Professor David Weisburd
Can police achieve the goals of reform and community safety simultaneously? I report on a large three city randomized field trial that shows they can. We tested whether police can be trained to treat people in fair and respectful ways, and if so, whether this would influence evaluations of the police and crime. The treatment led to significantly more procedurally just behavior by police; fewer arrests; and residents of the treatment hot spots significantly less likely to perceive police as harassing or using unnecessary force. At the same time, there was also a significant relative 14% decline in crime incidents.
Biography
David Weisburd is Distinguished Professor of Criminology, Law and Society at George Mason University and Walter E. Meyer Professor Emeritus of Law and Criminal Justice at the Hebrew University. He is also Executive Director of the Center for Evidence Based Crime Policy, and a senior science advisor for the National Policing Institute.