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Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Scholars Program

NIJ's Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science Scholars Program for Law Enforcement Officers

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Scholars program offers a unique opportunity for mid-career, sworn law enforcement officers to enhance their professional development and research capacity alongside other NIJ LEADS Scholars—including policing civilians, academics, and fellow officers—who are committed to advancing policing through science.

LEADS Scholar Spotlight — Patrol Officer Exposure to Subcritical Incidents

May 2018
Wendy Stiver, a commander with the Dayton Police Department in Ohio and a Class of 2016 scholar of NIJ’s Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Program, talks about her work to find interventions to patrol officer exposure to subcritical trauma, or subcritical incidents. She said she was inspired by the LEADS Program to begin analyzing this subject.

LEADS Scholar Spotlight — Reducing Gun Violence

May 2018
Cory Nelson, a captain with the Madison Police Department in Wisconsin and a Class of 2015 scholar of NIJ’s Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Program, speaks about how he was able to reduce gun violence in Madison thanks to implementing the Koper Curve Theory. He learned of this new principle as part of the LEADS Program when he attended the Evidence-Based Policing Symposium at George Mason University earlier this year.

LEADS Scholar Spotlight — Predictive Policing Algorithms

May 2018
Shon Barnes, a deputy police chief with the Salisbury Police Department in North Carolina and a Class of 2015 scholar of NIJ’s Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Program, explains predictive policing and details a quasi-experiment that his department performed. He credits the LEADS Scholarship Program with helping him understand data and ask the right questions.