Police executive receptivity to research: A survey of chiefs and sheriffs in Oregon

Chiefs and sheriffs play a key role in efforts to make police agencies more evidence-based. Understanding their views and knowledge about evidence-based policing is thus crucial for assessing the current state of policing and areas where change would be useful. We present findings from a survey of 45 Oregon police chiefs and sheriffs on receptivity to empirical research and evidence-based policing. Our findings suggest that Oregon law enforcement executives are generally receptive to the ideas of evidence-based policing, but that there are still gaps in knowledge and use of the research evidence. We compare our findings to those of earlier surveys focused primarily on lower-level officers and conclude by discussing training efforts in Oregon designed to enhance evidence-based policing statewide.