Law Enforcement Solutions By the Field, For the Field

COLLABORATIVE REFORM SECOND ANNUAL REVIEW

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The opinions contained herein are those of the author(s) or contributor(s) and do not necessarily represent the official 

position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. References to specific individuals, agencies, companies, products, or 

services should not be considered an endorsement by the author(s), the contributor(s), or the U.S. Department of Justice. 

Rather, the references are illustrations to supplement discussion of the issues. 

The internet references cited in this publication were valid as of the date of publication. Given that URLs and websites are 

in constant flux, neither the author(s), the contributor(s), nor the COPS Office can vouch for their current validity.

This resource may be subject to copyright. The U.S. Department of Justice reserves a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable license to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use and to authorize others to use this resource for Federal Government 

purposes. This resource may be freely distributed and used for noncommercial and educational purposes only.

Recommended citation:

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. 2020. Law Enforcement Solutions By the Field, For the Field: Collaborative 

Reform Second Annual Review. Executive Summary. Washington, DC: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.)

Published 2020
Letter from the Director of the COPS Office and 

Executive Directors of CRI-TAC Partners

Colleagues:

The COPS Office, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), and a cohort of leading law 

enforcement partners—FBI National Academy Associates Inc. (FBINAA), the Fraternal Order of Police 

(FOP), the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA), the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST), the Major Cities 

Chiefs Association (MCCA), the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives (NAWLEE), 

the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), the National Sheriffs’ 

Association (NSA), and the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA)—continue to provide critical 

technical assistance resources to law enforcement agencies through the Collaborative Reform Initiative 

Technical Assistance Center (CRI-TAC). In the two years since we launched CRI-TAC, we have fielded 

more than 300 technical assistance requests for assistance on critical issues like school safety, active 

shooter response, de-escalation, crisis intervention, and information sharing. We deliver tailored technical assistance that meets the needs of state, local, territorial, tribal, and campus law enforcement 

agencies in a “by the field, for the field” approach. We’re proud to provide timely, field-driven technical 

assistance to agencies in a way that minimizes their burden while focusing on their needs—and to 

collaborate with one another on this important work.

i
ii Law Enforcement Solutions By the Field, For the Field

This report on CRI-TAC’s second year demonstrates how the center has supported law enforcement 

agencies in their efforts to ensure public safety in their communities. It includes performance metrics, 

case studies, and testimonials on the efficient and responsible delivery of “by the field, for the field” 

assistance to campus, local, county, tribal, and state agencies and highlights plans to do more of the 

same in 2020. We will continue to provide solid assistance for the good of the field and the good of 

the country. Thanks to the field and to the dedicated staff at the COPS Office and across all of the 

partners for making this a successful and service-oriented program.

Phil Keith 

Director 

Office of Community 

Oriented Policing Services

Vincent Talucci 

Executive Director 

International Association 

of Chiefs of Police

Howard Cook 

Executive Director 

FBI National Academy 

Associates Inc.

Patrick Yoes 

National President 

Fraternal Order of Police

John Bernhards 

Executive Director 

International Association of 

Campus Law Enforcement 

Administrators

Michael Becar 

Executive Director 

International Association of 

Directors of Law Enforcement 

Standards and Training

Laura Cooper 

Executive Director 

Major Cities Chiefs 

Association

Kym Craven 

Executive Director 

National Association of Women 

Law Enforcement Executives

Dwayne Crawford 

Executive Director 

National Organization of 

Black Law Enforcement 

Executives

Jonathan Thompson 

Executive Director 

National Sheriffs’ 

Association

Thor Eells 

Executive Director 

National Tactical 

Officers Association
1

Executive Summary

The Collaborative Reform Initiative for Technical Assistance, a program developed by the U.S. Department 

of Justice (DOJ) Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), provides critical and tailored 

technical assistance resources to state, local, territorial, tribal, and campus law enforcement agencies on a 

wide variety of topics. The program has served as the premier technical assistance program of the COPS 

Office since 2011. 

Assisting our nation’s law enforcement is at the core of our mission at the COPS Office. To advance this mission, it is essential that we engage with and listen to the field and adapt our approaches accordingly. Based 

on this valuable insight, in 2017 we partnered with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) to 

establish a technical assistance delivery center known as the Collaborative Reform Initiative Technical Assistance Center (CRI-TAC).

