CNA's Safety and Security (SAS) Update
CNA’s Safety and Security Division uses research and analysis to improve operations and address challenging issues across the nation. Our applied expertise focuses on Homeland Security and Emergency Management; Law Enforcement Operations and Reform; Public Health and Agriculture; and Energy, Water, and Climate.
Recent Events and Publications
CNA Releases Study on the Environmental Impact of Proposed Pipeline Projects on the Delaware River Basin
CNA released a report examining a broad range of environmental impacts if the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania were to be fully developed with hydraulic fracturing. This report, an independent research effort developed by staff at CNA’s Institute for Public Research and funded by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, examines a sampling of impacts, including land use and land cover, forest fragmentation, population, air emissions, water use, and wastewater generation. Click here to view the report and maps, including an interactive map of the well projects.
CNA Simulator Helps Texas Plan for Increasing Demands on Electricity and Water Use
CNA released an online tool that helps Texas policymakers and regulators reduce the state’s vulnerability to drought by making informed decisions about electricity supply and demand, as well as water usage. "CNA’s simulator is a critical tool for decision-makers in Texas, where water resources are limited," says Lars Hanson, research analyst at CNA. "Texas policymakers can test out different energy plans, whether that includes building more coal plants or increasing the number of solar farms, to see how the diverse approaches stack up against each other."   For more information and to run the simulator, visit www.cna.org/tx-sim .
CNA's Executive Session on Policing: The Impact of Policing Reforms on Local Government
On August 24, 2016, CNA’s Safety and Security Division hosted an Executive Session on Policing. The topic was "The Impact of Policing Reforms on Local Government.” The Session featured panel discussions by current and former police chiefs, city managers, and other experts on the subject. The panelists discussed the reforms under consideration in American policing today and what impact the reforms would have on local governments, from social effects to budgetary impacts. C-SPAN was in attendance and posted video of the session on its website. The summary report of the session can be viewed here.
American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting
November 15-19, 2016, New Orleans, LA
CNA Analyst Zoë Thorkildsen presented a paper titled, “Exploring the Impact of Early Intervention Systems on Citizen Complaints.” Early interventions systems (EIS) are software tools in law enforcement that help departments identify problematic behavior by officers, allowing intervention prior to a negative incident (e.g., use of force against a citizen). While these systems are used in many law enforcement agencies, little rigorous research has been conducted to evaluate their effectiveness. Ms. Thorkildsen presented results from a difference-in-differences analysis of the relationship between agencies’ use of EIS and rates of citizen complaints about use of force. The results indicate that the presence of an EIS within a department correlates with lower rates of citizen complaints. At the same conference, CNA’s Dr. James R. (Chip) Coldren, Jr. and Denise Rodriguez, alongside Anthony Braga of Northeastern University and William Sousa of University of Nevada, Las Vegas, presented the findings of a recently completed randomized controlled trial pertaining to body-worn cameras in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. The study, funded by the National Institute of Justice, focused primarily on the impact of body-worn cameras on police behavior (e.g., stops, arrests, complaints against officers, and use of force incidents), and included an analysis of potential contamination effects between treatment (camera wearers) and control groups in the study.
CNA's National Security Seminar on Human Trafficking
Since the passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act in 2000 and the creation of the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, the federal government has made countering human trafficking a top policy priority. On July 14, 2016, CNA held a National Security Seminar that brought together leading experts on human trafficking to consider how government, journalists, and nonprofit organizations can collaborate to help an estimated 20 million men, women, and children worldwide who are trafficked into forced labor situations.    

The event began with remarks by U.S. Ambassador Susan Coppedge , Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State.  Capt. Mark Burgmann , Special Victim’s Unit, Philadelphia Police Department, and Ms. Jamie Manirakiza , Director of Anti Trafficking and Social Services, the Salvation Army (Philadelphia) discussed how they and their organization have partnered to address the issue in their community. Mr. Jason Motlagh , a writer, photographer, filmmaker, and Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting grantee, who has reported on labor trafficking for The Washington Post , the Economist , and BusinessWeek , discussed the role of the media in helping to raise awareness of human trafficking and its victims.    

