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14 - The Role of the “Super Evidence Cop” in Evidence-Based Policing

The Israeli Case

from Part V - The Practitioner’s Perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2023

David Weisburd
Affiliation:
Hebrew University of Jerusalem and George Mason University, Virginia
Tal Jonathan-Zamir
Affiliation:
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Gali Perry
Affiliation:
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Badi Hasisi
Affiliation:
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
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Summary

The road to evidence-based policing (EBP) is often difficult, and the Israeli experience has been no different. To overcome barriers and more effectively facilitate and ensure translation of research into practice, Sherman (1998) suggested the role of the “evidence cop.” The evidence cop, whether a sworn officer or an outside academic, is assigned responsibility for overseeing the implementation of EBP. Success in achieving the ambitious objectives of EBP is likely to vary considerably due to the likelihood that the officers will be perceived with suspicion, undermining their authority. Our analysis takes a historical perspective, focusing on two distinct attempts at strategic reform in the Israel Police (IP). The first took place in the mid-1990s under Commissioner Hefetz, while the first author was a senior figure in the IP and benefits from first-hand knowledge of the attempt to integrate EBP. The second attempt took place in the recent years under Commissioner Alsheich. The reason Alsheich was able to achieve considerable success in his substantial EBP reform in the police force, while Hefetz and many commissioners around the world were less successful, lies, in our opinion, in the fact that Alsheich himself was the “evidence cop”, leading the process as a “super evidence cop.”

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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