Evidence-based practice is not unique to policing. In fact, its proponents belong to a variety of professions, including medicine, management and public policy. For example,  in the late 90's , medical educators began to advocate for "Best Evidence Medical Education." The movement emerged to promote medical training developed  through "intellectual rigor" rather than 'intuition and tradition.' (Source)

Sound familiar? 

Training doesn't have a sterling record in the business world. Studies have found that after one hour, people forget more than 50% of a lesson. 

This isn't necessarily new information, either. In the 19th century, German Psychologist, Hermann Ebbinghaus, published research demonstrating "The Forgetting Curve." He found that humans forget 40% of what they learn within 20 minutes.

You've heard the saying, "Those who can't do, teach." That might be true for an aspiring actor turned high school drama instructor, but when it comes to field training officers (FTOs), it's typically an agency's top performers who are chosen to teach your department's recruits.

You already know your department produces a lot of data. As we shared in a previous post, researchers from the University of Chicago identified seven areas of data that provide law enforcement leaders with actionable insight: 

• Training and Certifications
• An Officer’s On-Duty Activity
• Use-of-Force Incidents
• Internal Affairs Review and Case Management
• Community Engagement
• Performance Evaluations
• Officer Profile – a LEO’s historic and holistic record

People produce a lot of data. How much is a lot of data? Research company IDC , “estimates that by 2025, approximately 80 billion devices will be connected to the internet and the total amount of digital data generated worldwide will hit 180 zettabytes.”

The news on officer shortages across the country just keep on coming. Departments from coast to coast are experiencing a deficiency of qualified candidates to fill an increasing number of open police officer positions. Here are three tactics to employ as you turn to a job market that’s underserving your current needs.

Have you ever taken a self-assessment exercise? Often times the first thing you're told is that there are no right or wrong answers – the objective is to become more aware of the totality of characteristics that comprise your identity. Makes sense, right? But unfortunately, that same principle does not apply to organizational self-assessment – there are right answers and there are definitely wrong answers.

Does your early intervention system allow you to identify potential problems and intervene with customized responses at the very first sign that something could be going wrong? Here are 6 must-haves to look for when evaluating how well your current early warning system is serving you and your department.

1. Research-based

We know that research and analytics play a major role in human capital management across almost all professions and industries. We should be looking outside of law enforcement to inform ourselves on best practices that can be applied to the unique needs and goals of police departments. That means considering an early intervention system that is grounded in research and fueled by an analytics engine.

Thinking of replacing your current early intervention or early warning system — or exploring getting your first one? Here are three essential things to consider as you weigh your options, in support of your professional standards within your agency:

When you look at the world of law enforcement technology today, it essentially falls into three specific buckets or categories. First, you have the hardware world, which we all know is very critical. These consist of products like sirens, radios, breathalyzers — things that police need to do their job every day. Second, there are record management systems (RMS) and other like-systems that help catalog, track and manage criminal incidents and follow-up on investigations. This is very highly evolved software in what is a highly competitive landscape. Third, we have the world of human capital management . . . and this is the part of law enforcement technology that has not been properly addressed.