Evidence-Based Policing Hall of Fame

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Tarrick McGuire

Inducted June 2022

Nominated by Daniel Nagin, Carnegie Mellon University

Biography:

Dr. Tarrick McGuire is Deputy Chief of the Arlington, Texas, Police Department, where he has served since 2003. He has served in various capacities for the APD and has specialized experience in patrol, investigative, and community relations. In 2016 he was appointed an IACP Law Enforcement Fellow for the National 21st Century Policing Reform initiative and worked with several American police departments, the Department of Justice, and the Obama Administration to implement the 21st Century Task Force on Policing’s recommendations. In 2020, he was appointed to the Council on Police Reform and Race by the National Police Foundation (now National Policing Institute) in Washington, DC, and serves as chairperson of the International Association of Chiefs of Police Juvenile Justice & Child Protection Committee. Dr. McGuire holds a Doctorate in Public Administration from California Baptist University, an M.A. in Christian Leadership from Criswell College, and a B.S. in Speech Communications from Oklahoma State University.

Evidence-Based Research and Practice:

Chief McGuire is recognized for his consistent advocacy of using research in policing, focused on improving youth outcomes, and increasing police legitimacy through community policing. This is a particularly challenging area within evidence-based policing, given that the research knowledge is less developed in this area. Within the community policing arena, he developed and implemented a minority-focused mentoring program called the “Mentoring Arlington Youth” (MAY). It is an evidence-based partnership between police educators and community stakeholders that tries to simultaneously reduce offending while improving trust and legitimacy in the police (see McGuire and Caliman, 2016). The MAY program was recognized by both the COPS Office and the IACP as a successful best practice standard.

Dr. McGuire also co-developed a trust-building model called “Policing-Inside Out” that prompted dialogic communication between regional police officers in the Washington, DC area and students at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). This program is grounded in the evidence of restorative justice programs and prison-based “inside-out” interventions. These programs try to improve perceptions between those on the inside (in this case, the police) and those on the outside (i.e., students from HBCUs). This program improved attitudes and trust between police and students. Along similar lines, he introduced a procedural justice process in the Arlington city jail to improve inmate perception of law enforcement and reduce complaints. Deputy Chief McGuire’s focus on improving communication between the police and the community (in particular those groups that do not have good relationships with the police) speaks to his leadership efforts in implementing community policing. In 2017, he provided important input as one of the few practitioners at Carnegie Mellon University’s Workshop on Measuring Community Sentiment About the Police.

Chief McGuire also led a project as part of his work in the LEADS Scholar program that focused on secondary trauma and officer resiliency with the Norman, Oklahoma and Salisbury, North Carolina police departments. The focus of this study was to evaluate the impact on police officers and the community of critical incidents involving serious bodily injury or death. This research indicated that officers were impacted more by public perceptions than by the incident itself.

More generally, Deputy Chief McGuire has made it a regular practice to consult with current research (and researchers) on everyday challenges in his agency, including how to best address crime, disorder, and fear, as well as how to manage officer time. He has focused on improving department-wide analysis, intelligence, and communication on violent offender reporting to help improve criminal investigations. In particular, he provided oversight to the Crime Analysis Unit to ensure consistent data collection and crime mapping to facilitate intelligence-led policing and the agency’s Compstat process. His problem-solving efforts in investigations have focused on improving criminal case solvability through better firearms recovery and data entry in partnership with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and providing leadership to the Crime Scene Unit and Lab. He also facilitated his agency's involvement in a large multi-unit investigations caseload management case study to understand effective investigative practices and improve clearance rates (see Lum et al., 2018). In 2018, he and colleagues conducted experiments to try and reduce officer wait time at the jail. These interventions also improved inmates' attitudes.

Recently, Dr. McGuire and police leaders Dr. Shon Barnes (Madison, Wisconsin, Police Department) and Dr. Obed Magny (formerly of the Sacramento, California, Police Department) created the documentary, THE 54th MILE: Black Law Enforcement Leaders’ Journey to Heal the Racial Divide. Working with collaborators, they are developing curricula for law enforcement agencies to advance education and racial healing for policing.

Statement from Inductee:

Evidence-Based policing provides a scientific framework to inform police practices and policy, and improve service delivery to the community. As a police commander, I was introduced to evidence-based policing while trying to find ways to reduce crime. After making multiple arrests, crime was temporarily disrupted, but not reduced. After reexamining variables and geospatial areas associated with crime, I was able to better inform and direct officers’ response and identify several systemic causes of violence attributed to juvenile delinquency. As a prevention mechanism, I worked with other police leaders and community members to develop an evidence-based youth mentoring program that substantially reduced crime.

After grasping a better understanding of evidence-based policing, I have worked to apply it in all areas of the police department. For example, after being appointed deputy chief, our jail was experiencing increased officer wait times for booking suspects into jail. Working with several employees, we instituted a randomized control trial that tested two booking processes and two jail clothing changeout procedures. As a result, our staff learned that by improving direct entry of arrestee information and thoroughly searching inmates but allowing them to remain in their personal clothes, this reduced officer wait time, improved inmates’ attitudes, and reduced expenditures. These are a few examples of evidence-based policing implementation that has improved the Arlington Police Department and its service to the community.

This hall of fame induction represents the efforts of those who serve along with me to improve our noble profession and community, particularly the men and women of the Arlington, Texas, Police Department. I am honored to receive this recognition and will continue to advance evidence-based policing as a scientific theory to improve policing.

Contributions to Grants, Publications, and Projects:

 

Links:

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