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Andrea Headley

Assistant Professor, McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University

About Andrea

Headley's research focuses on criminal justice management and policy, with a keen focus on racial equity. Overarching themes in Headley's writing include assessing police-community relations, analyzing dispositional outcomes in citizen complaints, evaluating the effects of race during use of force encounters, as well as evaluating body-worn cameras. Headley serves government and nonprofit organizations consulting and providing advising on equitable policies, practices, and programs.

In the News

Andrea Headley quoted on pipeline problems from police to courts and back again, "Police or Prosecutor Misconduct Is at Root of Half of Exoneration Cases, Study Finds" The New York Times, September 16, 2020.
Andrea Headley quoted on racial bias in complaint calls to police, "Unreasonable Suspicion: When Residents Call Police, Who Pays the Price When Bias Shapes Their Concerns?" The Cap Times, September 16, 2020.
Andrea Headley quoted on officers failing to turn on their body cameras, "Body Cameras Are Ineffective Because Some Philly Cops Misuse Them, Advocates Say" 10 Philadelphia, July 23, 2020.
Andrea Headley quoted on the effectiveness of body camera policies, "Body Cameras Are Seen as Key to Police Reform. But Do They Increase Accountability?" PBS News Hour, June 25, 2020.
Andrea Headley quoted on the importance of context in body camera implementation, "Dayton Is Largest Ohio City Without Police Body Cameras " Dayton Daily News, June 13, 2020.
Andrea Headley quoted on officers wearing cameras giving out more citations than their camera-less peers, "Police Body Cameras Were Supposed to Build Trust. So Far, They Haven’t" Popular Science, June 10, 2020.
Guest to discuss police accountability and profiling by proxy on In the Arena, Andrea Headley (with Jonathan Stein), February 11, 2019.
Andrea Headley quoted on im­pact of po­lice re­form and manda­tory use of body-worn cam­eras by po­lice of­fi­cers, "How Body Cameras May Result in a More Proactive and Community-Engaged Police Force" Chicago Policy Review, December 3, 2018.

Publications

"A Field Experiment of the Impact of Body-Worn Cameras (BWCs) on Police Officer Behavior and Perceptions" (with Rob T. Guerette and Auzeen Shariati). Journal of Criminal Justice 53 (2017): 102-109.

Evaluates the impact of a body-worn camera program used by the Hallandale Beach, Florida Police Department in the U.S. to determine their impact on police officer behavior and perceptions. Findings revealed that officers with BWCs 1) relied on less intrusive methods to resolve incidents, 2) continued to be active rather than abstaining from community contact, and 3) officer perceptions of the usefulness of BWCs remained pessimistic.

"National Police Reform Commissions: Evidence-Based Practices or Unfulfilled Promises?" (with James E. Wright and II). The Review of Black Political Economy 46, no. 4 (2019): 277-305.

Reviews the national police reform commissions that have occurred in the United States. Finds three areas of similarities across reform recommendations: excessive police use of force, police–community relations, and personnel standards.  Highlights the need for further research to examine what works for reducing police–community tension.

" Race, Ethnicity and Social Equity in Policing" in Achieving Social Equity: From Problems to Solutions, edited by Mary E. Guy and Sean McCandless (Melvin & Leigh Publ., 2020), 82.

Examines the racial inequities that exist in policing, the reasons for such inequities and what can be done about them.

"Police Use of Force Interactions: Is Race Relevant or Gender Germane?" (with James E. Wright). The American Review of Public Administration (2020).

Analyzes police use of force data from Indianapolis and Dallas police departments to explore differences in the amount of force used by officers in ethnic, racial, and gender matches in police–civilian encounters. Suggests that there are heightened levels of force used when there is racial and gender incongruence or mismatch between the officer and the civilian, particularly White officers interacting with Black civilians.

"Equal Employment Opportunity: Women Bureaucrats in Male-Dominated Professions" (with Sebawit G. Bishu). Public Administration Review (2020).
"Equal Employment Opportunity: Women Bureaucrats in Male-Dominated Professions" (with Sebawit Bishu). Public Administration Review (2020).

Applies qualitative research method to explore gendered processes that women city managers and police officers encounter in their their day-to-day leadership and street-level bureaucracy roles.