Dennis Jay Kenney

Early Warning Systems for Police: Concept, History, and Issues

Early warning (EW) systems are data-driven management tools for identifying police officers with performance problems and for providing some intervention to correct those problems. EW systems have emerged as popular tools for enhancing police accountability. This article reports the findings of a national evaluation of EW systems. It argues that EW systems are more complex mechanisms than generally recognized. There are a variety of alternatives with regard to the proper selection criteria for identifying officers, the mode of intervention, and the form of postintervention monitoring for officers subject to intervention. This article discusses the issues related to these alternatives and to the larger goals of EW systems.

Countering crime and corruption A school-based program on the US— Mexico border

The Border Project was a 36-lesson course developed by Mexican and US teachers to build support for a culture of lawfulness and further the rule of law. The conclusion of the projects evaluation was, simply put, that the students learned the lessons taught. While the impact on their attitudes and behaviors was more mixed, participation did appear to strengthen overall belief in rules among some groups of San Diego students and the sense of interpersonal competency among students in Tijuana. These positive findings were reinforced by an increased awareness among students in both settings of the importance of self-esteem in resisting bad behavior, the difficulties encountered in rejecting criminal associations and the gradual erosion that often leads individuals into crime and corruption. In addition, the legal reasoning skills of Tijuana students appeared to have been enhanced as a result of their participation in the project. Self-reported behavior, however, was unchanged.

Training the Police in Ukraine

Beginning in 1999, the Police Executive Research Forum, with researchers from the Ukrainian Academy of Law Sciences, was funded by the National Institute of Justice to document and assess the U.S.-sponsored training for Ukrainian law enforcement. As part of that effort, project staff met with U.S. and Ukrainian officials, held focus groups with Ukrainian officers who had participated in trainings, interviewed providers of previous training courses, and conducted round-table discussions with Ukrainian law enforcement managers. During the summer of 2000, the U.S. and Ukrainian project staff completed a series of surveys of Ukrainian police, prosecutors, and judicial officials at both national and local levels. Although a far more difficult process than anticipated, the results of the effort offer added light on the quality and scope of the training offered. This article presents results of those efforts.