IPR - Institute for Policy Research - Northwestern University

Urban policy and Community Development
of research on community policing available, with
four books, 31 working papers, more than 50 journal
articles, and six reports. Skogan continues to examine
the implementation of CAPS, including studying
residents’ participation in the department’s monthly
beat meetings.
< Why Police Reforms Fail
Because of widespread enthusiasm for innovations such
as community and problem-oriented policing, thirdparty
policing, “lever-pulling” policing, and evidencebased
policing, it could appear that reform comes easily.
In fact, it is hard—the
political risks involved
are considerable, and
efforts to change the
police often fall far short
or fail. In a recent article,
Skogan outlines the
sources of resistance to
innovation, organizing
them into 11 categories.
Many of them reflect
internal processes of
police agencies. Other
Wesley Skogan talks about a
new study of policing.
obstacles are endemic
to public sector
organizations. These
include problems of
interagency coordination, the competing demands of
differing constituencies, and the inability of the police
to measure their success in the absence of a profitand-loss
statement. External community and political
forces can stymie change as well.
< Networks of Politically Active Lawyers
John Heinz, Owen L. Coon Professor of Law,
Anthony Paik of the University of Iowa, and Ann
Southworth of Case Western Reserve University
analyze the characteristics of lawyers and the structure
of their networks. They are using network analysis
to study contacts between lawyers active in domestic
politics, their patterns of integration and cleavage and
cooperation and conflict. In the past, Heinz and his
colleagues have studied how lawyers in the conservative
coalition organize and mobilize interest groups. In their
current project, the researchers are addressing whether
some lawyers act as mediators or brokers, occupying
the network’s center and serving to bridge the Left
and the Right, or whether the network might have a
hollow core, lacking actors who provide links between
contending partisans. They are paying special attention
to how gender and race might affect these networks.
< Jury Deliberations
Shari Seidman Diamond, a law professor and
psychologist, and her fellow researcher Mary Rose of
the University of Texas are conducting a follow-up to
their pioneering randomized experiment in the Arizona
Jury Project, where they received unprecedented access
to study jury deliberations in 50 civil trials, analyzing
how juries deal with issues such as expert testimony
and instructions on the law. In another recent study,
Diamond and her colleagues surveyed Texas residents,
asking whether they would prefer a jury or a judge to
be the decision-maker in four cases. While finding that
a majority of citizens generally prefer a jury to a judge,
the researchers uncovered racial and ethnic differences
in the level of support. Non-Hispanic whites strongly
favored juries over judges. African Americans and
Hispanic citizens showed more tepid support for a jury
over a judge. Less culturally assimilated Hispanic noncitizens
preferred a judge. The researchers suggest that a
preference for a jury implies more trust in one’s fellow
citizens, which a history of discriminatory treatment in
the legal system can undermine.
Community Development
John McKnight made several presentations over the
year, including the keynote talk at a workshop for
representatives of the First Nations in British Columbia,
discussing technology and community asset mapping.
John Kretzmann is looking at how community school
connectors can build partnerships to benefit schools and
their communities. In one Chicago school, the study
examines a student-led community clean-up, a student
internship program, and school safety measures. It is
supported by the Chicago Community Trust.
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