In 2014, Detroit, Michigan, joined a consortium of cities in the Violence Reduction Network (VRN), a nationwide, locally focused Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) training and technical assistance (TTA) initiative to reduce high rates of violent crime in communities through strategic and innovative measures. Similar to other communities in the VRN program, Detroit has one of the highest violent crime rates in the United States and has endured deep public sector resource constraints and challenges with police-community relations.
Closure rates for homicides and non-fatal shootings have fallen below national averages due to frequent lack of cooperation from victims and witnesses in the community and manpower constraints among justice personnel. The prevalence of systemic domestic violence and gang-related criminality also burdens law enforcement and the justice system at large. To further complicate the policing effort, prior years’ budget cuts for crime analysis and technology enhancements had degraded analytical capacity, which is vital for addressing violent crime.
To overcome these challenges, researchers from the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University (MSU), working with the Detroit Police Department (DPD) and other criminal justice partners, devised a TTA approach that sought to leverage existing programming, develop and bolster community partnerships, and ultimately reintroduce a data-driven analytical capacity to assist justice practitioners in Detroit. As part of a TTA engagement through BJA’s National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC), Detroit city officials and MSU implemented the Crime Analyst Placement Program, in which graduate students introduced complementary analytical skills to inform problem-solving approaches to crime and violence. In total, seven student analysts were placed in local agencies, including the Detroit Police Department (specifically the Crime Control Strategies and Gang Intelligence units), the Detroit Public Schools, the Wayne County Prosecutors Office, and the Michigan Department of Corrections. Dr. Ed McGarrell, MSU Professor and the lead researcher for this effort, emphasizes that academic researchers and students “bring cutting-edge analytic techniques that can provide new perspectives on the nature of crime and violence problems in specific jurisdictions.”
Implementation
Aiming to bolster the multiagency, multidisciplinary efforts already underway in Detroit to combat violent crime, BJA NTTAC support of the MSU Crime Analyst Placement Program first enabled student analysts embedded in all local agencies to support Ceasefire Detroit, a program that utilizes evidence-based strategies to address group-related violence. In contrast to other cities that had successfully implemented Ceasefire, the proportion of gun-related homicides and non-fatal shootings associated with gang or street group activity was lower in Detroit. While this pattern likely reflected a greater variety in the nature of gun violence in Detroit, MSU analysts recognized opportunities to enhance law enforcement’s analytic capacity to address this.
Social Network Analysis
MSU student analysts helped introduce and support social network analysis that could be used to identify nexuses between shootings and active, violent street groups and gangs in supporting Ceasefire Detroit. They assisted the DPD Gang Intelligence Unit (GIU) in developing a database of known gangs and gang members. Through a mobile app for smartphones, concurrently designed by an individual within the larger VRN program, the GIU was then given timelier and more efficient access to the gang database. MSU student analysts also used social network analysis to support the Special Grand Jury Initiative within the Wayne County, Michigan Prosecutor’s Office, producing reports that identified potential witnesses with information on non-fatal shootings. Although not originally part of the placement program’s support of Ceasefire Detroit, social network analysis and the gang database became invaluable components of the program’s focused deterrence strategy. These analytical approaches will now be extended to a Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative focused on the city’s west side.
Risk Terrain Modeling
One of the MSU analysts, a doctoral student with expertise in Risk Terrain Modeling (RTM), also supported Ceasefire Detroit by conducting initial RTM analyses. RTM is a hotspot-focused diagnostic tool developed to support public safety practitioners in forecasting the geographic risk of criminality. These analyses identified high-risk locations for shootings and armed robberies within Detroit, with the goal of complementing Ceasefire’s people-based strategies with location-based strategies. Several other student analysts were then trained in RTM to provide increased analytic capacity to support place-based crime prevention strategies. RTM is now being utilized to support Detroit’s Project Greenlight that creates partnerships between DPD and small businesses to support crime prevention and will be included in a new Smart Policing initiative.
Lessons Learned
While the Detroit VRN Crime Analyst Placement Program has successfully improved the analytical capabilities of different entities within the Detroit justice community and positively impacted efforts to reduce crime, program success was not fully realized without encountering some hurdles. Embedding students alongside justice practitioners brings together personnel from two very distinct disciplines. Dr. McGarrell noted that students began their assignments with varying levels of skills and experience, adding that “there was experimentation with different analytical techniques at the same time that on-the-job training was occurring.”
The program faced logistical challenges as well. In some instances, students had to juggle academic work, analyst responsibilities, and/or full-time employment. Turnover among the program analysts was also an issue as students graduated and moved on to new opportunities.
