Written in an accessible style, this book provides a historically grounded critique of American policing and offers implementable solutions, providing students a comprehensive understanding of modern policing.

Contemporary policing is in crisis, a situation that has led to persistent calls to reform it. Unfortunately, many proposed solutions focus on piecemeal changes that ignore a fundamental problem—policing relies on a largely reactive approach that does not in any systematic or comprehensive way focus on crime prevention. Most of what the police do, such as responding to 911 calls for service and employing directed patrols or hot spots policing, fails to address the causes of crime. Compounding this problem is the absence of any institution or agency charged with prioritizing the prevention of crime and for ensuring that police efforts support this goal.

A central distinguishing feature of this book is its comprehensive approach and the emphasis on policing as part of a much broader set of changes that must occur both to improve policing and to improve public safety and justice. This approach includes retaining what works, eliminating what does not, drawing on evidence-based policy from around the world, and creating systemic changes that institutionalize better policing, accountability, and evaluation processes for ensuring that the police are effective.

The Reinvention of Policing can be used in courses focused on policing policy and practice, specifically when discussing the nature of policing, how policing may reflect and contribute to inequality and injustice, or how it might improve these social problems.

William R. Kelly is professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. Kelly is the author of and contributor to several books and articles on criminal justice, law, and policy, including Criminal Justice at the Crossroads (2015), Confronting Underground Justice (2018), and The Crisis in the American Courts (2021).

Daniel P. Mears is distinguished research professor in the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University. A fellow of the American Society of Criminology and recipient of the Bruce Smith Sr. award from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Mears conducts research on crime and policy. His work appears in journal articles and books, including the award-winning American Criminal Justice Policy (2010) and Out-of-Control Criminal Justice (2017).

Acknowledgements

About the Authors

Preface

1. Our Broken Criminal Justice System and the Failure to Put Public Safety First

The Costly Failure of American Criminal Justice

Fundamentally Misunderstanding Public Safety

Why Focus on Policing?

Improving Policing and Public Safety

Structure of this Book

2. American Policing: A Litany of Problems

Introduction

Critical Problems in Policing—Design Flaws

Problem 1: Society Thinks that They Have a Crime Prevention Agency—They Do Not

Problem 2: The Police Do Little to Address Known Causes of Offending or Crime

Problem 3: Goals and Mission Creep

Problem 4: Lack of Clarity about How Large Police Departments Should Be

Problem 5: Increasingly Militarized Police

Problem 6: Lack of Coordination with Courts and Resistance to Reform

Critical Problems in Policing—Harmful Impacts

Problem 7: Failure to Prevent or Reduce Crime

Problem 8: Use of Force: Problems, Effectiveness, and the Ridiculous

Problem 9: Racism, Ethnic Bias, and Profiling

Problem 10: Police Accountability, Citizen Oversight, and Qualified Immunity

Critical Problems in Policing—Operational Issues

Problem 11: Inadequate Officer Training

Problem 12: Police Discretion and Officer Supervision

Problem 13: The 911 System

Problem 14: Police Use of Time

Problem 15: Police Ill-Equipped to Manage the Consequences of Mass Reentry

Problem 16: Police Officers’ Attitudes about Their Jobs

Problem 17: Public Attitudes about Policing

Critical Problems in Policing—Lack of Research, Monitoring, and Oversight

Problem 18: Little Systematic Reliance on Research

Problem 19: Accountability and the “Black Box” of Policing

Conclusion

3. How We Got Here: Policing that Does Not Prioritize Public Safety (Co-authored with Madalena Almanza)

Introduction

Historical Origins of Policing

What Contributed to Expansion of Policing as a Reactive, Control-Oriented Institution

Crime

Civil Disorder and the Johnson Presidency

Tough on Crime

The 1994 Crime Bill

The War on Drugs

Mission Creep: Dumping More and More Responsibilities on Police

911 and Reactive Policing

Broken Windows

The Warrior Cop

Conclusion

4. A Clean Slate: What Would an Effective Public Safety Approach Look Like?

Introduction

Establish Clear Goals: Crime Prevention and Public Safety

Identify and Monitor the Level and Distribution of Recidivism and Crime

Identify and Monitor the Causes of Recidivism and Crime

Use Evidence-Based Strategies to Prevent Offending and Reduce Recidivism (Individuals)

Address Known Causes of Offending and Recidivism

Focus on Three Levels of Prevention

Rely on a Comprehensive Approach

Use Evidence-Based Strategies to Prevent and Reduce Crime (Communities)

