Las Vegas Public Safety Department receives US Department of Justice grant to assess departmental safety, accountability, fairness, and effectiveness
The Las Vegas Department of Public Safety – in partnership with The Policing Project at NYU School of Law and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas – has received an $800,000 federal grant to administer a comprehensive assessment tool to evaluate the Department’s policies and outcomes across 100 metrics
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 26, 2023
Media Contact: Joshua Manson, Policing Project at NYU School of Law, joshua.manson@nyu.edu
Media Contact: Jace Radke, City of Las Vegas, jradke@LasVegasNevada.gov
Media Contact: Dr. William Sousa, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, william.sousa@unlv.edu
Las Vegas, NV – The city of Las Vegas Department of Public Safety today announced that it – in partnership with the Center for Crime and Justice Policy at University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the Policing Project at NYU School of Law – has received an $800,000 federal grant to be evaluated by the Policing Project’s new Sound, Accountable, Just, and Effective (SAJE) Policing Assessment tool. The grant was issued as part of the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Smart Policing Initiative.
The project will seek to measure – and ultimately improve – internal policies at the Department of Public Safety on topics including community safety, problem solving, community engagement, and public trust. Experts from the Policing Project will provide training and technical assistance on the SAJE Assessment, administer and score the assessments, and lead collaborative engagements with key stakeholders, including community groups and municipal leaders. Researchers at UNLV will conduct an independent process and outcome evaluation to document challenges and successes, including impact on crime.
“Public Safety is the top priority in the city of Las Vegas and we welcome the teams from the NYU School of Law and UNLV to work with our Department of Public Safety,” Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman said. “You must inspect what you expect, and we look forward to getting feedback on our operations and how we can improve public safety in our community.”
The SAJE Policing Assessment is a tool designed to define and measure the characteristics of a sound, accountable, just, and effective policing agency. It is based on 100 metrics measuring 55 principles of good policing, on topics from public safety to public accountability, to internal budget management and officer well-being. The tool provides a shared definition of equitable and effective policing and insights into areas of improvement for police chiefs, elected leaders, and oversight bodies, as well as a source of transparency and independent evaluation for the local communities.
“We’re thrilled to be working with the Las Vegas Department of Public Safety and together evaluate its policing efforts,” said Dr. Aili Malm, a Professor of Criminology, Criminal Justice, and Emergency Management at California State University, Long Beach and a Senior Research Fellow at the Policing Project at NYU School of Law. “LVDPS understands that one of the greatest threats to public safety is a lack of problem-solving, community engagement and organizational efficiency – and addressing those gaps requires first assessing and then ultimately improving performance through a transparent process.”
The SAJE Assessment tool has been used to evaluate law enforcement agencies in several major U.S. cities, including Tucson, Arizona; Washington, DC; and Seattle, Washington.
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The Policing Project at NYU School of Law promotes public safety through transparency, equity, and democratic engagement. Learn about the Policing Project at www.policingproject.org.