Evidence-Based Policing Hall of Fame

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Kevin Hall

Inducted June 2024

Nominated by Josephine Korchmaros, University of Arizona

Biography:

Assistant Chief Kevin Hall has served the Tucson Police Department for 32 years, since 1992. He has held the position of patrol officer, detective, patrol sergeant, SWAT sergeant, investigative sergeant, patrol lieutenant, Field Services Bureau Executive Officer, patrol captain, and now assistant chief. Hall has completed the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Senior Executives in State & Local Government, Major Cities Chiefs Association Police Executive Leadership Institute, Police Executive Research Forum Senior Management Institute for Police, Northwestern University Center for Public Safety, School of Police Staff and Command, University of Arizona Eller School of Management Southwest Leadership and Foundations of Public Sector Leadership programs. He holds two bachelor’s degrees from the University of California, Riverside, and a master’s degree in Public Administration and Public Safety from Arizona State University.

Evidence-Based Research and Practice:

Assistant Chief Hall has developed and implemented at least ten evidence-based policing projects since 2016 within the Tucson Police Department (TPD). As Assistant Chief, he has created and led a newly formed TPD bureau responsible for data-driven, evidence-based, and science-informed strategies and policies for all facets of the organization, including violent crime reduction strategies, alternative staffing and response models, traffic safety planning, and internal organizational assessments and evaluation. This division includes analysts, data scientists, and staff involved in data governance and empirical research and has helped to institutionalize evidence-based approaches into the agency. He has spearheaded several innovations, including a civil disturbance response model based on dialogue policing, a comprehensive pre-arrest deflection program for both misdemeanor and felony non-violent charges associated with substance misuse, an evidence-based, systems-orientated gun violence reduction strategy using problem-solving and Place Network Investigations approaches.

Two research-to-practice initiatives showcase his efforts. He has partnered with Prof. Josephine Korchmaros at the University of Arizona to study and implement a pre-arrest diversion/deflection program in Tucson, which has become an often-cited example of implementing and examining alternatives to criminal justice responses. He took a research-informed approach to developing this program, facilitating and developing a rigorous research program informed by researchers, academics, and behavioral health partners, as well as managing the implementation and data collection of the program for research. Not only did the research show that pre-arrest deflection programs are feasible and potentially cost-effective, but such programs can lead to positive outcomes over time. For example, the TPD’s deflection program was associated with a greater reduction in the frequency of use of illegal drugs over time (compared to those who had been arrested) and more efficient use of police officer time when responding to calls for service.

Assistant Chief Hall was also instrumental in facilitating the innovative procedural justice in hot spots experiment (led by David Weisburd of George Mason University and Cody Telep of Arizona State University). The study involved a randomized controlled trial testing the effects of training teams of police officers in four cities (including Tucson) to use procedural justice at crime hot spots. Findings showed that officers who were trained in procedural justice behaved in much more procedurally just ways relative to untrained officers in hot spots. Additionally, hot spots with procedurally trained officers had fewer crimes during the intervention than non-trained officers. Professor Telep praises Hall’s efforts, stating: “Assistant Chief Hall’s work was absolutely critical to the implementation and success of this study. Chief Hall was an unbelievable partner—it was clear from the start that he really understood the value of the study. At every phase, he made it easy for us to partner with TPD. Chief Hall ensured we had officers and supervisors assigned to the project and, most importantly, had support and buy-in from all Divisions and ranks. Despite an incredibly busy role overseeing all field operations, he was always generous with his time, meeting with us frequently to get the study right and meeting with subsequent study sites to help them with successful implementation. He truly has significantly advanced evidence-based policing in Tucson, and his impacts on the field stretch across the country.”

In her nomination, Professor Korchmaros praises Hall’s ability to “use his platform and position to model, encourage, and support the implementation and institutionalization of evidence-based and research-informed policing.” She notes that his efforts have “been a primary factor in the normalization of evidence-based policing in the TPD” and that “he has leveraged expertise from law enforcement, academia, behavioral health, and other professions to improve community safety and to address the underlying public health issues and social justice inequities that contribute to safety issues in order to achieve sustained improvement of community safety and well-being for all community members.”

Statement from Inductee:

Forthcoming

Contributions to Grants, Publications, and Projects:

Links:

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