Publication Type: Reports

Changing the Route: Seeking Compassionate Alternatives to Police Transport in Involuntary Civil Commitment

For too many people experiencing acute mental illness, cries for help bring police and handcuffs rather than compassionate medical intervention. But this doesn’t have to be the case. This report examines the laws across the U.S. related to law enforcement custody and transportation under involuntary civil commitment, when alternative transport is permitted, and opportunities to […]

Monitoring Pretrial Reform In Harris County: Seventh Report Of The Court-Appointed Monitor

Wilson Center Faculty Director Brandon Garrett serves as independent monitor for the landmark federal bail reform settlement in Harris County, TX. This seventh report by the monitor team describes the first four years of work evaluating the implementation of the misdemeanor bail reforms in Harris County, Texas. (2024) By Brandon L. Garrett, Sandra Guerra Thompson, […]

Evaluation of Durham’s ShotSpotter Installation: Results of a 12-month Pilot Project

The ShotSpotter pilot was deployed from December 15, 2022 – December 14, 2023 in a three-square-mile area of Durham that have historically had comparatively high rates of gun violence. This examines the performance of ShotSpotter in the pilot area and is authored by Philip Cook, Professor Emeritus of Public Policy and Economics, Duke University, and Adam […]

ShotSpotter in Durham, NC: A Community Sentiment Evaluation

In July 2023, the Wilson Center conducted nine focus groups and two individual interviews, with a total of 30 participants who live in the ShotSpotter pilot area in Durham, North Carolina. Participants were asked to discuss their perceptions of safety, gun violence, policing in their neighborhoods, ShotSpotter technology, and changes in policing or violence since […]