Feb 2025
Video: Reducing Violence and Improving Policing
This video offers a glimpse into the Policing Leadership Academy, a violence reduction initiative designed to prevent violent crime, support officers, and improve fairness and effectiveness in policing throughout some of the country’s most violent neighborhoods.
This video features academy alumni Major Jason Bennett, District Commander of the Baltimore Police Department’s Southern District, from Baltimore, Maryland.

Policing Leadership Academy (PLA) Overview
Read an overview of the Policing Leadership Academy (PLA), a first of-its-kind program launched in May 2023 to train America’s policing leaders working in some of our most violent neighborhoods.

Policing Leadership Academy Advisory and Research Committees
View the members of the PLA’s advisory and research committees.

Video: Creating Safer Communities by Improving Policing
Griffin Catalyst highlights the Policing Leadership Academy, a new national leadership program that brings together rising police leaders from around the country for five months of advanced, intensive training in management best practices, leveraging data and technology and building community trust—all with the ultimate goal of creating safer, more vibrant communities.
NBER Working Paper: Predicting Police Misconduct
This paper outlines the results of research on over a decade of Chicago Police Department data that shows it is possible to predict risk of on-duty and off-duty misconduct, allowing police departments to prioritize training and supportive resources.
Latest Updates
The Alumni Dispatch: How CVILA Alumni are Shaping Policy, Practice, and Narrative
Community Violence Intervention Leadership Academy (CVILA) Program Managers Alesisia Cobb and Heather Bland sat down with alumni DeVita Briscoe from Seattle, WA and Nikesha Tilton from Selma, AL to discuss the progress of their capstone projects, their evolving leadership roles, and the systemic changes they’re pushing forward in their cities and states.

Shaping the Future of Policing Through Commander Training
Policing Leadership Academy (PLA) Executive Director Meredith Stricker and Director of Outreach and Engagement Kenneth Corey join the Brooks Bawden Moore, LLC podcast to discuss the academy’s focus on commanders and helping departments across the country reduce violence and strengthen public safety.

The federal help Chicago really needs
The Policing Leadership Academy’s Meredith Stricker and Kenneth Corey penned an op-ed discussing the recent spotlight on crime in the U.S. and the academy’s focus on building the capacity of police commanders managing jurisdictions with the highest rates of violence.
