The document outlines an American Policing Practice Project that aims to analyze issues between police and minority communities through a multi-pronged approach. It will conduct national and local surveys informed by expert panels to identify root causes. Public forums will utilize survey results to develop policy recommendations. Hackathons will then focus on priority areas to generate solutions like apps. The project seeks to understand different perspectives and propose practical national, state and local reforms through data analysis, expert engagement, and community-driven solutions.

1. ABA Coalition on Racial and Ethnic Justice
American Policing Practice Project
Fall Joint Meeting Presentation

2. First Witness - Report of the ABA Task Force on Minorities and the Justice System,
1992
“I must again in candor say to you members of the Commission – it is a
kind of Alice in Wonderland with the same moving picture reshown over
and over again, the same analysis, the same recommendations, and the
same inaction.”

3. President Barack Obama - Memorial Service for Fallen Dallas Police Officers (July
2016)
“We also know what Chief Brown has said is true: That so much of the
tensions between police departments and minority communities that they
serve is because we ask the police to do too much and we ask too little of
ourselves.”

4. American Policing Practice Project
➢ We will utilize a National and Local Survey process, informed by a literature review and vetted
by an ABA expert panel, to perform a root cause analysis of the disconnect between the police
and community regarding the role of the police and the acceptable use of police discretion.
➢ We will engage experts, legislative and justice professionals, and the community in a series of
Public Forums and Hackathons to develop legislative, policy and procedure proposals, and
mobile apps designed to address the root causes identified during the survey process.
● Gather facts
○ Institutional breakdowns
○ How police view communities vs. How communities view themselves
○ Policing metrics
● Propose solutions
○ 2 pronged approach

5. APP Project: 2 pronged approach
Top-Down
- National Survey
- Developed in conjunction with a literature
review, the national survey will provide us
the data necessary to focus our efforts now
and for future initiatives
- Public Forum
- Founded in the results of the national (and
local) survey, the public forums will allow us
to generate the policy/legislative
recommendations that are our core
competency and will provide suggested
areas for Hackathon focus
Community-Based
- Local Survey
- Based on the priority categories from the
national survey, the local survey will act as
our introduction to local stakeholders and
provide us the data to focus our Hackathon
efforts
- Hackathon
- Focused on the priority areas identified in
the local survey, the Hackathon will provide
the tangible, actionable solutions that will
support the broader initiatives identified in
the public forum, drive current change, and
allow us to leverage activist communities in
working directly and collaboratively on

6. American Policing Practice Project
National Survey
Local Survey
Public Forum
Hackathon

7. National/State survey process
Literature
review
Survey Data
Analysis
White
paper
Expert
Panel

8. National/State Survey: areas of focus
Community Demographics Policing Effectiveness
Institutional Effectiveness Community/Police Sentiment
The surveys will be distributed to organizations comprised of justice system professionals and
organizations focused on broader community and policing issues.

9. Deliverables
➢ White paper
○ Based on the results of the national and state survey review and the ABA work
session
➢ Contact directory
○ A centralized collection of the contact information for Organizations that were used
in this research
○ Internal directory of national and state experts
➢ Survey and Interview Templates for further research
○ To be housed in a central repository for public use

10. Local survey process
Panel
Committee
Expert
Identification
Survey Interviews

11. Local Survey and Interview Process
Local Survey
● Purpose
○ Vet the national priorities
○ Identify the specific issues of greatest
importance/need to the community
○ Add community-focused questions
■ Knowledge/Efficacy of complaint
process/procedures
■ Types of interactions that most
concern the community
■ Satisfaction
● Analysis
○ Review for patterns, anecdotes
○ Choose particularly knowledgeable,
passionate responders for interviews
Interviews
● Drafted post-survey to specifically follow
up on the major issues raised in the
surveys
○ Vet patterns determined in survey review
○ Clarify previous efforts to address issues
○ Uncover assumptions underlying problems
and previous solution efforts
○ Obtain information for further research
(relevant statutes, local rules, etc.)
● Methodology
○ Scripted
○ Either video conference or phone
● Follow-up
○ Offer particularly knowledgeable,
passionate responders mentor and/or
panelist positions

12. Deliverables
➢ Contact directory
○ A centralized collection of the contact information for Organizations that were used
in this research
○ Internal directory of national and state experts
➢ Survey and Interview Templates for further research
○ To be housed in a central repository for public use
➢ Website data
○ Locality-specific research, provided as background information for Public Forum
and Hackathon participants

13. Public forum process
Expert
Identification
Survey Result
Discussion
Policy
Recommendations
Potential
Hacks&

14. Public Forum: participants
The public forum should be informed by an expert panel. In addition to any locally-based
experts identified during the National survey process:
- National Policing Organizations
- National and State Professional Organizations
The expert panel should also include groups that can enact the legislative and regulatory
recommendations on a state and local level. Therefore, the panel should also include:
- Congressional Representatives
- Local Policing Organizations
- Local Professional Organizations
- Community Activists
Due to the number of experts, more than one panel may need to be convened during the
Forum process.

15. Deliverables
➢ Policy/Legislative recommendations
○ Within priority areas identified during the local survey process
■ Tailored to address root causes of the difficulty within these areas
■ Founded within the “Why”
○ Prioritized by impact, cost and complexity
➢ Potential hacks
○ Identified during the forum
■ Should be area-specific, not necessarily ideas for complete hacks
■ To be included with the Hackathon website materials - added to the local-specific data

16. Hackathon process
Determine
focus
Ideation
Session
Hackathon Demo Day

17. Hackathon process - What is it and why?
Hackathon - What do we expect?
A hackathon solution can come in
many forms. Acceptable solutions
can be mobile apps, new and/or
streamlined processes and
procedures, and trackers, amongst
others. To “hack” is to solve the
problem. Technical ability is
greatly appreciated, but not
required to be successful. Teams
will be able to determine the level
of tech they would like to use for
the solution they’re proposing.
Demo Day - What is its purpose?
Hackathons are intended to
create real-world solutions to
pressing problems. However,
excitement tends to wear off after
the event and many of the project
stall - limiting the lasting impact of
the event. A demo day, held
months after the event, gives
participants an incentive to
continue developing their project
through completion.
Ideation Session
While the hacks themselves will
solve a few specific problems, the
ideation session will allow for these
issues to be addressed more
substantially. Team diversity will
allow for a comprehensive view of
the issues and proposed solutions.
The ideas generated will form the
basis for the Hackathon, and will
be catalogued in a spreadsheet
and placed on the website for
further development.

18. American Policing Project: Goals
1. Collect and analyze national, state and local data to identify the root causes of
dissatisfaction with current policing services.
2. Propose laws and policies to address those root causes on a National, State and Local
level.
3. Develop process, informational, data and transformational mobile app hacks that
address the root causes on a local level.
4. Develop and disseminate literature, including a white paper and local data
repositories, for lasting scholarly impact.

19. Project Timeline

20. National Survey Process

21. Local Survey/Interview Process

22. Public Forums