Despite these challenges, the MSU Crime Analyst Placement Program is described as a “win-win” by Dr. McGarrell: “For criminal justice agencies, the student analysts provide human capital to engage in crime analysis with minimal expenditures for the agencies.” He adds that the program “provides an outstanding opportunity for students to be engaged in active learning and to develop skills with utility.” Demonstrating this value, four participating students have been hired as full-time crime analysts since graduating, both for the City of Detroit and for other law enforcement agencies in the United States.
Student analysts introduced analytic techniques that have not only complemented the work of Ceasefire project managers and technology specialists, but by supporting project managers and the Crime Intelligence Unit, have also introduced a new level of accountability across all agencies within the Ceasefire partnership, for crime and violence patterns across neighborhoods and citywide. This academic-practitioner partnership provided new sets of eyes and new areas of expertise to address complex challenges and succeeded in filling important analytical gaps for justice practitioners in the Detroit region.
Moving Forward
As with any programming that relies on non-local funding, MSU’s Crime Analyst Placement Program will continue to focus on sustainability in order to continue to support the Detroit VRN. Researchers are presently seeking alternative sources for financial support (e.g., foundations), demonstrating the proven successes of the student analysts’ work to date in their proposals. The Crime Analyst Placement Program also benefitted from local investment in crime analysis capacity that has resulted in a Real-Time Crime Center and increased numbers of crime analysts. Researchers and student analysts are now cross-training with departmental personnel in various analytical capacities to build lasting institutional knowledge within justice agencies. BJA NTTAC continues to provide other operational support services to the Detroit VRN, as well as to other U.S. cities in the Violence Reduction Network, by delivering innovative strategies and programming to address complex public safety challenges.
At a time when the public sector increasingly has to operate under tighter budgets and do more with less, a program like the MSU Crime Analyst Placement Program demonstrates that academics and researchers can bring much to the table at little or no cost. The program also reflects how the implementation of emerging technologies can directly support the public safety mission and enhance the day-to-day operations of practitioners. Ultimately, Dr. McGarrell and his team of researchers at MSU hope that their work in Detroit can serve as a blueprint for multidisciplinary efforts to address complex justice issues in jurisdictions across the country.
If your agency or community is experiencing issues with courtroom productivity and would like to apply for technical assistance, please contact BJA NTTAC at BJANTTAC@ojp.usdoj.gov to discuss your unique justice needs.
To submit the work of your organization or jurisdiction for consideration to be featured in a future BJA NTTAC TTA Spotlight, please email BJANTTAC@ojp.usdoj.gov.
Register to join the Advocates for Human Potential’s (AHP) webinar “Supporting Offender Reentry Through Tablet Technology” on Wednesday, December 21 from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. ET. During the webinar, presenters will review the Reentry Tablet Program at the Montgomery County, Maryland Correctional Facility and how it has created a new foundation for contemporary corrections by merging technology into reentry services and inmate programs within a maximum security setting. After the webinar, participants will be able to:
- Discuss challenges related to offender reentry and identify at least five evidence-based service strategies.
- Describe the Reentry Tablet Program and at least five benefits of using tablet technology to support offender reentry.
- Detail at least five considerations for tablet implementation.
- Identify at least five security features of tablet technology to meet standards within maximum security settings.
The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC) asks interested and qualified providers to submit technical assistance proposals to conduct a system mapping exercise on the reentry system in Erie County, New York. BJA NTTAC seeks proposals from the provider community to work with the Erie County, New York Probation Department, in collaboration with other communitywide stakeholders, to identify available resources and any gaps that may exist in terms of system needs and system capacity. The selected provider will then create a comprehensive map of the reentry system in Erie County, which will be used to inform smart and effective change, unify disparate stakeholders, determine gaps and overlaps in available programming, and guide the development of future programs.
BJA NTTAC is pleased to support this opportunity to engage with nationally recognized organizations in providing these services.
Responses to this Request for Proposal (RFP) are due via email no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on December 9, 2016. Please contact BJANTTAC@ojp.usdoj.gov with any questions and include ‘ATTN: James Lah’ in the subject line.
Join the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and American Institutes for Research (AIR) for the webinar “Taking a Trauma-Informed Approach While Improving Community Safety” on Thursday, November 10 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. ET. This webinar will enable participants to recognize the different forms of trauma experienced by individuals, families, organizations, and communities residing in high-crime, high-violence areas, and how these traumas can impact crime reduction and neighborhood revitalization efforts.
