Why innovations in policing don’t work or don’t translate

An implementation science survey of US police leaders

Bibliographic Data

ID21177794
AuthorsBrandon Del Pozo (0000-0001-6481-2196, John Brown University, corresponding author), Rose E A Nevill (0000-0002-4802-7128, University of the Virgin Islands), Rose E Nevill (University of Virgina), José Cepeda (0000-0003-0304-3172, Johns Hopkins University), Javier Cepeda (The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health), Ian T Adams (0000-0001-5595-8070, University of South Carolina), Alina Whiteside (0000-0003-4741-6823, John Brown University), Erin L Thompson (0000-0002-0932-5894, John Brown University), Erin Thompson (0000-0001-6451-2679, Brown University Health)
Year2026
Volume27
Issue1
Pages110-130
Publication date2026-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolice Practice and Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1561-4263 • E-ISSN: 1477-271X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/15614263.2025.2512806
PMID40979841
OpenAlexW4411040634
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited41

This study examined organizational and community-level barriers and facilitators that influence innovation in policing using an implementation science framework. A body of 31 survey items operationalized for implementation in police settings were mapped onto the constructs of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. The resulting instrument was administered to 72 police leaders and researchers. Respondents agreed implementation bore heavily on an innovation's prospects for success independent of its effectiveness. There was agreement that innovations in policing were often more complex than the actions they replaced, not integrated into officers' performance evaluations, and were likely to be mistrusted if they originated from external sources. Officers were unlikely to understand an innovation's comparative value, and likely to seek their own preferred outcomes regardless. Responses illustrate how effective policing practices could nonetheless be deemed infeasible, providing insights into why many of the innovations that seek to improve policing are met with limited success

Engineering ethics · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Engineering · Health Policy Implementation Science · Policing Practices and Perceptions · Psychology · Mechanical Engineering