September 25, 2015 – Rob Worden appeared at an executive session on early warning systems convened yesterday by CNA at their Arlington, Virginia, headquarters. Also known as early intervention (or EI) systems, they are widely seen as promising administrative mechanisms for preventing police misconduct. Rob’s presentation, “Early Intervention Systems: What We Know and What We Need to Learn,” addressed a number of issues about the establishment and operation of EI systems, and also briefly reviewed the Institute’s current research on EI systems. “The promise of early intervention is not easily realized,” he said, “as the prediction of problem behavior by officers is subject to error when it is based on the information captured in police records, and the execution of early intervention turns on managerial and supervisory commitment and skill. Much remains to be learned about how to structure and manage EI systems.”
Update: CNA’s summary of the session is now available here.