This webinar will be useful for law enforcement, community developers, and social service agencies participating in place-based initiatives such as the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI) Program, which focuses on creating comprehensive strategies for addressing crime issues in communities of distress. The webinar is produced through a BJA grant.
Panelists for this webinar will include:
- Patricia E. Campie, Principal Researcher, AIR,
- Kathleen Guarino, Senior Technical Assistance Consultant, AIR,
- Captain Altovise Love-Craighead, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Police Department, 16th District,
- Amanda Whitlock, Director, Behavioral Health Services, Children’s Home + Aid,
- Jacob Dancer, Program Manager, UCAN Chicago, and
- Jason Cooper (Moderator), Senior Program Officer, LISC.
View this webinar on the TTA Catalog.
The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Diagnostic Center recently published a blog titled, “Police are the Public and the Public are the Police: Building Trust in Twenty First Century Community Policing.” The blog, written by Steve Rickman of SER Associates, reveals the emerging challenges that face police departments in this new era of policing as well as the probable reasons for those challenges.
In addition, the blog offers suggestions for police departments to make small steps toward renewing the community trust that is essential for good community-police relations. According to the blog, an improvement in community-police trust can positively affect crime-fighting capabilities, community safety, and the health and well-being of police officers.
The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC) has developed a new resource for BJA TTA providers, “How to Post a Webinar Recording: A BJA NTTAC Tip Sheet.” This resource provides guidance and best practices on how to capture and post a WebEx recording after a virtual meeting, presentation, or training.
The benefits of converting a webinar recording into a shareable video are two-fold. First, it creates a unique URL that your organization can easily share via email, social media, or on a website, removing the tedious task of downloading a large file. Second, using a video sharing site to create the video (such as Vimeo) keeps all of your organization's videos in one centralized location for people to easily access. This Tip Sheet covers the following:
- How to trim your webinar recording to ensure a clean, final version is created;
- How to convert the webinar recording to a format that is compatible with video players; and
- How to post the recording on a video-sharing website, such as Vimeo.
Please join the National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA) and the Addiction Policy Forum for a live broadcast workshop on Monday, August 8 from 1:45 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. ET. The workshop, "Strategies for Combating the Opioid Epidemic," will be broadcast from the National Forum on Criminal Justice in Philadelphia, PA.
The topics for discussion will include:
- The key elements in a comprehensive approach to addiction.
- What recent research shows about what works.
- Successful strategies for alternatives to incarceration.
The presenters will be:
- Jon Blodgett, District Attorney, Essex County, Massachusetts
- Jim Pugel, Chief Deputy, King County (WA) Sheriff’s Office
- Pam Rodriguez, President/CEO, Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC)
- Jessica Nickel, Executive Director, Addiction Policy Forum
- David Steingraber, Senior Policy Adviser, NCJA (Moderator)
This livestream event will be the first in a series of six workshops/webinars, co-sponsored by NCJA and the Addiction Policy Forum, focused on translating the science of combating addiction into practice.
Access more information on the workshop and register.
View the NCJA workshop on the TTA Catalog.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Excellence in Law Enforcement Research Award recognizes law enforcement agencies that demonstrate excellence in conducting and using research to improve police operations and public safety. This award program promotes the establishment of effective research, especially partnerships among law enforcement agencies and researchers.
The award program is open to all state, local, tribal, campus, and other law enforcement agencies worldwide. To compete for the award, agencies must submit a description of their research and its impact on the agency, community, and the profession of law enforcement. All applications must be postmarked by August 1, 2016.
Learn more about the IACP Excellence in Law Enforcement Research Award and view associated materials.
By Joan Brody, President, Joan L. Brody Grant Writing and Development
“What do you mean grant writing is the easiest part?” I was recently asked by one of my clients, who had just spent months moving bureaucratic mountains trying to get his city to approve the hiring of a grant writer. I repeated my initial statement, but this time added, “it’s figuring out what you want to buy that is difficult.”
As a grant writer, or as what I often term a “grant strategist,” I work with public safety agencies across the country assisting them in not only writing successful grant applications, but also helping these organizations think more strategically about going after public and private grant funding. It may seem obvious that all public safety agencies want grant money. It may be surprising, however, that most public safety agencies don’t know what they want to buy with that funding.
Sure, there are always clients who want technology; cars; helicopters; and lately, drones. But when you talk about outcomes and ask organizational leadership how these new, flashy tools will reduce and prevent crime and better engage the community, there is always a pause. This is where the true work of a grant writer/strategist comes in, because at the end of the day, grant writing is really about program and policy development.
