Evidence-Based Policing Hall of Fame
William Taylor
Inducted August 2015
Nominated by James (Chip) Coldren, CNA and Professor Brenda Bond, Suffolk University
Biography:
William Taylor was named Superintendent of the Lowell Police Department in November 2013. He has been with the Lowell Police Department since 1982. He received his B.S. in Criminal Justice from New Hampshire College, and his M.A. in Criminal Justice from Anna Maria College.
Evidence-Based Research and Practice:
Since 2009, the Lowell Police Department (LPD) has been a strong proponent of and participant in the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Smart Policing Initiative (SPI). As a captain, Superintendent Taylor was an early and strong supporter of the SPI evidence-based approach in one of the police sectors that implemented the Lowell SPI initiative to reduce drug-related property crimes. Working with Dr. Brenda Bond from Suffolk University, Taylor and his colleagues (including then Superintendent Ken Lavallee) supported Dr. Bond in her research, which included a quasi-experimental design (see link below). The SPI team identified 12 property crime hot spots across three sectors; captains generated response plans and also completed bi-weekly surveys which systematically captured the strategies and tactics that were employed in the targeted hot spots. The survey results documented a high degree of congruence between the targeted crime problems and the selected crime reduction strategies, and each sector experienced significant declines in property crime
Superintendent Taylor is instituting broad organizational change in the LPD, based primarily on the value he sees in evidence based policing. He strongly believes that police officers need to get to the root of the problem to truly understand and fight crime in the City of Lowell. Furthermore, he recognized the importance of closely working with the Crime Analysis and Intelligence Unit (CAIU) to combat crime. Prior to implementing the reorganization, Superintendent Taylor reviewed other research studies to take lessons from each and create the reorganization plan. From the beginning, Superintendent Taylor understood that to institutionalize evidence-based policing it would take time and patience. His foresight and perseverance has enabled him to become the leader he is today.
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