organization
A discussion on the value of embedding EBP in law enforcement organizations and the opportunities it brings.
Dr. Hina Jawaid Kalyal
Policy Analyst, London Police Service and Part-time faculty, King's University College and Fanshawe College
Barriers to EBP in Policing
Despite the noted importance of evidence-based policing (EBP) strategies, police organizations have been slow to adopt them. Based on qualitative interviews with 38 police executives across Canada, my research has identified internal and external organizational factors that lead to resistance towards EBP. Results reveal that resistance towards EBP is mainly due to organizational factors that arise from within the organization as well as external factors that are political in nature
Friday, February 19
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Lawrence Sherman
Director of the Cambridge Police Executive Programme and Director of Research, Jerry Lee Centre for Experimental Criminology, whose ground-breaking work on EBP continues to guide police leaders around the world.
Evidence-Based Policing – “If I could start a police service from scratch….”
The preeminent and renowned founder of EBP shares his thoughts on some sound EBP practices we should consider today.