Evidence-Based Policing Hall of Fame

Home › Evidence-Based Policing Hall of Fame › Simon Baldwin

Simon Baldwin

Inducted May 2026

Nominated by Rich "RJ" Johnston, Barrie Police Service and Member of the Hall of Fame

Biography:

Dr. Simon Baldwin is the manager of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s (RCMP) Operational Research Unit, where he leads the RCMP’s national applied research program supporting operational policy, training, and equipment decisions and provides strategic advice to RCMP leadership and national policing partners on evidence‑informed decision‑making. He holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from Carleton University, and his research has focused on police training, stress physiology and performance, crisis intervention and de-escalation, body-worn cameras, and the prevention of arrest-related deaths. Dr. Baldwin is a recipient of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Medal and King Charles III's Coronation Medal for his work on police use of force reporting and improving oversight, accountability, and evidence-based decision-making.

Evidence-Based Research and Practice:

Dr. Baldwin is recognized for his two decades of effort on the implementation, translation, and institutionalization of evidence-based practices within the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and across the broader Canadian policing community. His research and applied work have directly informed national use of force guidance, body-worn camera policy, training curricula, crisis intervention and de-escalation, officer decision-making under stress, and the prevention of arrest-related deaths. His contributions have strengthened data quality, analytical rigor, and oversight mechanisms related to use-of-force reporting—work that has had lasting implications for accountability, transparency, and public trust. These efforts were nationally recognized when he received Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and King Charles III’s Coronation Medal, underscoring the societal value and impact of his evidence-based reforms.

While there are several examples of this work throughout Baldwin's career, nominator Rich Johnston notes that one of the most significant recent examples of his impact is his leadership in an evidence-based review of the RCMP’s annual firearms qualification. By systematically leveraging empirical research on human learning, stress exposure, and performance under pressure, Dr. Baldwin directly shaped revisions to the national qualification standard. These changes improved the validity and operational transferability of firearms training, ensuring that training outcomes more closely align with real-world policing demands.

Dr. Baldwin's work extends beyond the RCMP. He is currently the Co-Chair of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) Research Advisory Committee and interim Co-Chair of the Use of Force, Intervention, and De-escalation Committee. Within these committees, he has expanded the implementation of evidence-based policing at the national level by actively promoting the integration of scientific evidence into executive decision-making, training standards, and national policing frameworks. He also serves as an Adjunct Research Professor in the Department of Psychology at Carleton University, bringing his experience into the classroom to future officers and researchers. His mobilization activities emphasize bidirectional exchange between academic research and real‑world policing practice.

Statement from Inductee:

First, I would like to sincerely thank Chief Rich Johnston of the Barrie Police Service for nominating me for this incredible honour. Chief Johnston is a national leader in evidence-based policing in Canada and a current inductee into the Hall of Fame himself. I am very much looking forward to working closely with him as we serve together as Co-Chairs of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police Research Advisory Committee. Together, I am confident that we can continue to move the needle forward on evidence-based policing in Canada.

I consider myself extremely fortunate to work for Canada’s national police service—an organization of more than 18,000 police officers, serving as the police of primary jurisdiction for nearly a quarter of Canadians, and responsible for over 75% of Canada’s land mass—coast to coast to coast. Policing across such a vast, diverse, and often rural or remote geography reinforces just how critical it is that our decisions—often made under pressure and with real consequences—are informed by strong evidence and operational realities.

A key enabler of this work has been sustainable police–academic partnerships, such as the long-standing relationship between the RCMP and Dr. Craig Bennell’s Police Research Lab at Carleton University. Strong partnerships of this kind are built on trust, mutual benefit, full integration, open and ongoing communication, the ability to navigate constraints on both sides—including timelines and security requirements—and, critically, support from senior police leadership.

Equally important is a commitment to applied research—research that is pragmatic, operationally relevant, and co-developed with practitioners. Research products must be usable and capable of being integrated into policy, training, equipment, and practice, rather than sitting on a shelf or inaccessible behind a paywall.

Police research must also continue to break down silos through collaboration and strong national and international networks. Much of my own work has focused on areas that have traditionally received less attention within evidence-based policing, including officer safety, police training, and public trust and confidence—areas that require sustained focus. Put simply, not everything in policing can—or should—be a randomized controlled trial. But if, at a minimum, we commit to better tracking of operational outcomes and thinking critically about why we do things the way we do, we place ourselves in a far stronger position to make timely decisions that are both operationally sound and evidence informed.

Finally, none of this matters without knowledge mobilization—ensuring that research is actually used. A strong example of this is Applied Police Briefings, altruistically created by Dr. Craig Bennell and Dr. Kirk Luther, another valued RCMP collaborator. This free, digital journal bridges the gap between research and practice by providing concise, two-page summaries of high quality, peer reviewed studies. Each brief undergoes dual peer review—one academic review to ensure scholarly rigor and one practitioner review to ensure accessibility and operational relevance. Through the Research Advisory Committee, we have been fortunate to secure CACP endorsement, enabling consistent national distribution to police leaders across Canada.

