The forgotten path to police reform in the United States: an essay

From time to time, the Editors will invite senior members of the profession to write a personal essay on one of the core recurring issues in policing. In this issue of Policing and Society, one of the founders of police research in the United States and a significant influence on contemporary policing studies, David H. Bayley, Distinguished Professor (Emeritus, School of Criminal Justice, State University of New York) reflects on the importance of 'cop-led policing'in US policing. Professor Bayley's personal reflections provide important considerations at a time when police reform is at the top of several government agendas and when evidence-based practice and debates about what constitutes evidence are at the forefront of police studies in many western countries.