The Las Vegas Department of Public Safety SAJE Policing Assessment Project

The Las Vegas Department of Public Safety SAJE Policing Assessment Project is a collaboration between the Las Vegas Department of Public Safety (LVDPS), New York University (NYU), and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The proposed project incorporates a proactive, problem-solving approach to leveraging resources and decreasing impediments currently hindering LVDPS’s success in addressing the precipitous 2022 crime increase. The proposed project seeks to answer two research questions. First, can the SAJE Policing Assessment improve organizational efficiency, problem-solving, and community trust/legitimacy? Second, will this improved organizational efficiency, problem-solving, and community trust decrease crime in target areas and increase public safety? The SAJE Policing Assessment is a comprehensive tool used to define and measure the characteristics of a sound, accountable, just, and effective policing agency. This much-needed resource helps police leaders and agencies, municipal leaders, and the communities they serve to understand agency performance across a host of critical metrics. The tool helps agencies prioritize areas of improvement and celebrate areas of success. The NYU SAJE team will provide training and technical assistance on the SAJE assessment, score the assessments, and lead collaborative engagements with key stakeholders in the jurisdiction, including community groups and municipal leaders, to educate them on SAJE standards and facilitate their involvement in setting priorities for department improvements. Researchers at UNLV will conduct an independent process and outcome evaluation for the project. The process evaluation will focus on SAJE implementation and responses. The impact evaluation will determine whether the organizational and crime reduction responses had the anticipated impact.