Importantly, strong police research is not about how many letters someone has behind their name. Too often, I hear practitioners say, “I can’t do research—I’m just a cop.” That could not be further from the truth—you have a PhD from the streets. Policing professionals bring deep experiential knowledge—earned through years of operational decision making, lived experience, and professional judgment—that simply cannot be replicated through textbooks or focus groups alone. Academics need to rely on that expertise to understand real world constraints, challenges, and opportunities. Encouraging academics to meaningfully engage with policing—through ride-alongs, immersive experiences, and scenario-based training—and encouraging practitioners to engage with research will lead to stronger, more relevant research and greater buy in.

I am especially mindful that my own path here was not a traditional one. I did not have the high school grades to enter university, yet through hard work, persistence, and the support and encouragement of others, I have been fortunate to achieve things far beyond what I once thought possible. That experience shaped my belief that anything is possible when people are given opportunity and support, and are willing to put in the work.

With that, I am deeply grateful to my work family and team in the RCMP Operational Research Unit, and to colleagues at the RCMP and Carleton University’s Police Research Lab, past and present, as well as for the continued support of senior leadership at both the RCMP and the CACP. As the saying goes, a rising tide raises all ships.

Contributions to Grants, Publications, and Projects:

  • Baldwin, S., Bennell, C., Andersen, J. P., Semple, T., & Jenkins, B. (2019). Stress-activity mapping: Physiological responses during general duty police encounters. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 2216.
  • Baldwin, S., Bennell, C., Blaskovits, B., Brown, A., Jenkins, B., Lawrence, C., McGale, H., Semple, T., & Andersen, J. P. (2022). A reasonable officer: Examining the relationships among stress, training, and performance in a highly realistic lethal force scenario. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 759132.
  • Baldwin, S., Blaskovits, B., Hall, C., Lawrence, C., & Bennell, C. (2021). Adverse outcomes in non-fatal use of force encounters involving excited delirium syndrome. Police Practice and Research, 23(3), 322–336.
  • Baldwin, S., Hall, C., Bennell, C., Blaskovits, B., & Lawrence, C. (2016). Distinguishing features of excited delirium syndrome in non-fatal use of force encounters. Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, 41, 21–27.
  • Baldwin, S., Hall, C., Blaskovits, B., Bennell, C., Lawrence, C., & Semple, T. (2018). Excited delirium syndrome (ExDS): Situational factors and risks to officer safety in non-fatal use of force encounters. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 60, 26–34.
  • Bennell, C., Baldwin, S., Brown, A., & Khanizadeh, A.-J. (2024). Using body-worn camera footage to remember use-of-force incidents. In E. Pica, D. Ross, & J. Pozzulo (Eds.), The impact of technology on the criminal justice system: A psychological overview (1st ed., pp. 253–271). Routledge.
  • Blaskovits, B., Bennell, C., Baldwin, S., Ewanation, L., Brown, A., & Korva, N. (2021). The thin blue line between cop and soldier: Examining public perceptions of the militarized appearance of police. Police Practice & Research, 23(2), 212–235.
  • Blaskovits, B., Jenkins, B., Brown, A., Baldwin, S., & Bennell, C. (2021). Misplacing memory: Examining the phenomenon of cognitive offloading during an officer-involved use of force scenario. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 37, 49–67.
  • Brown, A., Baldwin, S., Blaskovits, B., & Bennell, C. (2021). Examining the impact of grip strength and officer gender on shooting performance. Applied Ergonomics, 97, Article 103536.
  • Ewanation, L., Bennell, C., Blaskovits, B., & Baldwin, S. (2019). Validating the police legitimacy scale with a Canadian sample. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 61(4), 1–23.
  • Jenkins, B., Semple, T., Bennell, C., Carter, E., Baldwin, S., & Blaskovits, B. (2021). Examining the impact of uniform manipulations on perceptions of police officers among Canadian university students. Police Practice & Research, 22(7), 1694–1717.
  • Khanizadeh, A.-J., Baldwin, S., MacIsaac, A., Brook, G., Lanzo, L., & Bennell, C. (2024). Piloting body-worn cameras in Northern Canada. In C. L. Bush & J. Matthews (Eds.), Building trust, effective communication, and transparency between police and community members (pp. 213–244). IGI Global.
  • Khanizadeh, A.-J., Bordeleau, E., MacIsaac, A., & Baldwin, S. (2026). 2024 Police intervention options report. Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Located at: https://rcmp.ca/en/corporate-information/publications-and-manuals/2024-police-intervention-options-report
  • MacIsaac, A., Baldwin, S., Semple, T., & Bennell, C. (2024). Exploring the relationship between officer safety and de-escalation in a simulated crisis encounter. Police Quarterly, 28(3), 371–399.
  • Sheppard, J., Khanizadeh, A.-J., Baldwin, S., & Bennell, C. (2024). A comparison of police use of force by male and female officers in Canada: Rates, modalities, effectiveness, and injuries. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 51(5), 743–767.

Links:

Baldwin