A collaboration between the Pullman Police Department and Washington State University has earned recognition as a “smart cities” project.
Smart Cities Connect has recognized the Research Fellowship Program as one of the top 50 “innovative and influential projects on an international scale,” according to a Pullman Police Department news release.
The Research Fellowship Program is a joint venture between Pullman and David Makin of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at WSU. The collaboration allows the police to leverage research expertise while allowing a doctoral student to work on applied research projects.
The fellowship led to a number of benefits for Pullman police, including a cost-benefit analysis of a new municipal court, a needs assessment related to implementation of a traffic camera system, a grant proposal to the National Institute of Justice to examine the use and effectiveness of de-escalation within police-citizen interactions and a proposal to improve officer safety and wellness.