Address Known Causes of Crime

Focus on Three Levels of Prevention

Rely on a Comprehensive Approach

Coordinate All Efforts

Rely on Continuous Research and Assessment

Assess and Improve Policy Design

Assess and Improve Policy Implementation

Assess Policy Impact and Cost-Efficiency

Assess Citizen Views and Experiences

Conclusion

5. Reforming Traditional Policing—Eliminating What Doesn’t Work and Keeping and Improving What Does Work to Promote Crime Prevention and Public Safety

Introduction

Improve Traditional Policing—What to Eliminate

Random, Preventive Patrol, Especially in Large Geographic Areas

Traffic Enforcement

Aggressive Policing, Zero Tolerance Policing, and Broken Windows Policing

Mental Health Calls

Police in Schools

Predictive Policing

Improve Traditional Policing—What the Police Should Do, Do More, and Do Better

911 Reform

Hot Spots Policing

Problem-Oriented Policing

Community Policing

Proactive Policing

Police Recruiting and Training

Police Culture: Transitioning from Warrior to Guardian

Conclusion

6. Reinventing Policing within a System that Prioritizes Crime Prevention and Public Safety

Introduction

Contemporary and Proposed Police Reforms

Reinventing American Policing to Accomplish Public Safety

Defining Crime Prevention

The Case for Crime Prevention

Crime Prevention Strategies by Law Enforcement in the U.S.

Crime Prevention Strategies by Law Enforcement in Other Countries

A New Model for American Policing

1. A Lead Agency Charged with Promoting Public Safety

2. Research Guidance on Crime and Its Causes

3. Multi-Agency Policing

4. Addressing Crime through Police Specialization and Improved Training

5. Crime Prevention through Collective Efficacy and Informal Social Control

6. Crime Prevention through Alternatives to the Police

7. Crime Prevention through a Systematic Approach

8. Crime Prevention through Improvement of 911 Call Systems

9. Leverage Public Support for Reinventing and Evaluating Policing

10. Research Evaluation of Implementation, Effectiveness, and Cost-Efficiency

What Has to Happen for the Reinvention of Policing to Be Successful

Address Barriers to Reinventing Policing

Create Incentives for Reinventing Policing

Reality: Pragmatic Considerations and Reinvention of American Policing

Conclusion

7. Better Policing and Public Safety Means More Justice

Introduction

What Is Justice?

What Do Police Reforms and the Reinvention of Policing Mean for Justice?

Conclusion

8. Conclusion: Public Safety First

Introduction

A Litany of Problems (Key Points from Chapter 2)

Why Policing Is Broken and Needs to Be Reinvented (Key Points from Chapter 3)

A Clean-Slate View of How to Improve Public Safety (Key Points from Chapter 4)

Reforming Policing (Key Points from Chapter 5)

Reinventing Policing (Key Points from Chapter 6)

Improved Public Safety Means More Justice (Key Points from Chapter 7)

Conclusion

Bibliography

Every so often a book on policing comes along that shakes the field of criminology to its core. By calling out the moral and system failures, marshaling the research evidence of the gains made, and charting a path for real reform and social justice, The Reinvention of Policing, by Kelly and Mears, is that book. It is what we need now. It is what we will need for the years ahead.
— Brandon C. Welsh, Professor of Criminology at Northeastern University, and coauthor of The Globalization of Evidence-Based Policing

The Reinvention of Policing fills a critical void in our knowledge of policing in the U.S. The book offers a comprehensive account of the failures of American policing, as well as a model for reforming traditional policing. The authors draw from historical events, federal policies and practices, and the latest policing research to illustrate what works and what doesn’t in crime prevention and public safety. This is a must read for policy makers and justice officials striving for an effective and cost-efficient justice system.
— Nancy Rodriguez, University of California, Irvine

Kelly and Mears bring their decades of experience studying the criminal justice system to the crucial question of how to improve modern policing. This book clearly and comprehensively identifies not just the challenges in how policing currently operates, but also bold, realistic solutions to change practice. Centering crime prevention and public safety in efforts to transform police work offers great promise for fairer and more effective policing in the future. This book should be read by students, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers interested in seriously engaging with what works (and what does not) in improving public safety and applying these ideas to concrete strategies to enhance twenty-first century policing.
— Cody Telep, Arizona State University

In The Reinvention of Policing, Kelly and Mears provide a highly critical but simultaneously constructive account of the crises in policing today. They situate their critique of modern policing in the broader context of a failing criminal justice system, provide a detailed account how we got here, and offer a clear and convincing path towards a model of policing that truly prioritizes public safety through crime prevention. Truly a remarkable accomplishment and a must read for all those who seek transformational reforms in policing.
— Natasha A. Frost, Co-Director, Center on Race, Crime, and Justice, Northeastern University