Departments participating in any program may wish to initiate a custom research study conducted by the New York University public policy institute BetaGov. In these studies, departments and community members work directly with research professionals to design their custom research study. For these studies. tools such as the use of surveys may be conducted of personnel, citizens, and volunteers.   Then an intervention is introduced such as the application of PEACE OFFICER decals or uniform changes. Then a final survey is conducted to gauge changes in how officers are aware of themselves, how the public sees them, and how they engage with one another.

To address the need for rigorous academic studies to demonstrate that a certain initiative had the desired results, click here to download your toolkit to guide you through Custom Research Programs for your city or department.