The Rockdale County Sheriff's Office has been chosen to participate in a three-year research study to promote organizational excellence in law enforcement.
Out of nearly 18,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide, the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office is one of only 100 agencies selected by the National Police Research Platform for the three-year study. The National Police Research Platform is a long-term project designed to collect systematic data about individual police officers, supervisors, and organizations over time and to help document excellence in policing. The law enforcement agencies that have been selected will receive considerable national attention over the next three years as the Platform is rolled out as a model of how police science can help to guide and improve police practices.
The study will examine two key components of organizational behavior: internal and external indicators. This will be accomplished through agency records, as well as by conducting surveys of employees and community members. The first phase of this study, which is an internal survey of RCSO employees, is set to begin today, July 22. Phase two will begin next year and will involve asking citizens to share their experiences about contacts that they have had with the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office.
"We are extremely honored to have been selected to participate in this national research study," said Sheriff Eric Levett. "This will give the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office a unique opportunity to continue working towards building a 21st century law enforcement organization focused on fighting crime. The findings of the research will present us with crucial insight into how we are doing with our Community Policing and crime fighting efforts. We will also be provided with a unique perspective about the internal and external workings of the department so that we can build a future roadmap to guide us in providing the best law enforcement services possible to the citizens of Rockdale County. Since this intensive research is funded by the National Institute of Justice, there is no cost to us or our citizens, but we will certainly benefit from the findings and potential improvements."
Funded as a program by the United States Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice, the National Police Research Platform is expected to advance scientific knowledge and lead to improvements in police organizations that will directly benefit law enforcement personnel and the communities they serve. The project is headquartered at the University of Illinois at Chicago under the leadership of Dr. Dennis Rosenbaum, but involves a consortium of leading police researchers at other major universities.