CRI-TAC brings together an unprecedented coalition of leading law enforcement organizations: IACP, FBI 

National Academy Associates Inc., Fraternal Order of Police, International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training, Major 

Cities Chiefs Association, National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives, National Organization 

of Black Law Enforcement Executives, National Sheriffs’ Association, and the National Tactical Officers Association. This collaboration ensures that CRI-TAC delivers tailored technical assistance that meets the needs of 

state, local, territorial, tribal, and campus law enforcement agencies in a “by the field, for the field” approach.

Since we launched CRI-TAC, the COPS Office has fielded more than 300 technical assistance requests from law 

enforcement agencies across the country. The center has delivered technical assistance on a range of diverse 

topics through various means including strategy consultation, policy development, training, and informational 

briefings by subject matter experts.

Most agencies participating in Collaborative Reform, like most agencies nationally, are local municipal police 

departments. Sheriffs’ offices make up 16 percent of technical assistance participants, while campus agencies 

make up another 12 percent. As is the case nationally, most CRI-TAC agencies (52 percent) have fewer than 50 

sworn personnel. Mid-size and large agencies with 100 to 499 sworn personnel make up the second-greatest 

number of those receiving technical assistance from CRI-TAC at 20 percent.

Through survey data, 93 percent of agencies stated that the training provided through CRI-TAC was effective 

in meeting the goals and objectives of the course. Of particular note to the training data, participants selected 

whether their knowledge, skills, and abilities in the training subject were advanced, intermediate, basic, little, or 

no skills before and after the training. In addition to the training data, CRI-TAC collects customer satisfaction 

data, which have shown that the vast majority of responding agencies strongly agree or agree that the technical assistance provided met their agency expectations, was relevant to their identified problem and relevant to 

their agency, and helped their agency address the problem. Through the creation of five customer satisfaction 

composite scores, CRI-TAC is meeting the needs of our customers.
Executive Summary 2

This report highlights the work of CRI-TAC since the release of the first annual report1 in April 2019. In this 

report, the reader will find a breakdown of program performance metrics as well as nine case studies highlighting diverse topics and agency size, type, and geography. The report provides testimonials on the impact of the 

technical assistance and a description of the intake process. It concludes with an overview of activities taking 

place in 2020 including responding to COVID-19 and work with border sheriffs, tribes, and tribal law enforcement as well as developing de-escalation and hate crimes training.

Types of agencies participating in CRI-TAC

Campus

Local

Sheriff Other

State Tribal

Types of agencies participating in CRI-T

Campus

Local

Sheriff 

State 

Types of agencies participating in CRI-TAC

Campus

Local

Sheriff Other

State Tribal

Types of agencies participating in CRI-TAC

Campus

Local

Sheriff Other

State Tribal

Types of agencies participating 

in collaborative reform 

1. COPS Office, Law Enforcement Solutions By the Field, For the Field: Collaborative Reform Annual Review (Washington, DC: Office of 

Agencies interested in submitting a request will experience a process that is low-burden, efficient, and designed 

to best address their needs while maintaining local control and decision-making. For more information about 

CRI-TAC, please visit CollaborativeReform.org.

Community Oriented Policing Services, 2019), https://cops.usdoj.gov/ric/Publications/cops-w0873-pub.pdf.

 Simple, low-burden process
Chapter 3

The Collaborative Reform Initiative Technical Assistance Center is a partnership between the COPS 

Office and many professional law enforcement organizations throughout the field to provide technical assistance to law enforcement agencies on request. In its first two years, the center fielded more 

than 300 requests for assistance from campus, local, county, tribal, and state agencies on critical 

issues like school safety, active shooter response, de-escalation, crisis intervention, and intelligence 

and information sharing. This report shows how the center has supported agencies in their efforts 

to ensure public safety in their communities. The COPS Office is committed to continue working 

diligently with our partners to provide high-quality, relevant, and timely assistance by the field, for 

the field.

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

145 N Street NE

Washington, DC 20530

To obtain details about COPS Office programs, call 

the COPS Office Response Center at 800-421-6770.

Visit the COPS Office online at www.cops.usdoj.gov.

e032023946

Published 2020