The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) is a national membership organization of

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

executives primarily from the largest city, county and state

law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The organization is dedicated to improving policing and advancing

professionalism A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

through research and involvement in

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...

debate. Since its founding in 1976 with support and funding from the

Police Foundation The National Policing Institute, formerly known as the Police Foundation, is an American non-profit organization dedicated to advancing policing through innovation and independent scientific research. It is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. ...

, it has fostered debate, research and an openness to challenging traditional police practices. It is headquartered in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

PERF members must have completed a 4-year college degree program. Established in 1976, PERF's primary sources of operating revenues are tuition payments for educational programs, grants from private and nonprofit organizations, membership dues, and government contracts. Since 2014, PERF has focused on developing policies and training programs to minimize police use of lethal force, particularly in situations involving persons with mental illness, developmental disabilities, drug addictions, or other conditions that can cause them to behave erratically or dangerously, and in situations where the subject does not have a firearm. PERF also has released a series of reports describing and advocating the increasing role of local law enforcement agencies in addressing the opioid epidemic, by actively helping addicted persons to get treatment and other services, while saving lives by providing naloxone to officers so they can help prevent fatal overdoses. PERF also has reported on police leaders’ approach to immigration issues and has researched police programs to welcome refugees to American communities. Another area of focus has been reducing gender bias in the police response to sexual assault and domestic violence and expanding the FBI’s definition of rape to more accurately report levels of crime. Since 2013, PERF also has issued reports on building trust between police and community members; reducing gun violence; advancing Constitutional policing; recommendations on body-worn camera programs; changes in marijuana laws; the role of local police in preventing cybercrime; the police response to active shooter incidents;

legitimacy Legitimacy, from the Latin ''legitimare'' meaning "to make lawful", may refer to: * Legitimacy (criminal law) * Legitimacy (family law) * Legitimacy (political) See also * Bastard (law of England and Wales) * Illegitimacy in fiction * Legit (d ...

and procedural justice in policing; social media in policing; and civil rights investigations of local police agencies. In 2007, PERF made news by reporting that violent crime had risen by double-digit percentages in cities across the country between 2005 and 2007. This claim was disputed at the time but the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics show an increase in violent crime in 2005-2006 amid an otherwise consistent decrease between 1994 and 2009. PERF organized conference calls with city police chiefs to discuss their response to the

Occupy Wall Street Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a protest Social movement, movement against economic inequality and the Campaign finance, influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Financial District, Manhattan, Wall S ...

movement during the Fall of 2011.

References

External links

* {{authority control Professional associations based in the United States Law enforcement non-governmental organizations in the United States