Can Police De-escalate Conflicts?

Crime Prevention Strategies

In a new book, The Science of Second Chances, economist Jennifer Doleac puts criminal justice reform strategies under the microscope. Should prosecutors be lenient towards first offenders? Should probation ground-rules be strict and strictly enforced? Should persons convicted of a felony have their DNA included in a law enforcement data base? Should employers be allowed to ask job applicants whether they have been convicted of a crime? Doleac, the Executive Vice President of Arnold Ventures, believes in answering these questions with rigorous empirical evidence. Some of her answers will surprise you!

Can Police De-escalate Conflicts?

De-escalation training for police is not new, but it has received growing attention in recent years, as concerns over the use of force by police have surged. Until recently, little was known about the actual effects of de-escalation training. Robin Engel, Senior Scientist at the Ohio State University, has conducted a systematic review of multiple studies and an in-depth analysis of the effects of de-escalation training in Louisville, Ky. and Indianapolis, Ind. She discusses her surprising findings and offers some insights.

Clearance Rates for Violent Crimes

Homicide clearance rates, at 61 percent nationwide, are disappointing, and clearance rates for nonfatal gun shootings are even lower. Phillip Cook, Professor Emeritus of Public Policy and Economics at Duke University, offers explanations for relatively low clearance rates, including changes in arrest requirements and the mix of cases being investigated. For example, as drug and gang cases have proliferated, clearance rates have declined. On the positive side, Cook discusses promising efforts by Denver, Indianapolis, and other cities to boost clearance rates.

Policing in Colonial America

What did law enforcement look like in the days before the American Revolution? In Boston and other cities, "night watchmen" provided protection and useful information to citizens while others slept. Law enforcement became far less routine when 1,300 British soldiers arrived in Boston in 1768. Nicole Breault, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Texas-El Paso, discusses how competing police forces complicated law enforcement during the American Revolution. Learn what Ken Burns didn't tell you!

Yellowstone's Zone of Death

Due to some legislative drafting quirks, our nation’s oldest national park features a 50-square-mile corridor where it is theoretically possible to commit a serious crime without being punished. This legal loophole played a role in C.J. Box’s heart-pounding murder mystery, Free-Fire, featuringWyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett. Brian Kalt, Professor of Law at Michigan State University, generated lots of interest but alas no reform when he wrote about this loophole in a Georgetown Law Review article. Hear him explain how animprobable series of uncoordinated legal decisions made it possible to get away with murder in Yellowstone’s Zone of Death!