One of the first things I do when I meet with a public safety agency is encourage leadership to sit down in the summer and fall with grant writers and engage in a strategic planning process to develop a grant strategy that will inform their proposal writing work in the winter and spring. This might sound a bit academic or even daunting, but it’s really about organizational decisionmakers sitting down to simply put together a "wish list.” In essence, a grant strategy is just a fancy term for a wish list.
A grant strategy or wish list can be informal and consist only of a few projects or initiatives that your agency wants to implement in the coming year, or it can be formal and include complex, tabulated spreadsheets listing priority projects with assigned personnel, timelines, desired outcomes, and budget estimates. The presentation is not what’s important; rather, it’s about how it’s utilized. Sometimes, grant strategies end up being so detailed and complex that they are no longer useful for moving ideas to fruition. On the other hand, if a grant strategy is too general, individuals may adopt a more hands-off approach, assuming someone else will take charge of proposal development and implementation.
A functional grant strategy, at a minimum, should include four basic components:
1) A Short Description of Each Proposed Initiative: A few sentences will usually suffice to describe each proposed initiative; more detail can be added as program development moves forward.
2) An Assigned Project Lead: Sometimes this is a subject matter expert, but it also could be a policy advisor who has identified a gap that needs to be filled. Whomever is assigned as the lead should be able to gather additional personnel to discuss and move an idea forward, whether subject matter experts, budget personnel, and/or outside partners.
3) A Cost Estimate: Even a ballpark estimate is helpful for planning purposes, but budgets can also be more detailed in scope, with breakdowns by line item. Estimated figures are typically adjusted anyway, when the agreed upon plan or project is written up.
4) A List of Potential Resources: Identifying potential public and private resources that could be leveraged to support the proposed program will help move a project idea forward faster. This is the point when you can grow your concept, think of an approach, and add more project details to connect your idea to a funder.
I’ve been told by development experts that the biggest mistake fundraisers make is not making “the ask.” I have seen well written grant strategies that include innovative program ideas, capable personnel, reasonable cost estimates, and potential funding sources – but then, nothing happens. A grant strategy or wish list, no matter how well presented, in and of itself will not get you funded. You need to take the next step by presenting the idea(s) laid out in your strategy to a potential funder in a format and through a process that they will welcome.
Depending on the potential funder, the next step could entail writing up an ‘elevator speech,’ letter of intent, or concept paper to share, thus providing an initial, short presentation to gauge interest. This, in turn, could lead to a request for more information, a full proposal, or even a rejection – either way, you know blissfully early in the process whether a potential funder interested or not. No matter what route you take to get there, the grant writing phase is the final step. Because you have already identified a need, developed it into a program with help from subject matter experts, and effectively outlined projected costs and an initial approach, writing it up as a grant proposal in the end should come naturally. So, as I said, grant writing is the easiest part – as long as you know what you want.
Joan Brody has assisted an array of public safety organizations in jurisdictions across the country with grant writing and development. She is presently working with the Baltimore City (MD) Police Department to develop a functional departmental grant strategy through BJA NTTAC. Ms. Brody is also advising the 13 communities working to address high rates of violent crime as part of the Violence Reduction Network (VRN).
If you are interested in submitting the work of your organization or jurisdiction for consideration to be featured in a future TTA Today blog post or to obtain information related to a particular topic area, please email us at BJANTTAC@ojp.usdoj.gov.
Points of view or opinions on BJA NTTAC’s TTA Today blog are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice, BJA, or BJA NTTAC.
Please join the Smart Policing Initiative (SPI) for the webinar, “Using Randomized Controlled Trials in Criminal Justice” on Wednesday, June 8, from 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. ET. This webinar will introduce participants to the basic principles of experimental research in natural (non-laboratory) settings. Participants will learn about when randomized controlled trials (RCT) are an appropriate research option, the advantages and disadvantages of experiments, implementation and analytical issues, and ethical and practical considerations.
Panelists will review examples of police interventions that have used RCT designs in their implementation and evaluation, and discuss lessons learned from those experiences. Panelists will include Dr. Gipsy Escobar, Director of Research at Measures for Justice, and Dr. Michael D. White, Professor and Director of the Ph.D. Program at the School of Criminology & Criminal Justice, Arizona State University.
For more information, including information about the recommended readings, and to register for the webinar, please click here.
To view this webinar on the TTA Catalog, please click here.