Independent Research Platform
Policing
Research
Independent research and evaluation to strengthen safety, accountability, and decision-making.
Directed by John DeCarlo, Ph.D.
Our Mission
Methodologically Rigorous.
Policy-Relevant.
Policing Research provides empirical analysis, evidence synthesis, and applied evaluation for agencies, policymakers, researchers, attorneys, and foundations. All work is grounded in transparent methods, peer-reviewed scholarship, and real-world operational experience.
Research Areas
Focus Areas
Use of Force & Decision-Making
Empirical analysis of officer decision-making under threat, including the first randomized controlled trial on contagion shooting (2024).
Police Training & Evaluation
Assessment of training methodologies and their impact on operational outcomes, including DOJ COPS Office reports on police education.
Neuroscience of Policing
fNIRS and EEG research imaging the prefrontal cortex of officers during shooting decisions under threat. NSF grant pending.
Eyewitness Identification
Research on interrogation recording effects and eyewitness identification procedures, with Saul Kassin and colleagues.
Organizational Accountability
Analysis of police accountability, labor unions, and organizational change — including independent investigations for government agencies.
Selected Work
Featured Research
An Experimental Test of the Contagious Fire Thesis in Policing
Journal of Criminal Justice, 93
The first empirical test of the contagious fire thesis using a randomized controlled trial, quantifying the phenomenon and offering an explanatory framework.
Fundamentals of Police Science (2nd ed.)
Kendall-Hunt
With Jenkins and Dlugolenski — a comprehensive textbook covering the scientific foundations of modern policing, now in its second edition.
Neural Mechanisms of Contagious Action Selection Under Threat
NSF Grant Proposal ($224,957)
Using fNIRS to image the prefrontal cortex of police officers making shooting decisions while under threat. With David Myers.
Leadership
John DeCarlo, Ph.D.
Full Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of New Haven and retired chief of police with experience spanning research, practice, and policy. Founder of the Center for Policing, Innovation, and Research.
Director of the Master's Program in Criminal Justice at UNH. Research interests include use of force, police decision-making, neuroscience applications in policing, and organizational accountability.
Research Partnerships & Inquiries
Policing Research responds to inquiries related to research partnerships, grant collaboration, expert consultation, policy analysis, and media inquiries.