The seminar was recorded and can be viewed here . A summary of the issues addressed during the event’s discussions and of CNA’s approach to such complex issues is available here .
CNA Drafts a Policy Evaluation Framework on the Governence of Resilient Critical Infrastructure in Latin America
CNA recently developed a Draft Policy Evaluation Framework on the Governance of Resilient Critical Infrastructure in Latin America for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This draft framework serves as the foundation for a continuing joint initiative between the OECD and the Inter-American Development Bank aimed at examining and enhancing the resilience of critical infrastructure in the Latin American and Caribbean region (LAC).  

As part of the project, CNA joined LAC government and private-sector representatives in Panama City, Panama in October, during the Regional Policy Dialogue on Improving the Governance of Critical Infrastructure for Greater Resilience. CNA opened the two-day meeting with a briefing on the rationale for developing governance and management frameworks designed to promote critical infrastructure resilience.  

The OECD and IDB intend to craft an LAC survey based on the final iteration of the Draft Policy Framework and develop case studies of several Latin American countries’ critical infrastructure resilience, which will ultimately inform the development of an internationally benchmarked process for developing, evaluating, and implementing critical infrastructure resilience policies and initiatives.
Advancing 21st Century Policing Initiative Blogs
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) sponsors a blog highlighting best practices in advancing 21st -century policing. Doral, FL is one of 15 sites selected for participation in the Advancing 21st Century Policing Initiative--a joint project of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, CNA, and the IACP--to highlight agencies who are actively embracing the principles outlined in the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing.  You can read about other participating sites featured in the blog series, including Camden, NJ, San Antonio, TX, Columbia, SC, and Tucson, AZ

Procedural Justice for Law Enforcement

On September 22, 2016, CNA’s Dr. Laura Kunard presented on “Procedural Justice for Law Enforcement” at a Police Executive Leadership Institute (PELI) meeting, hosted at Wake Forest University. PELI, an initiative of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, provides a year-long learning opportunity for law enforcement professionals as their careers advance toward the CEO level (i.e., Chief or Sheriff). It serves approximately 25 participants per year (all from the Deputy Chief level of their careers). Dr. Kunard’s presentation explored the principle of fairness in processes that resolve disputes and allocate resources, as well as issues of transparency and how unbiased decisions are made. 

Upcoming Events
BJA Body Worn Camera Training and Technical Assistance Regional Meeting

CNA is hosting the third of several planned regional/topic meetings of the BJA Body Worn Camera (BWC) Training and Technical Assistance initiative. The conference will be hosted by Drs. Charles Katz and Michael White of Arizona State University's Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety, and will focus on issues related to BWC policy development, as well as recent findings in BWC research. The overall goal is to assist BJA grantees and non-grantees as they implement body-worn camera programs.

Police chiefs, their command staff, officers, and other stakeholders are invited to attend and participate. BJA Director Denise O'Donnell, BJA policy advisors, law enforcement representatives, and academic subject matter experts will lead plenary panels and workshops on policy-related topics, including activation, supervisory review, citizen notification, and policy compliance, as well as results from the latest research on BWCs.

Click here to register for this event.

CNA's Executive Session on Policing

On February 23, 2017, CNA will host an Executive Session titled “Keeping Police Officers Safe and Well: Meeting New Challenges.” Officer safety and wellness issues remain a pressing concern for law enforcement executives and personnel, policymakers, training providers, researchers, and communities.  During this session, CNA and our invited guest speakers will discuss how approaches to officer safety and wellness have evolved over time, where we are now in understanding these issues, and how the past and present will inform future work in this area.  The session will include perspectives from researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and other stakeholders.

A detailed agenda and invitation will be available soon.