Recent efforts to develop and expand alternatives to enforcement highlight research-informed strategies to more effectively promote public safety and decrease police agencies’ reliance on arrests.

Emerging Issues in American Policing is a quarterly digest tailored to practitioners and community members interested in policing. 

It is designed to elevate new and innovative research on policing practices and strategies, by providing readers with succinct summaries that highlight key findings and implementation recommendations. This digest equips the field with practical, actionable resources, and guidance on policing best practices by disseminating evidence-informed approaches.

This special edition—released today—includes reviews of recently published key scholarly articles detailing the field of alternatives to enforcement. It focuses on the timely topics of pre-arrest diversion programs, partnerships between police and public health agencies, civil citations, and arrest trends, and answers questions such as: What trends in arrest emerge in response to diversion programs? Do crime rates go up or down when police officers make less arrests? And, does everyone get diverted away from the criminal justice system equally? Research was conducted by leading scholars and research organizations, including, but not limited to, Robin S. Engel and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) /University of Cincinnati’s Center for Police Research and Policy.

In addition to making policing research more publicly accessible, the digest provides readers with information about current science to help examine emerging issues and how they might apply to one’s own police agency and community. We welcome input, questions, and suggestions—especially regarding research topics you’d like to see featured in future volumes—and look forward to your feedback and readership.

Please forward any questions, suggestions, or subscription requests to EmergingIssuesPolicing@vera.org.