The U.S. Department of State, through its Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), provides foreign assistance and supports capacity building for criminal justice systems and police organizations in approximately 90 countries around the world. It has a mandate to strengthen fragile states, support democratic transitions, and stabilize conflict-affected societies by helping partner countries develop effective and accountable criminal justice sector institutions and systems.

At the request of INL, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine assembled the Committee on Evidence to Advance Reform in the Global Security and Justice Sectors to review the available research evidence on police and policing practices, with emphasis on how police reform can promote the rule of law and protect the public. The 5 consensus studies that are part of this project provide evidence-driven policy and research recommendations for key stakeholders with the goal of informing capacity-building activities. This report is a compilation of those 5 studies.

Table of Contents

Front Matter Summary 1 Introduction and Overview 2 Organizational Structures for Policing 3 Policies for Promoting Accountable Policing 4 Proactive Policing Practices 5 Conclusions and Recommendations References Appendix A: Validation Exercise Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff Police Training to Promote the Rule of Law and Protect the Population Acknowledgments Contents Summary 1 Introduction 2 Reform-based Training 3 Knowledge and Skills for Policing 4 Training Methods and Delivery 5 Committee Conclusions References Appendix: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff Policies and Practices to Minimize Police Use of Force Internationally Acknowledgments Contents Summary 1 Introduction 2 Practices Designed to Regulate and Control Use of Force 3 Committee's Conclusions and Recommendations References Appendix: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff Developing Policing Practices that Build Legitimacy Acknowledgments Contents Executive Summary 1 Introduction 2 Four Pillars of Legitimacy 3 The State of the Empirical Evidence References Appendix: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff Police Strategies to Control High-Level Corruption: A Global Perspective Acknowledgments Contents Executive Summary 1 Introduction 2 Case Studies of Anti-Corruption Initiatives 3 The Need to Generate Knowledge References Appendix: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff