Bringing the Theory and Practice Together Forever: Introducing the American Police Expertise Platform

• In Event: Lightning Talk: Policing: Theory, Diversity, Enforcement, & Partnerships

Abstract

All Local Police Organizations (LPOs) in the US are undeniably committed to curbing crime, protecting civil rights, and maintaining peaceful communities. However, the fragmented political and administrative system leaves them with insular perspectives and reduces their chances of benefiting from each other's experiences or the national potential at the expected levels. Hence, there is no standard system tool or coordination among LPOs to record and share the lessons learned nor continually reinforce their performances with scholarly works. So, many scientific sources remain unread, and many innovative initiatives stay local and are ultimately forgotten, having significantly lower likelihoods of large-scale implementation. This shortcoming is, in fact, the main reason why organizational learning is minimal in LPOs, and therefore, high crime rates and low crime clearance rates continue across the country.

Inspired by the most progressive global examples, a virtual learning and knowledge management system was developed to continually streamline organizational structures and standards. The proposed system synchronizes human intelligence (knowledge and experiences), scientific findings, best practices, data analytics, and technology on a single platform at the national level: The American Police Expertise Platform (APEP) establishes a connecting fabric to bring theory and practice together fundamentally and to unluck the overall potential.

Author

• Mustafa Ozguler, International Police Executive Symposium