title: University Researcher and Law Enforcement Collaboration.
abstract: In 2012, heads of local law enforcement agencies in Benton County, Oregon, contacted researchers at Oregon State University to discuss a problem: a sharp rise in the number of contacts between police and suspects displaying symptoms of mental illness. This initial inquiry led to an ongoing collaborative examination of the nature, causes, and consequences of the rise in police contacts. In this article, the authors describe this collaboration between researchers and law enforcement officials from the perspective of both parties, situating it within the context of mental illness in the U.S. criminal justice system. The collaborators draw on firsthand experiences and prior collaborations to discuss the benefits of, challenges in, and recommendations for university-police research collaborations. Although such collaborations may pose challenges (related to relationship definition, data collection and analysis, outputs, and relationship maintenance), the potential benefits-for researchers and law enforcement agencies-are substantial.
authors.affiliation: 1 Oregon State University, Corvallis, USA.
authors.forename: Brett C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Burkhardt
authors.affiliation: 1 Oregon State University, Corvallis, USA.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akins
authors.affiliation: 2 Chief of Police, Corvallis Police Department, Corvallis, Oregon, USA.
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sassaman
authors.affiliation: 3 Sheriff, Benton County Sheriff's Office, Corvallis, Oregon, USA.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.affiliation: 4 Chief of Police, Philomath Police Department, Philomath, Oregon, USA.
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Elwer
authors.affiliation: 5 University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lanfear
authors.affiliation: 1 Oregon State University, Corvallis, USA.
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amorim
authors.affiliation: 1 Oregon State University, Corvallis, USA.
authors.forename: Katelyn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stevens
mesh_terms: D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009922:Oregon; D016495:Police; D012108:Research Personnel; D014495:Universities
keywords: action research; collaborative research; mental health; police; problem-oriented policing